Trewin News April 2007

More on Hiking in Germany

A friend, in response to our last newsletter, sent us a clip of the Happy Wanderer, written shortly after WWII by a German, but which has since been translated into and sung in many languages. I know why that wanderer is happy. It's because of the Beer Gardens found in almost every town along the hiking trail. Hiking in Germany is very different from hiking in the Adirondacks. Hiking in Germany is more accurately described by the German verb "wandern." "Wandern" actually means "to hike," but sounds more like what you actually do, which is wander on well-maintained paths through forests and farm fields and orchards from one Beer Garden to the next; the towns are never more than 5 km apart. It's more like a pub crawl, but with beautiful scenery.


The best hikes go through the forests.
This time of the year the forests shimmer with young green leaves. The deer chase each other through the woods. It's no wonder that Germans have a mystical connection with the woods. Cold water springs well out and pipes conduct clear water into troughs or primitive basins where it returns to its underground path. Everywhere the hand of man is seen, from freshly felled trees to well-maintained paths. Germans can't leave the woods alone. Only in the Alps is nature allowed more freedom to go wild. But even there, there are mountain huts maintained by one of the Alpenverein - Alp Clubs. The picture of Richard by the spring was taken on a forest trail just outside of a small town with a Beer Garden.

The trees themselves are treasured. Many a centuries-old tree is lovingly maintained and protected, like the Tausendjaehrige Tanzlinde you saw in our last newsletter/post. A particularly spectacular old dame presides over the collection of barns and farmyards that is the village of Kasberg. She even has misteltoe growing on her gnarly limbs.

Called the Kunigundelinde after the 11th century Queen Kunigunde, who is regarded as a saint, this linden could be that old. An upright teenaged companion stands next to her, intensifying the impression of the bent dowager next to her.



Coincidentally, one of the public TV stations here just broadcast "Germany's Oldest Trees." The oldest linden in Germany, 1200 years old, once had a circumference of 17.9 meters (58.7 feet). It's trunk is currently in 4 separate pieces, but when it blooms it still draws the bees. Another old linden has a dance floor built on top of the horizontally-trained branches, as did the Tanzlinde in Effeltrich we featured in our Easter newsletter. Once a year, steps are built up to the dance floor, and people wearing traditional costume (Tracht) whirl in festive color and stamp to old-fashioned music amidst the branches.

On another hike with some friends of ours, we went through a region known for its fossils of snail-like animals, ammonites. The fossils can be seen incorporated into buildings. The picture of Pia and Richard was taken next to a well named the "Mussel Spring," after the appearance of the ammonites. We also visited a castle ruin.



















This area is known for its caves, filled with water-crafted mineral formations. Special brands of cave beer brewed in the nearby towns and stored in the caves, are sold at the entrance kiosks near the larger cave entrances. If a German can't get a beer everywhere he goes, it's a scandal! Here in Bavaria, beer is a food group!





Next it's off to Dresden, called "Florence on the Elbe." Stay tuned!