Click here for this week’s European Volksmarch schedule.
Don’t forget that Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday. Be sure to set your clocks back one hour before going to bed and enjoy the extra hour sleep or the extra hour of walking!
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One of our favorite walks takes place this weekend. The Schnelle Füße Koblenz e.V. hosts five walking trails this Saturday and Sunday, and then they throw in a bike route and a swimming event.
Starting in the Sporthalle of the local town of Karthause, marchers can begin the 5-, 10- and 20-kilometer trails each day between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m.; the start window is the same for bikers to hit the 25-kilometer course. Swimmers can start at 10 a.m. and must finish by 6 p.m.
The prize for completion of these courses is a model semi beer truck. By the way, Nordic walkers are definitely welcome in Karthause. The club also sponsors 42- and 50-kilometer trails each day. The 42K starts between 7 and 9 a.m.; the 50K starts between 7 and 8 a.m. The souvenir patch is in the design of a ship’s wheel on the bottom with a horse-drawn carriage on top.
After you’ve finished your Volksmarch, don’t miss visiting the Ehrenbreitstein, Europe’s largest fortress. Set 118 meters above Koblenz, it offers a commanding (and memorable) view of the old town as well as the Deutsches Eck (the German Corner), a memorial to German unity, where the Rhine and Moselle rivers converge.
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After-action report: Allenbach, Germany. On Saturday, Oct. 14, we made the three-hour drive to Allenbach and had a wonderful day. The drive took us through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium as well as the Eifel and Hunsruck regions of Germany. The leaves on the trees were turning their annual reds and golds while the evergreens were laden with hundreds of pine cones. Along the Volksmarch route we saw several red mushrooms with white spots; we understand they are poisonous, so we just took pictures. After the walk we spoke to Ed Whitworth and saw several other members of the Ramstein Roadrunners.
Then we met Mike Medolo of the Kaiserslautern Sunny Coyotes Volksmarching Club. Mike had just finished his 1,792nd Volksmarch covering a total of 20,040 kilometers. According to his calculations, he has now Volksmarched half- way around the world! After a short rest, Mike was off to his second Volksmarch of the day. We guess he wanted to get a fast start on the second half of his trip around the world.
We were also pleasantly surprised by the quartz elephant that was given as the prize. The flier made it look rather small, so we were not expecting too much, but at 3½ inches tall, it is pretty nice. Between the beautiful drive, a nice walk and prize, seeing old friends and meeting new ones, it was an all together great day.
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Next Wednesday, Nov. 1, is All Saints Day, and several clubs are hosting walks. Argenthal, Langenzenn and Hof are offering routes of the usual 5 to 20 kilometers. Bietigheim-Bissingen offers these distances as well as a 42-km marathon. If you are off on Wednesday, why not visit one of these towns and enjoy its walk?
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Volkach/Main, Germany, holds it annual torch walk from 4 to 6 p.m. next Saturday (there are daytime trails, too, on Saturday and Sunday). An extremely popular and very nice Volksmarch, this is one not to miss. The souvenir is a ¼-liter wine glass with a handle. If you plan to walk in the dark, the club recommends that you bring a flashlight.
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“High fives” to the following people who found the time to mail us fliers for upcoming walks: Bob Gambert, Lew Harrison, Wayne Henry, Jan and John Jensen, Ramona and Horst Kechelen, John and Renee Kulick, Tim and Luchi Lynch, John and Patty Marsh, Nancy Shawley and Jose Valdez.
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Miscellaneous short notes about this week’s Volksmarch events:
¶ Folks in the Kaiserslautern and Baumholder Military Communities can enjoy the Kindsbach, Germany, event this weekend, beginning in the Mehrzweckhalle by the Bahnhof. The 5K, 10K and 20K begin from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. Finish on Saturday by 5 p.m. and Sunday by 4 p.m. The prize appears to be a ceramic flower pot in the shape of a watering can.
¶ Ramona Kechelen sent a note that the Uehlfeld walk is a “good one,” and the prize is an angel figure.
¶ The prize at the Rottweil walk appears to be a model wooden sailing ship with masts, sails, yardarms and all that nautical stuff. We haven’t seen a prize like this before.
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Notes from Clark Soeldner, our Italian walking expert:
¶ The town of Magnano in Riviera is nestled against the mountains. The 22-km walk will go into the mountains with a 400-meter gain in elevation in the first 5 kilometers. The shorter routes are less dramatic, with the 4-kilometer route being almost flat. The theme of the walk is chestnuts, and everyone with a start card will receive a small bag of roasted chestnuts at the end.
Please e-mail volksmarch schedules to two.walkers@yahoo.com. By mail, send brochures to: Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO, AE, 09703-0278.
