This was a few weeks ago, but

On the night of April 30th the official transition between winter and summer takes place in Germany and neighboring European countries. Walpurgisnacht is the name of the festival. One of my Profs recommended that we go to the Harz mountains (an hour and a half on the free train from Gö) so I high-tailed it to the mountains the next day to be ready for the traditional ceremony.
After getting off the bus in Wernigerode and missing the bus due to the lateness of DB. (YES Xingyi) (and I actually like SNCF and Trenitalia more) Sorry, a discussion between me and Xingyi. Anyway,

After hanging out in Wernigerode me and my friend waited for the bus to Schierke. Schierke is where it all started. It is the highest village in the Harz and the closest to the Brocken Mountain. If you recall from Faust….Yes, read it, the night of the witches on the Brocken with Faust and all that hublah takes place on the top of the Brocken Mountain on April 30th Walpurgisnacht.

The bus was completely full and at stops on the way to Schierke people were told they could not board and that they must wait for the next bus. Only the die hards go to Schierke btws!

It is really crazy! One lady yelled at the bus driver for a few minutes, exclaiming she had traveled Stundenlang to be in Schierke and now this happened!

I read online that some people coming to Schierke actually believe in Witchcraft and things, but I laughed it all off. Well, that was dumb.

People were dressed up as witches and devils everywhere and the village was hopping. A medieval fair was taking place, and the evening was ready for plenty of punk music, strong Harz alcohol for the cold (Feuerstein), Glühwein, and the acclaimed Hönigbier in the Harz mountains.

We decided to get Kuchen for later then climb the Brocken. Can’t party before a good hike, right!?? Basically no one was at the top of the Brocken. There was still plenty of snow and it was extremely misty. You could not see more than 5 feet in front of you. The scene felt like it was coming out of Goethe’s Faust itself, with the witches all around. Even the fog swiveled in a mystifying manner.

The party on the bottom was intense. The band at the end was amazing! They are called Cultus Ferox! It was a casserole of music! Some North German punk, rock, Scottish bagpipes on the scene, and a medieval fire dance in all in one song! Also some pretty cool creepy chants! Yeah, old Germans letting loose in quite the sight. The full on all out dance moves aren’t quite there, but I feel they are getting closer than during everyday life (you know the stop lights.) But they do not hold back in yelling slurs. Betrunkenes Deutsch is a third language though, that I have sadly, not mastered. Instead I started Italian!

Go to Schierke! Try for Walpurgisnacht! The village is so close to Göttingen, but it is like you are in a little, old, beautiful, forgotten world. Go there!

Here are some Fotos and Kuchen. The white one is called Brockentorte.

NOTE: the bakery in Schierke makes the Brockentorte better than their Schwarzwaldtorte. Higher quality ingredients maybe. I mean, the Schwarzwaldtorte had chocolate sprinkles, not fine Dark Chocolate shavings!! Disgraceful. (…Schwarzwald is still better than the Harz btw, (Yes Xingyi everything is a competition))