Spring Hiking Adventures 2020

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Spring Hiking Adventures During Covid-19

  This year started with the Covid-19 pandemic and many postponed or cancelled travel plans. Unfortunately, I couldn't travel to Norway and Finland and I also had to stop planning my trip to South Africa and Namibia. So, I had to find a way to make the best out of the situation. I searched for hiking adventures near Göttingen and I also found my old „To Hike List". I decided to start the hiking season at the Süntel massif in the North of Hamelin. I took the train to Hessisch-Oldendorf and then started a ten km hike to the Hohenstein mountain, passing beautiful yellow blooming rapeseed fields, for having a great panoramic view over the whole valley. After having a picnic, I hiked back on a different route to see more of the beautiful nature there.   

  At the end of April, i decided to go hiking again. Since it wasn't allowed to travel to Saxony-Anhalt for hiking in the Harz area, I decided to take the train to Eichenberg. I didn't know much about the hiking route in advance - just found the Teufelskanzel as destination - and I wanted to be surprised. On this sunny day, I passed the former border to the German Democratic Republic and also made a short stop at the border triangle stone (the border of Hesse, Lower Saxony and Thuringia). After six km, I reached Bornhagen and could see the ruin of Hanstein Castle. Due to Covid-19, the castle ruin was closed, so that I could only marvel it from outside. So I continued hiking to the highlight spot of the route, the Lindewerrablick, a fantastic viewpoint above the Werraschleife, which was better than the viewpoint at the Teufelskanzel, from where Lindewerra isn't completely visible due to the leafy treetops in the foreground.

  The Plesse Castle is always a place, I like to visit, no matter if I hike or ride my bicycle, no matter in which period of the year. This year, I visited the „Plesse" several times, because it's a wonderful place for a sunset or for visiting friends outside of Göttingen. In spring, it was so beautiful to see the yellow blooming rapeseed fields around the Leinetal and a stunning sunset at a pink colored sky, in summer, I went there for having a relaxed atmosphere for reading books or just for talking with friends. Moreover, it was the place of the civil wedding of my best friend last year. As a reminder, I took a video for the first wedding day to keep the beautiful memories in mind. 

  In May, I wanted to visit the Berlepsch Castle, one of the most beautiful castles in Hesse. Visiting the castle was also on my „To Hike List" for a long time, so I could finally find time to hike there. I started my route in Gertenbach, a district in the Northwest of the city of Witzenhausen. It didnt't take a long time and I was in the beautiful forest and after 45 minutes, I already arrived at the castle, which was built by Arnold von Berlepsch and completed in 1369. Unfortunately, I couldn't do a sightseeing tour inside the castle, but enjoying the sunshine in the park with characteristics of an English landscape garden was even more fascinating. Moreover, I spend some time of silence in the medieval castle chapel. After a short break, I continued hiking to Witzenhausen for taking the train back to Göttingen.  

  One of the most diversified hiking trips, I made this year, was the hiking route around Walkenried. The trip started by taking the train from Göttingen to Walkenried , a muncipality situated in the southern Harz area. Walkenried itself is known for its Cistercian abbey, which was founded in 1127. Following the path behind the abbey, I reached a hiking trail in the nature. My next destination was a lake called "Itelteich". It was artificially dammed by the Cistercian monks of Walkenried and served as a fish pond. After a few kilometres through the forest, I finally reached the lake and also another recommendable place - the "Hexentanzplatz". From there, it was possible to have a beautiful panoramic view over the northernmost city of Thuringia - Ellrich, which is also known for its history and the Ellrich-Juliushütte satellite camp, which existed from May 1944 to April 1945. Today, a memorial stone commemorates the deeds of the past and because of the oppressive atmosphere, I continued the hiking trail to a gypsum karst landscape of the nature protection area. It felt like being on a different planet, when I walked through the karst landscape fields. But when I continued hiking, I could directly breath the forest again! I walked back to Walkenried and was really amazed by this adventure full of awesome impressions.

  The trip to Ilsenburg was already planned for last year, but due to a lack of time, I had to postpone the hiking trip to this year. And then, Covid-19 made another spanner in the works. It wasn't allowed to travel to Saxony-Anhalt for a tourist stay until the end of May. so I took my hiking backpack and my hiking boots on 1st of June and I started my trip to Ilsenburg. It's situated under the north foot of the Harz mountain area, at the entrance to the beautiful Ilse valley, which is the ravine of the Ilse stream. Following the "Heinrich-Heine hiking trail" along the Ilse river through beech forests and past bizarre rock formations, I reached the beautiful Ilse Falls, where I climbed to the top of the waterfall for having a great view for enjoying my lunch break. After the break, I decided to continue the trail to the Bremen Hut and then going back to the direction of Ilsenburg on a different path.  

 Since I'm interested in Scandinavian culture, it was a pleasure for me to visit the Lutheran Gustav Adolf Stave Church, a copy of the medieval Borgund Stave Church, in Hahnenklee, a borough of Goslar in the Harz mountains. The construction of the church began in 1907 and consecration was held in June 1908. After spending enough time, marveling the beauty of the church, I took the bus back to Goslar, where I walked through the historic city centre to visit the Imperial Palace of Goslar, which has been - together with Goslar's Old Town and the Rammelsberg - a UNESCO world heritage site since 1992.It was my first time, visiting Goslar and I'll definitely come back, hopefully to visit one of the most beautiful Christmas markets in winter.

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