Click here for this week’s European Volksmarch schedule.
Get those calendars off the wall and mark down these events! These are some great holiday walks that you will not want to miss.
• Nov. 3-4, Knokke-Heist, Belgium: Help the Belgian people celebrate their liberation by Canadian Forces in 1944.
• Nov. 3-4, Volkach, Germany: This walk is in the Würzburg area, noted for its Franconian wine. The prize is a wine glass/mug. Look for a busload of folks from the Heidelberg International Wandering Club who will be there on a club outing.
• Nov. 10-11, Mandel, Germany: Located northwest of Bad Kreuznach, this walk offers a Christmas bear complete with scarf and hat as a prize. This could be a chance for you to pick up some unique Christmas gifts.
• Nov. 18, Bettendorf, Luxembourg: Convenient to the Bitburg and Spangdahlem communities, this walk is close to two of our favorite towns, Vianden and Diekirch, Luxembourg.
• Nov. 22, Ramstein, Germany: This is the Ramstein Roadrunner’s Annual Turkey Trot. This is a morning walk that will leave the afternoon and evening free for traditional Thanksgiving activities … eating turkey and watching football. The 5-km and 10-km routes start between 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. but you’d better get there early if you want the bear that is being given as a prize.
• Nov. 24-25, Bischofsdhron, Germany: This walk will take you by castle ruins where they will have a camp ground for knights. The short route is stroller friendly. Sounds like a unique family adventure.
• Nov. 25, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
• Dec. 2, Landscheid, Germany: A walk convenient to the Bitburg and Spangdahlem communities.
• Dec. 8-9, Eberhahn, Germany: The prize is a nutcracker. This walk features a display of nativity scenes.
• Dec. 8, Metz, France: An evening illumination walk, this is a 10-km route through the city of Metz when it is lit up for Christmas. A past walk took us through several city squares that had food and drink booths set up like Christmas markets. Metz is a gorgeous city to see lit up like this.
• Dec. 9, Alt-Hurth, Germany: Walk and Christmas market — what a combination!
• Dec. 15, Bastogne, Belgium: Historical walk. This is not an IVV-sponsored walk, so you won’t get your books marked, but it is a “don’t miss” event for history buffs. A warning: the terrain is open and the wind can howl, so dress for the worst weather. Last year, there was light snow, but in recent memory a storm dumped several inches of snow on the trail. Given the thousands of walkers and re-enactors, make your travel plans early. Just remember, the colder and nastier the weather, the more realistic it will be for the history purists.
• Dec. 29-30, Wiesbaden, Germany: End the year with a walk, and get geared up for 2008.
More details on these walks will appear in the Thursday column before the walk. If you know of a holiday walk, or another interesting walk coming up, please drop us an e-mail at two.walkers@yahoo.com.
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Both of this weekend’s featured walks happen to be convenient for folks near Stuttgart. The walk in Enzweihingen is on Saturday only. You can start the 5, 10 and 20 kilometer trails between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. You marathon walkers have to start between 7 and 9 a.m. The marathon walkers will receive a patch and certificate; the other routes are for IVV credit only. The Böblingen walk is on Sunday only. Start the 6, 11 and 20 kilometer distances between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. There is also a 30 km route that can be started between 7 and 11 a.m. The prize for this walk is a B-medal.
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Big time thanks again this week to the following: William Castro and Maureen McHugh-Castro; Manfred Dahl; Bob Gambert; Lew Harrison; Wayne Henry; Ramona and Horst Kechelen; David Kuik; Tim and Luchi Lynch; John and Patty Marsh; Pat Patterson; Mary Jo Piccin; Dawn St. John; and Nancy Shawley.
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Miscellaneous notes about this week’s Volksmarch events:
• Model car collectors, your souvenir will be an Opel speedster model for walking the 5-, 10- or 20-kilometer distances at the Wanderclub Heroldsberg e.V., Germany, event. Start Saturday and Sunday between 7 a.m. and noon, finish by 4 p.m.
• Another Sunday-only event this weekend, the folks in Untergrombach, Germany, offer 5-, 10- and 20-kilometer courses starting 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. A 55-centimeter-tall kitchen witch is the prize. The Mehrzweckhalle start location can be found just two minutes from the Bahnhof (train station).
• Clark Soeldner, our Italian Volksmarch guru, tell us the prize at the walk in Orti di Bonavigo, Italy, is a half-pound of tortellini and a half-pound of tagliatelle.
E-mail Volksmarch schedule information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO, AE, 09703-0278.
