Taller Bergrunde Quality Trail

Winding paths, fairy-tale creatures and a distant view of two monuments - that's what lies ahead of me as I start my tour around the town of Talle at the Wichtelsteig hiking car park in Osterhagen. The imp himself welcomes me here. It marks the entrance to the Wichtelsteig, which follows the same route for a few hundred meters. After just a few steps I am in another world. The narrow path meanders around the trees and the dense undergrowth reduces my view of the jungle around me. After a road it continues similarly, but the forest is lighter. But it doesn't really get any brighter and the reason can be seen at the nearby edge of the forest. There I find myself under menacingly dark clouds. And it doesn't take long before I get a glimpse of their wet cargo. In the meantime I have reached Talle, where Puss in Boots is already waiting for me. He doesn't seem to be really talkative to me. And so I leave the place again and continue walking through a mix of forest and fields. There are always beautiful views of the mountain village in the Kalletal. I reach the dream source in the middle of the forest, which apparently escaped a fallen tree by a hair's breadth. A small figure sits unharmed at her pelvis as if watching over the spring. There is a short interlude in the valley before the path climbs slightly. Once at the top, I am again rewarded with a great view. The Taller Wichtel offers a similarly blazing view a bit further. Through a hole you can see the Herrmann Monument on one side and the Kaiser Wilhelm Monument on the other. And then we have already reached the parking lot where the imp dutifully looked after the car. You can find a lot more tips and information about hiking in the Teutoburg Forest in my current blog post: https://www.couchaway.de/teutoburger-wald-wandern/

Today was a beautiful circular walk in the Kalletal. We started at the car park in the middle of the village of Talle. From there we first climbed the ladder to heaven up to the Albernberg. We continued on natural paths and winding trails through the forest 🌳 with great views in between. Talle is also making a name for itself as a fairytale village: on the way we met the life-size Puss in Boots, for example. We reached the Taller Wichtel at 324 m via the Wichtelsteig. This is a viewing tube through which you can see the Hermannsdenkmal (when it is not as hazy as today) and the Porta Westfalica with the Kaiser Wilhelmdenkmal. We continued downhill and uphill again 🥵 until we got back to the starting point.

... also called the mud loop 😅 A quiet little loop nearby was the plan today. I'm not quite fit and really wanted to recharge my batteries 🌞. I knew some sections from other hikes on the Wichtelpfad and bike tours. But I've never walked the entire circular route. I started in the middle of the village and since Talle is a tranquil little place, the short paths there don't bother me at all. It continues, wonderfully uphill and downhill around the village. ⛪️ Many small paths meander through the forest & at the Taller Wichtel you get wonderful views. I find some sections of the "Path of Views" particularly beautiful, where the mossy trees are. 🌳It looks so great in the sunlight. After that it gets really muddy a few times, but that doesn't detract from this wonderful hiking trail.

Info about the tour: https://www.wanderbares-deutschland.de/wege/alle-wege/taller-bergrunde-d88d3855f6

Today, Sunday morning, was my second attempt in Talle. The first time, there was a huge construction site where the "Bootkat" (boot cat) was, but that was a long time ago. Today it was there. Today's route was also different from the previous one. There was a lot of nature along the way: fruit trees and natural meadows. There was a bit of an icy wind at the top, but otherwise it was a successful ride. I didn't park directly in the village, but right on the route, so the actual starting point isn't on the trail.

However, you have to follow the signs for the Taler Bergrunde, the gnomes leave you very quickly

I can also highly recommend the hike on the Taller Wichtelsteig/Bergrunde (No. 6 Panoramarunde), which is taken from the same hiking guide as the Schwelentruper Höhenweg. A beautiful village/mountain village that is completely circumnavigated and, from the opposite side, even offers a view of the Porta Westfalica on the Weser River. 😊 On the "Taller Wichtel," as on the Steinberg, you can see both the Hermann and the Porta Westfalica. Incidentally, the mountain village was the home of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder for the first 16 years of his life. He played as a striker for the local football club TuS Talle and was nicknamed "Acker." 😊 All in all, two fantastic hikes in perfect hiking weather. 🫠

Around Talle with a view of the Taller Wichtel; including a section of the Wichtelsteig.