OK, I’m guilty of “romanticizing” many towns and villages in Germany. What can I tell you, I’m a glass half-full kinda person. Truthfully, I am working very hard in my brain about how to do that to the town of Thalheim in the Ore Mountains.
It isn’t as though the place isn’t… Yikes, what’s the right word? Let’s go with, uh, quaint? No, that’s not right. How about…
Forget it. The best I can come up with is Thalheim is distinctly German.
Don’t give me that face. Thalheim is where industrial and farming folks get up before the chickens; going to work or grab a bite at one of the local eateries.
This isn’t a bad thing.
Then came the epiphany. The highly romanticized Thalheim in my mind. I saw it blanketed under a freshly fallen snow. What is it about the white stuff that makes you see things in a whole new light? Whatever it is, I’m not arguing.
Sure, Thalheim’s landmark 19th century church is just as pretty during the summer, but the calm surrounding this Evangelical Church after a snow storm makes it extraordinary.
The snow, however, might not be the best terrain to navigate around all the cobbled stoned streets, nor to see all the indigenous plants along the Pionierweg Nature Trail.
Doesn’t matter really about the snow when you’re headed into the old silver mining tunnels. No one will put you to work, the mines have been closed for decades.
Thalheim’s Oil Mill (called Ölmühle, a.k.a. Wiesenmühle) might have been built in 1577, but this too hasn’t worked in a long time. It now houses the Museum of Technology; and it’s conveniently located right next to both a cafe and guesthouse.
And as I said, this is where everyday Germans go to work — but they also like to play. So, head to the indoor/outdoor swimming pool that’s filled with salt water (very healthy), or to have a go at the 68-meter long water slide.
OK, so the snow might’ve been the catalyst for romanticizing Thalheim (Erzgebirge) — but all in all, the town is quite fun too. :-)
