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In our continued attempt to adapt to the new Weekend format, we have decided to change the order in which things appear.

The “miscellaneous notes” about the week’s volksmarch events that is usually toward the end of the column will be moved up so that they will appear in the newspaper. Longer announcements, after-action reports and the “Thank you” section will be available in their entirety online. All of these changes will take some getting used to, so please bear with us. Please keep your comments coming, as we welcome any and all feedback.

• This weekend’s featured walk is in Crailsheim, Germany. We have not been to this walk, but we are told the club members are friendly, the trails are well organized and marked, and there is plenty of parking available. The 5k, 10k and 20k routes begin between 5:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. The 42k marathon starts both days between 5:30 and 9 a.m. The start is at the Volksfestplatz in Crailsheim at Schönebürgstrasse 29.

As a bonus, Crailsheim is only 30 minutes from Rothenburg ob der Tauber, one of Germany’s most popular tourist attractions. If you’ve been to Rothenburg and want to visit another old, walled city, Dinkelsbühl is also nearby and well worth the visit.

• There are three walks this weekend that are convenient for volksmarchers in the Kaiserslautern Military Community. The event in Clausen is south of Landstuhl. Trails open at 7 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday at the Gräfensteinhalle. Lautenbach’s walk is west of Landstuhl. The trails there open at 6 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. A bit farther west, but within easy striking range of K-town, is the walk in Dudweiler. Trails there open at 7 a.m. both days. Our AutoRoute software shows that these three walks are within about an 80-mile circuit from Landstuhl. Why not try to hit a couple, if not all three, this weekend?

• Consdorf, Luxembourg, is always a nice place to walk. Information on the start location is vague, but it appears to be on the road between Consdorf and Berdorf. These towns are only four miles apart, so it should not be too hard to find. This walk is in the “Little Switzerland” region of Luxembourg.

• Aug. 21 is the cutoff date to sign up for the Heidelberg International Walking Club bus trip to Gelnhausen. Go to www.HIWC.de for details. You can sign up with Jochen Munz by contacting him at jmunz.112@t-online.de.

• Clark Soeldner, our link with Italian volksmarching, says t There are two walks in Jegher di Rovere Veronese, Italy, this weekend. The Saturday afternoon walk is a guided walk and is followed by a special supper. Sunday morning’s walk offers mountain trails with beautiful views. Sign up for the walker’s lunch when you get your start card.

• There has been a lot of good feedback about the Stuttgart walk a few weeks ago. They had good walking weather, beautiful views from various points along the trails, and good food at the end. About 1,600 people participated, which is a very good turnout.

Bob Gambert, past-president of the Stuttgart club and volksmarch ambassador, tells us how "Volunteers really made the difference of making the event a success."

It takes a lot of hard work to host a volksmarch. From the earliest planning to the clean-up afterwards, there are innumerable tasks that require many hundreds of hours of work over several months of preparation. Then all of these tasks need to come together smoothly over the weekend of the event. Many hands and a lot of hard work make it happen and the Stuttgart German American Wandering Club has done it again. Congratulations on a job well done!

• We just received our first flier for the Heidelberg walk September 25 and 26 and we are very impressed with the design on this year’s mug. The main design is a panoramic view of Heidelberg castle and city, as well as the Neckar River. Across the bottom of the mug are German and American flags and some German crests. These beautiful mugs will be flying out of the start hall, so plan on getting there early. Seriously, we saw a man carrying a whole case of mugs out of the start hall once. There will also be a limited amount of B-medal mugs available (prizes from a walk a couple years ago.) This is one of those "don’t miss" walks and we already have our hotel room for the weekend. Look for us in Heidelberg September 25 and 26! Just like Stuttgart, the Heidelberg walk will need lots of volunteer workers. Now is the time to commit yourselves to making this walk a success. For more information visit the HIWC Web page at www.HIWC.de

• We’ll start the "Thank you" section with a big "HOOAH!" with a fist-pump to the volunteers who made the Stuttgart walk a success!

And, a new name appeared in our mail box recently on an envelope full of fliers. Thanks, Rick Sciascia, for sending fliers from the Grafenwöhr/Vilseck/Hohenfels area.

Plus, more thanks to the usual bunch of avid walkers who sent in flyers for this week’s column: William Castro and Maureen McHugh-Castro, Cath and Rob Floyd, Bob Gambert, Richard and Donna Glenn, John and Evelyn Golembe, Lew Harrison, Wayne Henry, Nora Hernandez, Ramona and Horst Kechelen, Tim and Luchi Lynch, Dave Miller and "Pat" and Cheryl Patterson.

Finally, a reminder, anyone can send us volksmarching brochures. We always need them and would rather have a few duplicates than none at all!

E-mail volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO, AE, 09752.

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