Goslar is a small city at the northern edge of the Harz, and it is hard to overstate how much money and power sat here in the Middle Ages. The Rammelsberg hill, just south of the town, held a vast body of silver, lead, copper and zinc ore, and mining went on for about a thousand years, until the mine closed in 1988. The Ottonian and Salian emperors built their palace in Goslar because the silver paid for it. The imperial palace, the Kaiserpfalz, still stands in a big, over-restored form on the edge of the old town. UNESCO listed the mine and the old town together in 1992, and in 2010 the Upper Harz water system was added to the same site.
The town centre is a joy on foot, with crooked half-timbered houses, slate-clad facades, a market square with a glockenspiel that performs scenes from mining history, and streets that tilt like boats. The Rammelsberg itself is open as a museum, and you can take a tour underground, which is cold and damp and feels like a proper working mine. Goslar has more than forty thousand people, so fuel, parking and a decent meal are not a problem, and the nearby towns of Langelsheim and Bad Harzburg add to the choice.
Riding around Goslar is varied. To the north the land is flat and open, with fields stretching to the horizon. To the south the Harz climbs quickly, and roads such as the one up the Okertal valley offer wooded gorges, tight bends and sheer rock walls. Harz roads are generally well made but narrow, with wet leaves, mist and the occasional deer to watch for. It is busier on summer weekends and quietest in early autumn. For a dramatic climb, go up toward the Brocken region from Bad Harzburg, where the weather can differ sharply from the lowlands.
Spend an hour in the old town, then find a cafe in the market square. The local beer and a sausage of the Harz variety is a simple lunch. If you have time, take the mine tour and see where the wealth of the empire actually came from. After a morning of limestone and slate, the contrast of a hot drink and warm bread is hard to beat.