Here is our second installment of upcoming walks. The list is still short due to the small number of fliers published so far. It will grow as more walks are announced. The main walk to note is the Heidelberg, Germany, volksmarch Sept. 8 and 9. With the military leaving Heidelberg, this could be the last traditional volksmarch held there. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Heidelberg International Wandering Club is planning an outstanding event and is designing a beautiful beer mug as the prize for this walk. Please plan to attend. The Heidelberg folks always host an event that is “above and beyond.”The first five walks are in Germany.Sept. 8-9: Heidelberg;Sept. 15-16: Furth;Sept. 22-23: Kützberg;Sept. 23: Wiltz, Lux;Oct. 21: Freiburg-Kappel;Oct. 27: Reichstett, France, Halloween walk.Mark this on your calendars, too. On Oct. 28, fall back! Daylight Saving Time ends at 1 a.m.Even though we leave for the States Sunday, we hope to walk in Malmedy, Belgium, on Saturday. We have done this walk several times and have never been disappointed.Located in the Ardennes, the routes will take walkers into the forests and hills of the area, and there are plenty of distances to choose from. Saturday, you can walk 6, 12, 20, 30 or 42 kilometers. Sunday’s distances are 6, 12 and 20 kilometers. Early birds can start at 6 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday. The start hall is at the Malmedy Expo, Rue Frederic Lang 3. While you are in Malmedy, make sure you visit the museum and café at the Baugnez 44 Historical Center in the Malmedy suburb of Baugnez. The museum is located adjacent to the field where American POWs were massacred in 1944 and across the street from the memorial dedicated to their memory. For more information on the museum and café visit: baugnez44.be. We stopped there for lunch after visiting the La Gleize military flea market recently and had a very nice meal.For a different kind of volksmarch, head to the Bierwanderung in Ilbeshausen, Germany. Some of you might say, “All volksmarches are beer walks,” but this one is a bit different. Saturday afternoon, the 7- and 10-kilometer trails will have five stops where you can try five different beers. The beer walk is part of a full weekend of walking, bike riding and swimming in Ilbeshausen. Saturday’s events start at 1 p.m., while Sunday’s start at 7 a.m., except for the swim, which starts at 10 a.m. Other events of note this weekend include a walk convenient to the Kaiserslautern Military Community in Drehenthalerhof, Germany, west of Sembach. The start hall, which in the Bürgerhaus, opens at 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. You can start the shorter 6- and 10-kilometer routes until 2 p.m. and the 20-km trail until 1 p.m. The hall closes at 6 p.m. A B-medal is the prize.A little farther away, the walk in Asweiler is also convenient for walkers in the Kaiserslautern area. This walk starts Saturday between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. until noon. A B-medal plate is the award for completing one of the 5-, 10- or 20-kilometer routes.Still farther, but not too terribly far from Kaiserslautern, is the walk in Sohren. Located near Hahn airport, Sohren appears to be about the same distance from Wiesbaden, Spangdahlem and Kaiserslautern. Any walk in the Hunsrück area is bound to be pretty.Sunday’s walk in Hochdorf is a Stammtisch walk for the Stuttgart German-American Wandering Club. The start window is between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. Finish before 5 p.m. The prize is a B-medal. Look for the blue flag of the Stuttgart Club and meet some serious volksmarchers.Email volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO AE 09752.
