Click here for this week’s European Volksmarch schedule.
If you are in the Heidelberg area on Saturday, there is a 5k walk for Kinder Cancer sponsored by the Eppelheim Schutzenhaus. A 10 euro donation gets you a beer and a schnitzel as big as your plate.
This is not an IVV-sanctioned event, so you will not get your books stamped. You will, however, get some exercise, a great meal and the knowledge that you are helping a worthy cause.
For more information e-mail Margaret. McGinley@eu.dodea.edu.
We will be in Heidelberg on the 25th, but just long enough to hop on the bus to Weissbad, Switzerland, with the Heidelberg International Wandering Club. We have never done an IVV event in Switzerland, so we are looking forward to this opportunity.
If this walk is anything like the hike I (Bob) took at the International Scout Camp in Kandersteg, Switzerland, we are in for real treat. Speaking of treats, make sure you take along some Swiss Francs for the post-walk beer and bratwurst — Swiss style!
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This week we would like to shine a little light upon the Kaiserslautern Sunny Coyotes Volksmarching Club.
• Location: Kaiserslautern
• POC: Leonard Cotterell
• Telephone: 06337-8732
• E-mail: sunny_coyotes@hotmail.com
• Meetings: 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m., Zum Goldenen Pflug, Weinerstr. 46, Landstuhl
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A very “high five” to Bob Gambert of the Stuttgart German-American Walking Club, who recently completed his 2,000th Volksmarch!
He reached this milestone in St. Petersburg, Russia, while on a 15-day tour of Eastern Europe, where he completed 14 IVV events in seven countries. He describes this trip as a “once-in-a-lifetime” event, and it certainly sounds amazing.
If anyone else wants to share their walking experiences from this summer, please drop us a line at: two.walkers@yahoo.com.
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We have done the Volksmarch and have been to the Oktoberfest celebration in New Braunfels, Texas, a couple of times, so we wanted to walk in Braunfels, Germany, as well. We have done this walk twice and have enjoyed them both very much. Stars and Stripes ran a Quick Trips article about Braunfels on May 16, 2006. If you did not cut out that article, you can read it again at legacy.stripes.com. Click on the Travel Section link and then scroll down and select Quick Trip Archives. Look for “A German town with Texas ties.” Please note that the start for this walk is in the nearby town of Philippstein.
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This Monday evening will be the 13th and final walk in the Summer Evening Walk Series in St. Odiliënberg, Netherlands. The W.V. Roerdal ’87 club has always put on well organized events, and these walks were no exception. We are looking forward to their next regular walk on Nov. 11.
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"Gracias" to the folks who sent in flyers for this week's column. They are: William Castro and Maureen McHugh-Castro; Manfred Dahl; Bob Gambert; Lew Harrison; Egon Hatfield; Wayne Henry; Ramona and Horst Kechelen; James Kelly; David Kuik; Tim and Luchi Lynch; John and Patty Marsh; Pat Patterson; Dawn St. John; and Nancy Shawley. Anyone can send volksmarching brochures; we always need them and would rather have a few duplicates than none at all!
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Notes about this week’s events:
• Get a pretty beer mug at the Lisberg, Germany, events this weekend. Walk the 6k or 10k routes on Saturday, starting between 4 and 7 p.m. They offer the same routes plus a 20k walk on Sunday between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. They also offer bike routes of 25, 37 and 50 kilometers on Sunday, starting between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Bürvenich, Germany, is a “suburb” of Zülpich and is sometimes listed as Zülpich-Bürvenich on maps. In addition to the walk, the annual Summer Festival takes place this Sunday, with music, food and assorted activities.
• A centerpiece that holds tea lights is the prize at Karlsruhe-Hohenwettersbach, Germany, this weekend. Start the 6K, 10K and 18K routes at the Lustgarten-Halle.
• The walk in Polch is very close to the castles at Burg Eltz and Burg Pyramont. Why not visit a castle after the Volksmarch?
• The town of Titisee-Neustadt, Germany, invites you to walk its permanent Volksmarch trail in addition to its annual walk on Saturday. Since they are two different events, you can earn two event stamps as well as getting credit for an extra 11 kilometers. The start hall for both walks is the same, the Hotel Gasthaus Zur Traube.
• If you go to the walk in Tres, Italy, park close to the end point at the Campo Sportivo and walk uphill to the start point at the church. That way you will not be facing an uphill hike to your car after the walk, especially if you walk one of the longer trails.
• The town of Valbona, Italy, listed in the chart is an abbreviation of the full name, Valbona di Lozzo Atestino.
• San Sabastiano is short for San Sabastiano di Cologna Veneta, Italy.
• Casiacco is a great mountain walk with some serious ups and downs on the 10k and 20k routes.
