Five Days in Limpach: Departure

...and the rest of that week.

O.K. and I left Limpach on Thursday (14 May 2026) after one last sumptuous and delicious breakfast. We really had enjoyed our time here, and I am certain that our third stay at this hotel wasn't the last.

Last morning picture from our patio at the hotel flat...

...and last look across our living/dining room there before leaving.

It was cold and windy, with rain and sun alternating on the drive home, which was trouble-free and took us the expected 2 1/2 hours.

Back home, some of the cards and presents we had received for our wedding.

After unpacking and loading the washing machine, we rested for a bit until it was time to pick up the food we'd ordered online at the nearby Indian restaurant. We took it to my Mum's and enjoyed a "welcome back" meal together.

Friday (15 May) was similarly cold, windy and a mix of rain and sunny spells. O.K. and I went into town for some errands and in the afternoon would have liked a nap, but it was very noisy in and around the house with people (not just children) trampling up and down the stairs, banging doors and talking/shouting/laughing loudly. Oh well, you can't avoid hearing your neighbours when you're in a semi with 7 flats altogether.

For the evening, I had booked a table for the two of us at a vegan restaurant in town. We've walked past there many times and I always wanted to try it. The food was very good, the service friendly and familiar (everyone is on first-name terms the moment they come in), and we enjoyed the evening.

Ludwigsburg market place that evening

It was still cold and windy on Saturday (16 May) at only 6C/42F in the morning, but sunny with no rain forecast. O.K. left around lunch time for home, and I pottered about a bit before I walked to Benningen late afternoon as part of my settling back in routine.

O.K. sent me this from his evening walk on Saturday...

...while I took this picture on my evening walk 150 km away from him.

My cousin and his wife were coming to visit my Mum on Sunday (17 May) on their way home (they live in Paris) after having visited his mother (my aunt) in Germany. It is always lovely to see them, and starting mid-afternoon with coffee and cake at my Mum's followed by dinner at a diner not far from my place we spent a pleasant time with them - a nice ending for my 2 weeks and 2 days off.

Poppies in a field near O.K.'s on that Sunday

Five Days in Limpach: Wednesday

Our last full day in Limpach was Wednesday (13 May 2026); we were to leave the next morning after breakfast.

It was cold but sunny, and no rain was forecast.

The usual morning picture from our patio

For a change, we chose a tour from our booklet that did not start right from our front door. Instead we drove a short distance to Markdorf, a town about 6 km from Lake Constance. 

Markdorf looked pretty enough as we were driving through, but the town itself wasn't our destination: We wanted to walk the "Gehrenberg Guckinsland" (literally "Gehrenberg view the country").

Gehrenberg is both the name of a region near Lake Constance, comprising Deggenhausertal (which was "our" area), Bermatingen, Oberteuringen and Markdorf, as well as of the wooded mountain rising behind Markdorf.

The Guckinsland hike even has its own website (in German). It is listed as a "premium hiking trail", 14.77 km long and leads up and down through the by now familiar wildflower meadows, woodland, fields and a few settlements and lone farms.

Old water reservoir above Markdorf

Wild orchid (orchis purpurea)

Wildflower meadows! I just can't get enough of them.

This marker marks the geographical centre of the region.

Its highlight is certainly Gehrenbergturm (Gehrenberg tower) which allows great views when the weather is in favour, which it was in our case. The tower is 30 m high, and we were really surprised at how much stronger the wind was up there and how much colder it was as opposed to the ground! I am not kidding - we could feel the wind rattling the phones in our hands as we were taking photos, and felt the need to pull our hoods up even for the few minutes we were on the viewing platform.

Is it just me or is there something Eiffel-towerish about the steel arches and construction?

We followed the signposts without a problem and didn't go on any detours, as far as we were aware, but O.K.'s watch still logged 15.5 km in the end. It was a very enjoyable hike with plenty to see, and we especially loved to observe groups of red kites (milvus milvus) wheeling, diving and soaring above one particular field - at some stage, I am sure there were 8 or more of them doing their acrobatics! They really are beautiful birds, wonderful to watch

This was the red kite field, although you can't see them here.

A landslide has happened here in 1911, creating a sheer drop of 50 m across a length of 200 m.

Bluebells! This is the kind we see in our part of the world, not the same (I think) as the ones that enchant the woods a bit earlier in the year in England.

This horse chestnut is for my Mum.

Back in Limpach, we followed our familiar and pleasant pattern: first the sauna with a bit of a rest, then changing for dinner and have another delicious meal. My main course that evening was fried fillet of halibut, very nice.

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.