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Happy Fourth of July, everybody! We hope you have a lot of fun this weekend and work a volksmarch or two into the festivities. You will have some very nice walks to choose from.

Close to the Kaiserslautern military community are walks in Weierbach, near Idar-Oberstein. Sponsors are offering routes from six to 42 kilometers, all starting at 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. They also have the unique prize of a gemstone tortoise. We love our stone elephant from their walk a few years ago.

Farther away, another good walk will be in Munich. Frequent contributor Ramona Kechelen says the members of the German-American Wander Club-München are friendly hosts who miss the many Americans who were stationed there in years past and who helped form their club. She adds that this walk is on a beautiful trail in the forest and that this is an excellent chance to visit Munich. Start time for both Saturday and Sunday is between 7 a.m. and noon.

Ramona adds that the Spalt, Germany, region is a great area for fresh-picked cherries.

Located in the history-rich Ardennes, the Belgian walk in Hünningen-Büllingen has been an excellent event in the past. Keep an eye out for the many monuments in the area dedicated to US forces that fought there in World War II.

Last of all, don’t forget Wednesday’s walk in Bad Dürkheim, Germany. We recently walked the permanent trail there and really enjoyed it.

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Here is the next installment of upcoming walks to mark on your calendars. Please make special note of the walks in Heidelberg, Sept. 25 and 26, as well as the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot at Ramstein, Nov. 25. These are big, popular walks and are on the “must” list for volksmarchers. All walks are in Germany, unless otherwise noted.

• Aug. 14-15: Bamberg

• Aug. 21-22: Crailsheim

• Aug. 21-22: Tiefenbach/Hunsrück

• Aug. 28-29: Creglingen

• Sept. 5: Versailles, France

• Sept. 11-12: Strass im Zillertal, Austria

• Sept. 19: Forstfeld, France

• Sept. 19: Wiltz, Luxembourg

• Sept. 25-26: Heidelberg

• Sept. 25-26: Schweinfurt

• Oct. 2: Strasbourg, France

• Oct. 3: Paris, France

• Oct. 16-17: Grafenwöhr

• Oct. 31: Daylight saving time ends

• Nov. 25: Ramstein Turkey Trot

• Nov. 28: Luxembourg city, Luxembourg

• Dec. 4: Colmar, France.

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Miscellaneous short notes about this week’s events:

• Good luck to the Heidelberg International Wandering Club as it loads a bus and heads to the Netherlands to walk in Delft, and visit Gouda and Kinderdijk.

• The walk in Wiesbaden on Sunday is in the neighborhood of Naurod, northeast of the city. Start the six- and 10-kilometer routes between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., and the 20k route between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Finish time is 5 p.m.

• Participants in the Bueriis, Italy, walk get a bowl of pastasciutta at the end.

• The start for the Gambugliano, Italy, walk is Presso il Campo Sangre di Monte San Lorenzo.

E-mail volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO, AE, 09752.

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