11 October - and it is autumn in the air

Well, September was an aeroplane-free month -  the last one was February 2009! Still it seems that October will make up for it when I look at the work calendar.

Today I am back at Vienna Airport at 0715 after the usual early start at the beginning of another mission.  Flight #62 for this year and  #401 since I moved to Vienna in July 2004!
This time it is the 0830 Air Berlin flight to Hannover, a new carrier and a new destination.  The flight was only 85 minutes so naturally it was  in economy.  I have never travelled Air Berlin before and whilst the staff are friendly enough and efficient , the seat pitch is terrible. It felt worse than on British Airways! More like Jetstar  Asia in Australia!!
Anyway it was ony a short hop on the B737-700 and a lovely clear day. An early Sunday morning web check-in (#1 on the list in fact) had assured me of a good window seat up at the front so there was a good view all the way.
Hannover was an interesting airport; vast with long distances to walk to get to the Hertz desk for my hire car. All went very well and I was soon trying to use the much modified map from the man at the desk to find the car - German signposting only marginally better than Austrian it seems. Anyway I found the car and it is a Hyundai I30. Seems OK. I got organised and with the Google map instructions in my  hand I found my way out to the  correct Autobahn and away on a bright sunny morning to Clasthall-Zellerfeld my base for the next few days whilst I do a bit of lecturing at the small techncial university there.

The route was OK and after about an hour I was on 'B' roads winding up and down hills in the Harz Mountain National Park. The trees are just starting to turn for Autumn and the hills have odd patches of low heather on the sandstone in places which all look very pretty.

I found my way into the top end of the town (Zellerfeld) and saw some old mining machinery at the road side still working as demonstration of the heritage technology.

There was a small mining museum where I stopped for few minutes (It is charming but pretty small).  The exhibits included a number of beautiful  models of old mining machinery.....................

 and in the yard some preserved buildings demonstrating old mining technology................................

In the town itself many of the houses are very old and they are built mostly of wood and stone and the streets are lined with trees that were just starting to turn for Autumn..

The pharmacy was a really wonderful building.....

Then it was out with the GPS (garmin) and off to  the Clausthal part of town and the hotel Goldene Krone which is in the centre of the other end town (Clausthal).  The room is fine and the hotel is known as the best place to eat in town.....

So I checked in and then went off to find my workplace  and the students all ready for me. 

It was an OK afternoon with some good questions and then  back to the hotel. Weather is clear but chilly, I suspect it will be 4 degrees or less up here tonight.