Hannover, Germany

Bremen and Hamburg are close. Berlin is not that far away. But Germany is not just big cities. SE of Hannover is a National Park, the Harz. It's a pine cover island of mountains sticking up from the flat plan of Northern Germany. Half of it used to be in East Germany, including the Brocken, highest mountain in Northern Germany. Because of the Brocken's height and the latitude, the top is above the timberline and treeless. Ancient people thought is must be enchanted, and tales of witchcraft abound in the area (it was the scene of Göthe's Walpurgisnacht). During the cold war, there was a Stasi listening tower on the mountain. Today there is a narrow gauge steam train to the top. Below and north of the park are the fachwerk towns of Goslar, Wernigerode, and Quedlinburg. North of Hannover is the Lüneburg Heide, a nature preserve resembling a British moor.

Hi Claudia. You mentioned other countries and Amsterdam is not far from Hannover. I believe that Berlinien Bus goes between the two cities; you can also take trains. Five days is a perfect amount of time to spend there, including one or two daytrips.

Wow! thank you for the great suggestions and please keep them coming I am going towards the end of September so I still have time to plan...Thank you again!