Travelling recommendation - HARZ (GER)

HuskyEnzo, originally from the "Brothers Grimm" board on June 10th `06 about the region where "Könige...Nutzholz..." is set:

"... As for other nice aspects: if you want a recommendation where to go here during your next trip then visit the area known as "Harz" (it´s relatively central located in germany).
You can take quite impressive walking tours there, the largest hill "Brocken" (roughly translated "Rock", 1141m) is the highest peak in northern germany, the Harz is a famous nationalpark and the small town of Braunlage is a traditional hockey-town (okay: with a VERY traditional ice-rink).
In medieval fairytales the Brocken was known a witching-location and even today in the night of the annual witching-sabbath May 1st the entire region celebrates that with weird mask rallys through the towns and there are strict "girls only" feasts at night on the Brocken.
All over the year an oldfashioned steamtrain goes from the city of Wernigerode up to the top of the Brocken several times a day.
Additionaly the entire region looks a lot like the woods in this movie ["Brothers Grimm"].
The Harz also used to be a legendary german mining-range and you can still do guided tours through some of them old subterranean tunnelsystems.
Furthermore this part of Germany was an immense source of inspiration for some of the most important romantic-novellists, writers and poets in the german literature-history. You´ll easily find out why so - it´s really magical there.
In winter you can watch Husky-sledracings near the town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld and in that landscape you can imagine you´re in a pocket-sized Yukon - and to come here won´t cost you THAT much ;-) The architecture in the Harz-towns works for that too.
It´s beautiful there in any season - summer or winter.
You get a good hosting in the youth-hostel of Torfhaus.
Enjoy your stay, you´re very welcome!"