In January we haven taken a short break and decided to go to the historical town Rothenburg ob den Tauber, situated in Germany, about 80 km under Wurzburg.

We did several walks in the neighborhood. For that you need the "Wanderkarte Rothenburg" which one can buy at the Tourist office.

It contains about 13 walks with different lengths. It is definitely worth it to buy this map as it will also show you Rothenburg from outside it walls. A part most tourists visiting Rothenburg o.d. Tauber do not see, unfortunately, cause the views towards Rothenburg are just amazing.
To get a map of the region with this specific track highlighted please click on Google Maps: Rothenburg o.b. Tauber

This walk is numbered W7 (to Leuzenbronn and back), but we also did a part of walk W8. And ofcourse......not without taking Elgar the Hiking Moose with us.
Oh...some pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them. Don't forget to click!



We did not start this walk in Rothenburg itself as we had our overnight stay at a lovely old mill outside of Rothenburg, which can be very crowded during high season.
Pension Fuchsmuehle, here you can see the B&B on the right handside (blue colored house), is ideally situated: it is quiet and peaceful and Rothenburg is at walking distance (15 minutes). From the windows you look up to the walls & towers of Rothenburg o.b. Tauber.




The rooms are clean and spacious and the owners are very friendly. We can truly recommend this Pension (B&B). Information about their pension can be found at: Pension Fuchsmuehle.

Press the Read More tab if you want to see more of this walk.

Here some lovely pictures of the Rogie Falls during Autumn in Scotland. The colors are just amazingly. Yellow, red, orange, soft green, dark green, and everything in between .



The pictures underneath are taken around the Falls and can be enlarged by clicking on them. We had seen the Rogie Falls in Spring but we like it more in this specific time of the year. Just enjoy!

On an early morning in August when the sun was already up and most people were still in bed (and even Elgar the Hiking Moose was enjoying his comfy blankets), we opted for a walk which started....straight from our frontdoor.

It is a part of the walk with nr. 176 (15 km’s) from the website Wandelgids zuidlimburg. Due to the foreseen heat that day we were not able to do the whole track. Just too hot to be out there actually.
As always all photo's can be enlarged by clicking on them.



The first kilometer goes through cultivated farmland and at a corner there is the "Waardekapelke", a chapel originally constructed in 1913. After World War II it was renovated and it is being looked after very well by the locals. Fresh flowers, burning candles, just as it should be in a chapel.



Then the track goes through a forest and one encounters this huge tower. It is a so-called watertower which was used to provide water for the surrounding villages between 1923 - 1974. Since that time it has fallen into disrepair but there is a project on the way the restore the watertower in all its glory. The view must be breathtaking from above. Hopefully one day everybody can enjoy that.



Meanwhile it was getting warmer and warmer. Just look at the bright blue sky and the bright green colors of the meadows. It also triggered a few buzzards to practice their flying skills. As you can see clearly on the picture, the buzzard on the righthandside is a youngster. He/she was 'shouting' of joy the whole time. His father/mother was watching him very carefully.



Then the walk goes up a little hill and there is yes.......again another chapel. In the middle of nowhere actually. It is the St. Jozefkapel (St. Jozef chapel, Rimburg) which was erected in 1951 by ex-warriors, for the occasion of their safe return home after World War II. Rimburg has been a battle zone as it is situated exactly on the border with Germany.



Finally we leave the forest and arrive at the little township Rimburg. The oldest record of the castle which still can be found in this village (Castle Rimburg) dates back from 1278. Excavations also have shown that the Roman Army have crossed the bridge over the "Worm", a small river which now acts as the border between the Netherlands and Germany. Near that bridge, at the spot where now the castle is situated, there used to be a Roman fortress, all being part of a "Heirbaan" (or Heerbaan), a so-called long distance road, stretching from Cologne, via the Wormdal to Heerlen, Maastricht and Tongeren (in Belgium). So a very historical and picturesque village.



As you can see, the white colored house dates back from 1718. Further along we cross the bridge over the "Worm" to Germany. Just imagine that in past times Romans have walked here as well.




The picture on the right shows a very old water wheel, obviously no longer in use.

In the meantime the sun is burning very strong and it is time to slowely get back home. We cross again some agricultural farmland and yes........the farmers are working very very hard to get everything done today before the heavy rain, predicted for this afternoon/evening, comes pouring down.



Although we walk in this area a lot, and have seen all the chapels and buildings before, we never really did have a good look at them. So in that respect this weblog teaches us to look with different eyes to things than we normally would do.

It was going to be a long day as we wanted to go to Maria Laach and visit the Abbey which is about a 1,5 hrs drive from our hometown.
Elgar the Moose insisted on eating a proper breakfast and stuck his nose into the honeypot (mmh…. just like Winnie the Pooh does).
But oh well…... honey is a healthy product so we just let him eat the whole honeypot..



