Saturday 25 June 2016

Last Weekend

The weekend is here, and I need a break from blogging about the Horse Market and from some other things as well. Good job then that, in a bit more than an hour, I'll be on my way to O.K.'s again.

I spent last weekend at his place, and enjoyed everything that can be enjoyed with the man you're in love with. On the Sunday, we went on a hike in the beautiful Black Forest - mere minutes by car from O.K.'s home village. 

Here are some of the pictures I took. Starting off from where we left the car (at a designated parking space where surprisingly few other cars were patiently waiting for their owners to return from their walks and hikes):



Along the first part of the path, there were several chainsaw sculptures made of tree trunks. We were not always sure which animal they were supposed to be, but this one is definitely an Auerhahn (wood grouse, heather cock, Tetrao urogallus... not sure which is the correct English term, but this bird is something like a symbol for the deepest depths of the Black Forest:


On we went. A beck that would normally be just murmuring along next to the path was now, due to the heavy rain of the past weeks, a very chatty - almost shouty - stream.


I know the wildflowers never turn out that well on camera, but believe me, they were there, and looked very beautiful on these meadows:



Deeper into the woods, and steeper up the hill we went. A signpost near the parking lot had indicated that our goal, the Moosturm (a viewing tower on top of a mountain called Moos - "moss"), was only 5 km away. Now you know that 5 km to me is not much - I often walk that on my way home from work, when I get off one train stop before my actual one, and I easily do that in under an hour. But if those 5 km are up, up, uphill all the time, it's a different story! Good job it wasn't very warm that day.
I know it doesn't really show in the pictures, but believe me, it was uphill, and not just slightly so, all the way.




And once we were further up, spectacular views rewarded our efforts:





The monument we saw from the distance is a memorial for "Lothar", a heavy storm (sometimes even classified as a hurricane) that hit the south of Germany in general and this part of the Black Forest in particular at Christmas 1999. I remember it vividly, and you can still see the traces.



But the monument wasn't where we wanted to go. We first had a proper view of Moosturm coming round a bend, still bravely hiking uphill:


 Getting closer:


Views from the top of the tower in all directions:


I can't tell you exactly what you are looking at here, although O.K. pointed out places I know (or at least know of) to me. France is so close here that my mobile informed me that I was now in the French mobile phone network once we were on top of the tower.
More about Moos (the mountain) and the surrounding area can be found here in English.

The path we'd come:

Going back down - not the way we'd come, but towards a guest house in the woods run by a club called Naturfreunde (friends of nature), where you can have a snack and a drink, rest your legs for a bit and use their facilities. They even have a drying room for wet clothes, and I believe it gets used a lot by cyclists and hikers.
We took a break there, and then walked back to the car - all downhill now - on a different path. It was coffee time now, and we decided to visit the picturesque town of Gengenbach, which you'll see in one of my next posts.


18 comments:

  1. I like those sculptures :) And you and O.K. certainly seem to share a common interest in going for long walks exploring nature and impressive scenery :)

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    1. We do, Monica! We also have been running together nearly every weekend since we've started seeing each other.

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  2. What wonderful photos. I have great memories of hiking in the Black Forest with Paul and his brother Joshi when I was much younger than you are now. But I never heard of the Moosturm until now. Spectacular views from the top!

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    1. The rather dramatic clouds made the views even more spectacular than if it had been clear blue skies, I think.
      But I must admit it was VERY cold and windy up there on the top!

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  3. Looks like a great walk, except for the uphill, I'm strictly a flatland walker.

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    1. Usually I don't have a problem walking uphill, but this was rather challenging as there was no respite for 5 km.

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  4. This must surely be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I enjoyed all your photos and wish I could have joined you, except for the uphill too.

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    1. Thank you, Jill! It is indeed a very beautiful place, and I'm glad it is still there to a large extent, in spite of cities and industrial zones encroaching on it on all sides.

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  5. The Black Forest, if I say that reminds me of Grimm's Fairy Tales, is that right? Your photos are gorgeous! Mountains and wildflowers, I would have been in heaven. xx

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    1. Walking there, you can really imagine the old fairy tales come to life, Kay!

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  6. Beautiful sculptures, beautiful landscape...but my favorite part of this post was the mention of being in love. I'm so happy for you!

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  7. What a beautiful place.
    Like those carvings.

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    1. Thank you, Haddock. And welcome to my blog - I believe this is your first comment here, right?

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  8. I started reading this yesterday (Sunday) and have re-read it twice since then. Apart from reminding me of my visits to the Schwarzfeld (and, oddly, also to the happy days of my rambling in the English Lake District) I think that the underlying feeling in that post was one of absolute joy. I'm so happy for you Meike.

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    1. Thank you, Graham! You're spot on with your assessment of how I felt (and still feel) about that weekend.

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  9. Thank you for your recent comment on my blog and great to discover your blog. Hope you get to Bolton Percy one day!

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    1. Hello Roger! Thank you for returning the visit! I was glad to discover your blog through L's link to you, too.

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