Five Days in Limpach: Tuesday

For Tuesday (12 May 2026), the forecast was chilly but dry, with high winds moving busy clouds fast across the otherwise blue sky.

10C/50F isn't warm, but of course we had not only brought shorts and t-shirts for hiking but also outfits suitable for this kind of temperature.

As usual, the first picture of the day was from our patio.

Soon after breakfast, we set off directly from our door, as before. 

This time, from a booklet with local walks and hikes, we chose one that was called "Wildromantische Tobeltour". Part of that tour we'd already done in 2023, but that one was shorter (around 9 km as opposed to 13.7 km this time) and lead through some hamlets that weren't part of this year's hike. 

You can compare this tour with the 2023 one here.

The signposts started near Limpach's church and vicarage. No horses there today, and Sunday's festive decorations were all gone.

Looking back towards Limpach after descending the hill leading down from the village towards the first Tobel.

This was my favourite part - a flowering meadow, sheltered among gentle wooded hills.

Old barn at Benistobel - I took a picture of that in 2023 as well.

This is the view you'd have if you lived at Benistobel.

Benistobel consists of the large old barn (in the foreground), a few other farm buildings and three or four houses, two of which are holiday lets - ideal for families with small children.

It was very, very quiet; over the entire distance we only met a handful of people, two of them on bikes. Birdsong and our occasional conversation were the only sound, along with the wind in the trees, which was rather blustery at times.

When I come across such remote places like the lone farms dotted in the various tobels (a Tobel is a narrow valley), I always wonder what it must be like to live there all the time, with no noisy neighbours and no heavy road traffic, but also with no shops, no school where children can easily walk to, no restaurants and other amenities. 

The peace and quiet is very appealing, but the impracticality of it all would make things too inconvenient for me - you can't just pop down the road to the bakery when you have forgotten to buy bread, for instance, and how long would it take for an ambulance to arrive in case of an emergency? But I guess that those who live so remotely would go nuts in a town or city, if given the choice.

Anyway, we greatly enjoyed the hike, and returning to the flat, donned our bathrobes and crossed the lane between our building and the hotel where we relaxed in the spa until it was time to get dressed for dinner.