The place to volksmarch this weekend is Reichweiler, Germany, where the Teufelskopf-Wanderers are extending a warm invitation to all American volksmarchers, especially the folks from nearby Baumholder. The start hall is the Dorfgemeinschaftshaus. You can start the five- and 10-kilometer walks between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. If you would rather walk 20 kilometers, you can start between 6 a.m. and noon both days.
In the past few years, the prize at this walk has been a beer mug with the crest of a German state on it. Last year, the crest was from Bavaria. This year, B-medals are available, so you might have a choice from several state crests to choose from. These prizes are only for as long as quantities last, so get there early. As we all know, the opportunities for picking up a nice volksmarch mug are rare, and nothing says, “I did a volksmarch in Germany!” better that a beautiful mug.
Located about 75 kilometers west of Landstuhl, the town of Reisbach is hosting a volksmarch this weekend. The start hall is at the Lohweishalle, with start times between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. for the five- and 10-kilometer trails. For the 20-kilometer route, you must start before noon. There is no prize; walk for IVV credit only.
The event in Weyer is convenient for walkers near Schweinfurt. Saturday there will be an evening walk, starting between 4 and 6 p.m., with routes of five and 10 kilometers. Sunday, start between 6 a.m. and noon and add a 20-kilometer route option. This event is also for IVV credit only.
Heads up! The Saturday walk in Bascharage, Luxembourg, has been canceled.
We’re starting to see fliers for evening walks. Here in the Tri-Border area, St. Odiliënberg’s 27th International Summer Evening Walk Series starts June 3. The hosts, W.V. Roerdal ’87, will provide 10-kilometer routes every Monday evening through the end of August. The walks start between 4:30 and 7 p.m. These events are high on our list of favorite summertime walks.
With the weather getting longer, don’t forget the importance of keeping well-hydrated on your walks. As a general rule, control points are about five kilometers apart, but this is entirely at the discretion of the host club, so they might be farther apart. Sometimes the short routes do not have a control point at all. Pack your own water and don’t wait until you feel thirsty to take a drink. Take a little bit of money with you because the control point might only have bottled drinks for sale. You might want to carry a cup with you as well. Some clubs have free water or tea if you bring your own cup. This also reduces the amount of trash generated by the walkers, and we all need to be environmentally friendly.
Last week, we mentioned the Zell permanent walk. Based upon what we heard from Tim and Luchi Lynch, it sounds like a nice walk. Tim sent us the following message:
“The brochure show Zell as the start, but it’s really above Punderich, very near Marienburg, a castle and restaurant above the Mosel. The trail took us up and around the Marienburg, then into the forest with some views down onto the Mosel River. About an hour into the trail, we climbed up to a hut that had a partial view of Burg Arras. Too bad the trail didn’t actually take us to the castle as the pictures I Googled afterward looked nice! At the halfway point, we had a view far in the distance of Marienburg, so we had some motivation to finish, as we could see our finish in the distance.
“Near the end we passed a German WWII cemetery with lovely views over the Mosel, then next to Marienburg with views down into Punderich, a pretty half-timbered village. We finally finished after three hours, so I think the distance, as measured by time and pain in the knees, was more like 12-13 kilometers. We really liked the hike despite its longer than advertised distance. We’ll definitely go back and re-do this one when spring or summer ever comes to Germany.”
Tim adds that you have to buy your start card at an Aral gas station on the south side of the town of Zell, and then drive about three kilometers to the start of the walk below the Marienburg castle and restaurant.
For you walkers who get your IVV books stamped, you can get credit for the kilometers you walk every time you walk the trail and pay the fee. Credit for the event is once a quarter, or four times a year.
If you know of a permanent trail that you would like to share with us, please send us an email at two.walkers@yahoo.com.
Email volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO AE 09752.
