Harz Mountains Christmas Markets

Lilikoi_lady

Neil, our guide, was the best we’ve ever had. How he managed to keep thirty of us together for that transfer in Koln is amazing. Kept his cool throughout it all. The hotel in Wernigerode was a perfect location in a great, walkable town.

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Nancy Russell

Great tour and great trip leader.

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LOVEDAY, THOMAS

Great trip! Our tour director was excellent.

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Vincent McGuire

The atmosphere of the markets was convivial, cheerful and festive. Young families with kids helped lend an air of joy and innocence. The tour was well arranged and the travel disruption getting to and departing hard were dealt with. Although not your fault, I'm only giving 4 stars due to all the smokers and myself being allergic

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Diane M Foster

Wouldn’t classify it as a Christmas Market Tour as 2 of the 3 markets were extremely small and unimpressive. As a history tour it was very good. Most impressed with Goslar which had a wonderful Historical Tour and a fantastic Christmas Market. Our tour leader Chris Sanders was fantastic!

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MARLYS HEADLEY

Overall this tour was fun, charming and delightful, however, there were issues that marred the overall experience which factor into my evaluation of the Harz Mountains Christmas Markets Tour. I’ll start with the most glaring and frustrating aspect of our tour. Our very first day of train travel from London to Wernigerode, Germany, was brutal. Our tour group met in St. Pancras Train Station in central London at 7:00am to take the Eurostar Plus from London to Brussels. Our 9:00am train was delayed due to mechanical issues which snowballed into additional train delays throughout the day. Our next train - Brussels to Cologne was comfortable. Once we arrived in Cologne it was mid-day and the train station was packed with holiday travelers. We walked from one platform to another weaving in and out of holiday travelers. We stood on the platforms patiently waiting for more delayed trains. The opportunity to stop for food and drink was not an option in any of the train stations throughout the day due to the uncertainty of when our delayed train would arrive to take us on to the next destination. Then the train to Hannover arrived. It was late afternoon and the train was already packed with people along with the space provided for luggage storage. It was a mad scramble to find a single seat, and I do believe our small group of travelers were spread out over two train cars. We finally arrived in Hannover but still had an hour-long coach ride from the train station to our hotel in Wernigerode. We were ALL exhausted from the travel of the day and the lack of meals. We arrived at the hotel around 10:00pm. The restaurant had graciously held dinner for us, but it was a cold dinner consisting of bread, cheese, sliced meats, and cold salads. It was 10:30pm before many of us were able to check into our hotel rooms for the night. At the end of our tour, our return trip from Germany back to London was shorter, but we still encountered the same frustrating delays and the confusion of seating. On one of the legs of the return trip to London we were told we had an entire train car available for our tour group. However, with subsequent stops along the way, and as more people boarded, these new passengers would walk up to where we were seated and demand we get out of their assigned seats. There was a language barrier in these instances which made the encounter overwhelming. and embarrassing. As someone who traveled overseas for this particular tour, I would have much preferred to fly into Hannover or Berlin and then take a train to Wernigerode. The 15-hour travel day on the first day of our tour/trip is something I would not anyone else to experience. Now, on to the positive aspects of this trip. The area where we stayed was beautiful and charming. The train travel was exciting and we were able to see century-old towns along the way. The steam train which took us to Brocken was thrilling and our destination surprising. The summit was completely fogged in with zero visibility and gale force winds. We all remained inside the café at the summit due to the harsh conditions. We did not see any snow up to the summit as the brochure had described, in fact no snow the entire tour, which was disappointing, but tour companies cannot control the weather. The Christmas markets in Wernigerode, Quedlinburg, and Goslar were enchanting; they were small Christmas markets, but captivating all the same. Our tour manager Rosie was wonderful; the quintessential tour guide. Rosie was cheerful and upbeat despite the daily curve balls and snafus she endured as our tour manager. Rosie was crystal clear with her instructions as to when we needed to leave and return from our daily excursions. In addition I know she had to deal with some personalities in our group that pushed her to her limits. But in her own way, Rosie was gracious and kind in keeping them and everyone else happy. All in all, I enjoyed this tour, the places we visited, and the new friends I made. I do think however, I will reconsider traveling so close to the Christmas holiday.

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