Twice before we'd been on a panoramic walk 360 degrees around the picturesque village of Sasbachwalden, maybe a half hour's drive from O.K.'s village.
The first time was in May 2021, when we experienced dramatic skies and all sorts of weather apart from snow. The second time was in September 2022, when everything was still green and the autumn colours had not yet begun to appear.
But this time, we caught an autumn day like straight out of a picture book with (mostly) blue sky and mellow golden sunshine - the best we could wish for!
As we had done twice before, we parked on the relatively large public car park in the village and followed the well sign-posted path from there.
The first part of the walk is mostly uphill, which of course had me puffing and panting, but we were soon rewarded with views of the village and surrounding hills, some of them covered in vineyards and orchards, others in woodland.
After that, it wasn't long before we reached the bottom of the waterfalls. To reach the top, one crosses thirteen bridges and climbs dozens of steps.
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As before, we visited the small private chapel, open to the public, with its beautiful stained glass windows.
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On we walked, and by the time we reached the historic mill (no photos this time - you'll have to click on the links above to the May 2021 and September 2022 posts for that), it was 1:30 pm and we were hungry enough to take a break and eat our sandwiches. The wooden table and benches were partly in the sun, which made for a pleasant meal and warm enough to sit down.
After that, the walk continued along the familiar route. There were other people about, but never so many as to make things unpleasant.
The path meanders through the woods, then out into the open again, through those same orchards and vineyards we had a view of earlier.
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| Oh dear! I've shrunk!! |
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| Sasbachwalden, as it nestles among the hills. |
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| This is for my sister! |
We reached the car park about an hour before sunset, the afternoon light already having taken on that wonderful golden quality I so love about this time of year and day.
Instead of driving straight back to the cottage, O.K. took us on one of the hills around his village, where we got off the car and watched the sun go down. Within minutes, the glowing orb descended behind the Vosges mountains in France. We said "good night" to the sun and drove back to the cottage.
Fantastic lighting, uplifting and inspiring walking. Regarding the problem of BBC programmes we talked about, here is a mischievous idea. All you need is for someone to capture them, put on Google drive, and then delete them after you download them.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tasker.
DeleteHmmm… that is an interesting idea! I wonder whether someone will follow it up…
You really have become tiny - think how much more comfortable you will be if you have to travel by plane!
ReplyDeleteCeci
Hehe Ceci, I haven‘t thought of that - even on trains (which is an almost daily thing for me) I will have more room on my seat now!
DeleteI am pleased you were able to do that walk again and it brought so much pleasure. When I saw your post heading I must admit I did not know what to expect.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachel. I was hoping that the heading would raise a little curiosity. The wish come true could refer to many things.
DeleteNeither did I, you always read about folks trying to take selfies on the edge of cliffs or waterfalls, they take a tumble and that's the end of them.
DeleteI would never do something so clearly unsafe just for the sake of a selfie. Often, the pictures I use to illustrate a hike do not show the most challenging parts of it, because it is then that the path needs my full attention and I do not stop for photos.
DeleteI'm glad you had such a lovely day for your hike, Meike. It sure was beautiful! I especially liked the photos of the lovely patchwork fields and also the distant views of the hilly countryside.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen. The patchwork are vineyards, and I love seeing how the colour of their leaves differ so much from one kind of grape to the next. We were truly lucky to catch such a hike-friendly day!
DeleteIt does look like a perfect day out for the time of year :) - Good to have such memories to look back at when winter sets in!
ReplyDeleteExactly, Monica! I do that every now and then, go back through my blog to older posts about hikes or other particularly beautiful days and refresh my memory of it.
DeleteI had a feeling that I'd seen a picture of you on the tall chair before but perhaps my memory is playing tricks.
ReplyDeleteYour memory is correct, Graham. Big chairs are set up along various popular walking routes here, and of course there is the one in the grounds of Ripley Castle. One example is the one in this post from 2021:
Deletehttps://librarianwithsecrets.blogspot.com/2021/10/october-hike.html
I was waiting for Hansel and Gretel to appear from the little yellow house. A set of gorgeous photos and you caught Autumn beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Thelma! I wouldn't have been surprised if I had spotted Sleeping Beauty throughthe window of the little yellow house :-)
DeleteHey! I also was reminded of Hansel and Gretel! I thought of them from the pictures of the wooded areas. What a fantastic walk! Like Graham, I remembered you sitting in a giant chair. I wonder, how do you climb up into it? I would need a step stool! That lovely light, you have captured it wonderfully well. x
ReplyDeleteFunny that you ask about getting up on the giant chair! Usually, I would simply heave myself up from the front, rather ungraciously I must add. But in that instant, there was a youngish couple of walkers taking photos nearby, and I felt self-conscious about it with them looking on. Therefore, this time I climbed in from the back, stepping on the iron bar connecting the two sides of the chair's crossed legs at the crossing. No problem at all :-)
DeleteAh, you see, that is exactly how I would have tried, to kind of clamber up onto it, but I am old now, and I wonder if I could make it! That strong iron bar connecting the two sides, that sounds like the way to go!
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