An old volcano and towering rock formations Walking out of Hillesheim is more akin to a stroll through a park. You’ll pass the ruins of the city walls, and the path takes you past well-manicured lawns and a pond. After …
Waterfall, castle and Flammkuche The highlight of this stretch of the Eifelsteig is undoubtably the Dreimühler-wasserfall, but along the way you’ll also experience the magnificent Burg Kerper castle and the lovely village beneath it where you can get some much-needed …
The Open Sky The seventh leg of the Eifelsteig is a trek over rolling fields under an open sky. From the source of the river Ahr in Blankenheim (it’s burbles up beneath a house in the old city!), across vast …
Roman ruins and wild forests The sixth leg of the journey took me out of Urft and along the Römerkanal wanderweg. The Eifelsteig stage had been rerouted a bit, and instead of going with the recommended diversion, I followed this …
Eifelsteig Part 6 – Kloster Steinfeld to Blankenheim Read More »
Leisurely stroll through the countryside The fifth leg of the journey hasn’t been too severly affected by the flooding. At first you will walk over some pretty ridges and rather deep valleys, but at the half-way mark, the trail turns …
All along the Urft The fourth part of the Eifelsteig offers yet another different kind of scenery than what we’ve witnessed before. The Urft river is a huge presence, and at times quite huge itself as it placidly meanders across …
Into the hills properly This is a the first leg of the Eifelsteig that is a real challenge. The trail winds up and down very steep valleys as you traverse the countryside. There are literally no parts that are flat …
Walking along the border Roetgen is a small village right on the border between Germany and Belgium. If you know your history you might have some knowledge of the various issues these two countries have had with each other over …
Starting in Kornelimünster The Eifelsteig starts in a small square in Kornelimünster which is a small suburb to Aachen. Aachen is easy to get to by train from a lot of large cities, and the railways are efficient, and not …
About packing I use two non-competing methods to help me pack for a hiking trip. The first method is defining my “mission objective”. That means that I try to suss out what my main goals for the trip are. Why …
Vendel to Tegelsmora The last part of the Maria trail takes us north from Vendel further into the depths of Tiundaland, passing the modern church in Örbyhus and then ending at the medieval church in Tegelsmora. Along the way there …
Vattholma to Vendel Part four of the trail takes us from Lena church all the way to Vendel church, passing the Tensta and Viksta churches along the way. All four churches have medieval ancestry, even though they variously have been …
Storvreta to Vattholma In Storvreta, the Maria Trail splits into two different tracks. One goes directly to the Lena Church in Vattholma, almost straight north, and the other arm heads west to Ärentuna, before turning northwards. The direct route to …
Gamla Uppsala to Storvreta The second leg of the Maria trail takes you out into Tiundaland proper, with vast open fields, and some sparse forests. The beauty is marred by the fact that the trail itself isn’t that fun. It’s …
Uppsala to Gamla Uppsala The first stage of the Maria trail (Marialeden) is identical to the S:t Eric’s Trail (Eriksleden) which starts in central Uppsala, Sweden by the massive gothic cathedral and ends at the 12th century church in Old …
Kamakura is a small coastal city south of Yokohama that is nestled among steep hills and verdant forests and is chock-full of temples and shrines. It is sometimes referred to as the Kyoto of Eastern Japan because of all the …
Nakatsugawa to Magome The Nakasendo trail follows parts of the old mountain trade route between Tokyo and Kyoto. It was mainly used in the 18th and 19th centuries, and it provided a well-trodden path for the merchants and other travellers …