When we arrived at Maria Laach we first visited the Abbey (see our previous entry on the Maria Laach Abbey) and as we had much time left, bought ourselves a book (Kompass, Wanderfuehrer Eifel 2, Vulkaneifel) with walks in that area and opted for walk nr. 45: “Um den Laacher See”. The walk is 15 kms long and goes all around the Laacher see with beautiful views and interesting geological sightings.

The walk starts near the Abbey and took us into the woods with now and then a glimpse of the Laacher see. Not many people tend to take this walking track but this snail did.



After a couple of kms’ we arrived at this viewing point, called Vierduempelhoehe.




Also Elgar enjoyed the view from the backpack. And don’t forget to look up at the clouds as well when you are walking cause often these are spectacular to see.



After enjoying this short break we picked up our walk again and after having some troubles finding the right track cause the description is not always that clear, we finally arrived at the Lydiaturm (Lydia Tower). This tower must be mounted as it provides for an astonishing view over the area.

A lot of steps took us to the top of the Lydiaturm, and yes… one have to admits: the view is awesome.



Even Elgar, who normally suffers from a fear of heights, got out of the backpack. We first spotted a young buzzard in the sky. It was hovering over our heads and we were lucky to make this nice shot.



And then we looked at the Laacher See from above. The great Eifel lake takes its name from the Old High German word "lacha" which in turn is derived from Latin "lacus" as english "lake". Thus the name literally means "Lake of the Lake" similar to the "Loch Lochy" in the Scottish Highlands with the same meaning.

You can see clearly that the Laacher see is a crater lake, or more exactly a caldera lake. The caldera was formed after the Laacher volcano erupted, between 12,900 and 11,200 years ago. The Laacher is still considered to be an active volcano.




After a while it was time to move on again and the track took us right along the waterfront of the Laacher See which also turned out to be a geology path: Mudpools, big rocks, all part of the history of this area.





After about 4 hours we arrived at the parking lot. It was a beautiful day with lots of astonishing views and interesting stuff along the route. One more glimpse to the green fields surrounding this See and off we went ………..for a well-deserved eveningmeal.



We ended up at Hotel Waldfrieden in Wassenach where we had a marvellous fishplate all for ourselves as Elgar was dreaming sweet dreams in the backpack.

Elgar decided it was time to do some walking again.

He searched on the Internet for a nice walk but not too long because it was very hot (30 degrees Celsius). After reading through the itinerary Elgar opted for walk nr. 20 (8 kms) from the website Wandelgids zuidlimburg. Hopefully we can trust our little Moose here.

So off we went with a lot of water, digital camera's, binoculars and of course ...... Elgar the Moose. Needless to say that the rucksack was packed and rather heavy.


The walk starts in a town called Lemiers, just about 5 km's from the German border. We came across a lot of so called "Vakwerkhuisjes". Timber framing is the modern term for the traditional half-timbered construction in which timber provides a visible skeletal frame that supports the whole building.



The first 4 km's where through fields and with the high temperature and this huge ball in the sky called the Sun, it was not as easy as it had looked on paper. First we had to climb up to a plateau.



And then the track slowly made its way downwards through the fields and provided some astonishing views over the area.



Down in the valley again the walk passed along some trees and open fields again, where farmers were working hard to cultivate it.

Elgar had to show us the way several times cause he was the one who had read the itinerary properly. We just merely followed him, although we are still not sure whether that was a good idea or not.



We encountered this plant / flower but don't even know the name of it, nor have we seen it before. Can you tell us what it is? Then please let us know (either in Dutch or in English). We are always eager to learn.



We walked up a small hill where we had a magnificent view over the landscape again. Despite the climbing and the heat, we still enjoyed the view presented to us.

The "Vakwerkhuis" which you can see in the picture on the right is the same as the one we shot at the beginning of our walk, only now of course seen from above.



The last 200 meters of this track turned out to be quite a challenge. The path went through shrubs and it just looked like a jungle. Huge stinging nettles and brambles covered the path. After 50 meters we gave up and made a detour through a field. The only one who did not get a scratch at all, was ...... yes, Elgar. He was hiding in the rucksack, the hero!

After this ordeal we reached Lemiers again, where you can find this old church. This small Romanesque chapel once was actually a true church, used by a parish. It dates from either the second half of the 11th century or from the 12th century, although there are sources that claim that the oldest parts of the building dates from the 7th century.



Well..... we made it back to the car despite the heat, the sun and the shrubs. We deserve a cool drink now. Not sure about Elgar the Moose, though..... he was sleeping throughout this walk for most of the time.