Click here for this week’s European Volksmarch schedule.
Mark your calendars now for the weekend of July 28-29. Two German-American walking clubs, Bamberg and Stuttgart, will host walks that weekend. More information will follow as the weekend approaches; both should be excellent walks!
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Speaking of Stuttgart, when we were there a few weeks ago, Bob Gambert and I (Bob) walked the permanent trail in nearby Schömberg. It was such a nice walk that we have to highly recommend the event hosted by the Volksportverein Schömberg e. V. this weekend. They will have 6, 10, and 20 kilometer trails for the ordinary walkers as well as 42 and 50 kilometer routes for long-range walkers. If you have never been to the northern Black Forest area, get out and see its beauty.
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Sunday’s walk at Vianden, Luxembourg, will be through the beautiful hills of Luxembourg, with views of a wonderful old castle. Tour of the castle while you’re there. Sometimes they have local artists showing their work in the castle. For more information about the castle, including a film clip from last year’s medieval festival, visit www.castle-vianden.lu.
Back to the walk; the trails can be pretty steep, so you might want to take your hiking stick. After the walk, enjoy lunch at the start hall or head for one of the local cafés. White asparagus season is coming to an end, so if you haven’t tried it, you need to soon. Vianden is very convenient for those of you in the Bitburg/Spangdahlem area. Take your camera!
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Our recent walk in Kerkrade, Netherlands, had some pleasant surprises. First, we were given written directions, turn by turn, of the route we were to follow (in Dutch). But the trail was so well marked, we didn’t need the directions! The second surprise was that almost the entire route was in Germany. Kerkrade is near the border, not too far from Aachen. The first and last half-kilometers were in the Netherlands, and the rest in Germany, mostly in a nature reserve area. The third surprise was that the trail paralleled a section of the Siegfried Line for about 400 meters. The area has been badly neglected, but parts of the third and fourth rows of dragons’ teeth were visible. As a student of World War II, I am always excited when we stumble upon a piece of history.
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A few notes about this week’s events:
There are several good cheese shops, some of which are open on Sunday, in the area around Unterthingau, Germany.The walk in Schwedelbach this weekend will be convenient for those in the Kaiserslautern Military Community.The Volksmarch in Kell, Germany, appears to be about half-way between Bitburg/Spangdahlem and Kaiserslautern. Add a few folks from the Baumholder area, and there could be quite a few Americans at this walk.Today’s walk in Eisen, Germany, is convenient for Baumholder readers.Italian abbreviations in the walk chart: This week we shortened Montecchio Precalcino to Montecchio, and S. Eusebio di Bassano del Grappa to S. Eusebio. Last, we shortened Monte Prat di Folgaria nel Friuli to Folgaria nel Friuil.The start hall for the Monfalcone, Italy, walk is next to the Oreficeria-Orologeria Piazza. We hope they have good signs up for this one!The walk at Montecchio Precalcino, Italy, has two routes: 6 and 10 kilometers. If you want to walk more, these routes are repeatable, so make sure you get your cards stamped. The cost of the walk is also based on the number of kilometers you walk. Walk all day if you want, just don’t miss the pasta party at 12:30.The flier for the S. `Eusebio di Bassano del Grappa walk notes that the course is mixed hills and panoramas. Bassano is always worth a visit!The walk in San Antonio di Porcia, Italy, is in conjunction with a fest, so there will be plenty of food at the end.The folks at San Quirino always have a great end restoro.E-mail volksmarch schedule information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. brochures to The Huffakers, CMR 460, Box 278, APO, AE, 09703-0278.
