Click here for this week’s European Volksmarch schedule.
If you have ever gone to a family-style restaurant in Germany, you might have seen a large, prominent table with a sign identifying it as the Stammtisch. This table is a gathering place for local people, usually men, who frequent the restaurant regularly. Here they discuss the hot topics of local concern and possibly play cards or dice. It is from this gathering of friends that the Stuttgart German-American Wandering Club (SGAWC ) designates one of the weekly walks in its area as a Stammtisch walk.
You will find the SGAWC flag at one of the Starthalle fest tables along with a ledger to record your participation. Of course, these walks are open to everyone and are designed to promote volksmarching in general and the SGAWC in particular. As space allows, we will mention these Stammtisch walks so you can join them.
This weekend’s march in Schömberg is a Stammtisch walk. In 2007, Bob Gambert, from the SGAWC, and I (Bob) walked the permanent trail in Schömberg. It was such a nice walk that we have to highly recommend any event hosted by the Volksportverein Schömberg e. V. This weekend it will have six-, 11- and 21-kilometer trails for the ordinary walkers as well as a 42k route for you marathon lovers.
If you have never been to the northern Black Forest area, here is a chance to get out and see its beauty. Make sure you look for the SGAWC flag and sign their book.
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With June here and the weather getting warmer, 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 they 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.
And if you walk with a dog, make sure he gets regular sips of water, too.
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Thanks to the following for their contributions to the column: William Castro and Maureen McHugh-Castro; John and Evelyn Golembe; Ramona and Horst Kechelen; Tim and Luchi Lynch; John and Patty Marsh; “Pat” and Cheryl Patterson; and Bob Gambert, Lew Harrison, Wayne Henry, Nancy Shawley and Jennifer West.
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Miscellaneous short notes about this week’s events:
• The prize for completing the walk in Aulendorf, Germany, is a tool kit. It looks like a handy little thing for the glove compartment of your car.
• The walk in Schwedelbach, Germany, this weekend will be convenient for the people in the Kaiserslautern military community.
• The volksmarch in Kell am See, Germany, appears to be about halfway between the Bitburg/Spangdahlem community and the Kaiserslautern community. Add in a few folks from the Baumholder area and there could be quite a few Americans at this walk.
• Next Wednesday and Thursday’s walk in Schwaigern, Germany, is offering an umbrella as the prize.
Clark Soeldner’s Italian walking notes:
• The Saturday-evening walk at Gambugliano is a six-kilometer route that is repeatable. You can walk it as many times as you want, just be back before they close at 12:30 a.m. A flashlight would be a good idea. The start for the walk is Press il campo Sagre di Monte San Lorenzo. There is also a walker’s meal for 10 euros; make sure you sign up for it when you buy your start card.
• San Antonio di Porcia is another Saturday-evening walk with a fest going on, so there will be plenty of food there, too.
E-mail volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO, AE, 09752.
