Provincial gems

The most beautiful stage on the Natursteig Sieg so far. But the climbs are pretty tough for Aue Lück.

Hiked the 8th stage of the Natursteig Sieg today. The first part is nice, the 2nd is a lot of sun 🌞 and there is not much water for a dog 🐕. Otherwise the tour is very nice.

It was again a nice varied stage with some ups and downs.

After a longer break on the trail, we hiked the eighth stage pretty quickly after stage 7. Based on the tips from @Sus and @Andrea wandert 🇫🇷♥️, we first checked out the Sieg Waterfalls in Schladern. Thanks again for your tips! 😊 Due to the weeks of drought, unfortunately, we only saw small waterfalls. 😉 To avoid having to walk the same "boring" access path as at the end of stage 7, we took a different route through Schladern up to Windeck Castle. This meant we missed a view of the museum village, but we enjoyed the walk through the town. This stage is also very beautiful: with many paths and great panoramas, especially at Windeck Castle and the Alter Stuhl. You "fight" for it all with some ↗️↘️. Despite a final sprint, we missed our train by a minute. The doors remained closed, and due to the lack of places to stop for refreshments in Au, we waited at the train station for half an hour. So instead of returning to Elmor's beer garden by the waterfall, we went straight home.

Yesterday another stage of the "Natursteig Sieg" was on the program. Stage 11 was actually planned - but if the train is late again and the next connecting train in Au(Sieg) is just under an hour away, I'm happy to be flexible. Stage 8 finally sounded promising. And rightly so - the trail percentage is very high and there are some beautiful views along the way. You can order a picnic for one of the most beautiful - Alter Stuhl - in advance: https://eulenhof.shop/ Another picnic station is located at the castle. Unfortunately, I still consider the term "Natursteig" to be a misnomer, even if this stage is quite close - all in all too much asphalt, near the road and bare spots or dead wood. Two, three times the bark beetles buzzed around me. The signage is missing in some places because the trees are simply no longer standing - it is essential to use a navigation system! The climbs are usually not very steep and therefore easy to manage. In this direction, the "worst" is at the end - so it's better to go the other way around if you want to get it over with quickly :) If you adapt to these circumstances, you will be rewarded with a beautiful hike! :)

The stage was very strenuous. Lots of ups and downs. Often steep. Great weather. Blue skies. Our personal highlight: We met the hiking YouTubers Wandersocken by chance and had a little chat.

The weather forecast for today's Corpus Christi holiday promises sunny weather and (still) not-so-high temperatures, so let's get out there and tackle another stage of the Siegsteig Trail! I took the train from Siegburg to Schladern, where I started, and first went to Altwindeck. In the small village below Windeck Castle, people were preparing for the Corpus Christi procession; the chapel and the village street were beautifully decorated with flowers and colorful flags. In Altwindeck, there is a museum village with some beautiful old half-timbered houses that are open on weekends and can be visited. Behind the museum village, a narrow, steep path leads up to Windeck Castle, which I already visited on Stage 7. From up here, you have beautiful views of the Sieg Valley and the heights of the Westerwald. The hike now continues uphill and downhill through quiet forest paths, offering beautiful views of the valley. The only thing that was really annoying were the many motorcyclists revving their bikes at full speed on the country road today on a public holiday! The noise and whine of the engines can be heard for miles and spoils the otherwise beautiful idyll. Most of the route runs through the forest, with plenty of shade, and the Westertbach stream is crossed over large stepping stones. In addition to the provisions I'd brought with me, I was also able to stock up on plenty of fresh fruit from the countryside: there were plenty of ripe raspberries and wild cherries at several points. Absolutely delicious! Highlights for me were the view from the "AltenStuhl" of the Sieg River near Rosbach with its two railway bridges, as well as the section through the Au Forest with its huge oak trees, some of which are over 200 years old. Some of these trees have an impressive trunk diameter. In the afternoon, I reach the banks of the Sieg River near Au; next to the railway bridge, a shallow area is used for bathing and swimming. The hike ends at the train station in Au. Conclusion: It was beautiful, lots of forest, lots of shade, many secluded and quiet valleys, several steep climbs, and beautiful views. 😀

I would describe it as one of the most beautiful tours on the Siegsteig. Very varied. And if you are careful you will also see a lot of animals, e.g. Blindworm young great tits rabbits butterflies that mate and and and. Make sure to use the QR codes in the castle here as an example: http://pausanio.de/burgmauer/39 Unfortunately, the Corona museum village was partially closed. The tour has been changed slightly due to work in the forest.