On Saturday, the 25th of July, we went hiking a circuit that starts in Oberharmersbach, a small community at the end of a Black Forest valley. The circuit is called "Vesperweg". Now, "Vesper" is a term I do not know the exact equivalent for in English. It is best described as a cold meal, usually consisting of bread, often buttered, with cheese, maybe ham or other additions. Not exactly a sandwich, but close; more than just a snack, less than a cooked dinner, tea or supper. During a hike or walk, it is often referred to the food one carries along in a rucksack; a packed lunch, maybe.
Anyway, the Vesperweg ("packed lunch path") aims to take you to the nicest spots for whenever you feel like taking a break. Its various stations are marked by fun and unusual seating, such as a 30-m-long stem of a fir tree, placed along the path and carved with many different seats. You will see some of those unusual seats further down.
The entire circuit is about 15 km long, and moves up and down a lot. It was a very warm day, and so the uphill bits were quite a challenge for me, but I enjoyed it all. There were surprisingly few other people about, and the path was well signposted.
This first picture, taken rather soon after leaving the parking lot in the middle of Oberharmersbach, shows a typical farmer's garden:
This funny little house is built into the hill. It is not really a house, nobody lives in it...
...instead, it is a tiny self-service shop for hikers and walkers who can stock up on their Vesper ("packed lunch"), all produced right here on the farm. You can't see the prepared bags in this picture, but there were several ready for pick-up, and you simply leave the money in a tin. We had plenty of food in the rucksack O.K. was carrying, so we didn't buy anything here, but it is good to know that we can, if we want to walk this particular circuit again.
Looking back towards the village:
The rock provides natural cooling; again, it is self-service with a tin for the money, if one wants to buy a bottle of water or apple juice.
This small observatory came as a surprise - the leaflet describing the "Vesperweg" made no mention of it:
This "book of nature" is almost as tall as I am! The pages describe how christmas trees are farmed here and what the farmers do for the environment, what kind of animals live here and so on.
It was actually too hot in the sun to remain on this hammock for long, but I had to at least try it:
The "Schmusehiesli" - literally "tiny cuddle house" - is positioned perfectly to enjoy a romantic sunset. It was too early in the day for that, plus we had still plenty of walking ahead, but we liked the idea:
We stopped for a refreshing shandy at this place:
These chairs do not look special at first, do they:
Look again :-)
It really was an enjoyable day, and contained a lot of what the Black Forest means to me. Back in O.K.'s village, the fountain close to the cottage was a welcome stop for our tired and dusty feet, and the BBQ we had later in the evening was delicious!
By the way, this is my first post using the new blogger interface. I do not find it difficult or confusing in any way; all the buttons that were there before are still there. The only thing that does not seem to be working for me is to change the font; I prefer Trebuchet, and marked all text, changed the font, but it has not really changed. When I go into html, I can see it says "Trebuchet" for the chosen font, but somehow it doesn't show as that font. Any ideas?
What an interesting hike this Vesperveg is. I love all the photographs and can see how extra interesting it all was. The drinks inside the stone was a concept I'd never considered. Clever. Plus you had all the beautiful views that you can find in the Black Forest. It sounds like a delightful weekend.
ReplyDeleteIt was, Kristi. The views may look rather similar from one picture to the next, but the entire walk was very varied and enjoyable.
DeleteSo much to see and enjoy on that hike. I liked the added curiosities they have along the way and the natural beauty is amazing. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome - thank YOU for reading and commenting!
DeleteLooks a fun walk, and a nice day too, with lots of things to do and "snap" to eat on the way.
ReplyDeleteIt was, Tasker (a fun walk and nice day). Yes - "snap" is a fitting term, why didn't I think of that!
DeleteThat little round shop looks like a hobbit house! And it all seems like a very well organized hiking route. How on earth did you get up on that high chair? (and back down!)
ReplyDeleteThe leaflet about the walk says exactly that about the kiosk, Monica - that it looks like a hobbit house :-)
DeleteYes, the circuit is well kept and signposted, one does not really need a map to walk it.
Getting up and down that chair wasn't hard, just involved rather unelegantly hoisting myself up on the side, flat on my tummy to get to the seat. A small handrail for better grip would have been welcome, but there is nothing of the kind.
A lovely walk and so much to see. We have some chairs like that at several garden centres near to us.
ReplyDeleteThat it was, Pat!
DeleteDo people climb up on those chairs and take pictures like we did?
Love thet Book of Bature!
ReplyDeleteIt was huge, and I admit I did only look at a few pages - it would have taken at least an hour to read it all, and we wanted to get on.
DeleteWow! There is so much here to talk about! How much I would have loved to have walked here with you! Now when we are able to go to the Vespers service at the Monastery again, I will think of "vesper" as it means in German! And that house built into the hill, how much do I love that! The rock with the door with the cool drinks inside! The book of nature! You stretched out on that hammock! You smiling in that big chair! And the VIEWS!! One of the photos reminds me of the pink muhly grass which is native here (I want it so much!) Now, yours isn't exactly that but it looks very similar!
ReplyDeleteThe Black Forest, somewhere I would love to visit!
Kay, you'd love it there, I know that.
DeleteBy the way, the term "Vesper" also has the same religious meaning in German as in English. When I was little, I thought "Marienvesper" meant that Mary would be having bread and cheese like I did!
The pale pink grass I photographed looked so soft and beautiful. The Black Forest is by no means just firs!
And didn't you also show us photos of your Mum sitting in a giant chair like that? Or was it you? It seems like it was big red chair, or was your Mum wearing red? See, that is how my mind works these days...but it seems I remember seeing your Mother sitting in a giant chair like that, and it involved the color red. You will have to let me know! :-)
DeleteKay, I believe you mean the picture of me in Ripley castle grounds on this post - I don't think I have one of my Mum sitting in a giant chair, and I don't remember the colour red in that context. Maybe someone else has posted a similar photo on their blog.
DeleteOh my goodness! There are so many wonderful and magical things to appreciate in the post that I am speechless! (that's rare with me!) I love the little Hobbit looking house, the drinks in the rock, and all of it. The views are beautiful as always in the Black Forest. If I lived there I would take this hike frequently! Thank you for sharing these magical pictures!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bonnie! If even just looking at my pictures makes you want to take this hike, it is easy to understand why I love this area so much and can not seem to be getting enough of walking here.
DeleteMarvelous photos. Love the play of patterns over the hills and fields caused by the sun filtering around the clouds. Such a beautiful area. Happy you had such a great walk.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary! Yes, often a sky with some clouds in makes for much more interesting light, and varied views.
DeleteOne of the most packed-with-different-interesting-things posts I've read for a long time. I was fascinated by so many aspects of it. In fact it was a two-mugs-of-coffee post. I imagined getting up on the chair and think I could do that okay. Jumping down with a false knee would be a challenge though. The tall signpost seems to assume that everyone carries binoculars to see the top signs though.
ReplyDeleteA two-mugs-of-coffee-post - now that's a first, I believe! Thank you, Graham!
DeleteI got down from the chair the same way as I got up, only in reverse; first, flat on my tummy with my legs dangling until I found the horizontal beam, then lowered myself entirely on it and stepped to the ground from there. Not my most graciously elegant moment!
I don't know how much of the signost is readable in the picture, but is more for fun than for practical use; it shows distances to places such as Moscow.
Thanks for a great post filled with wonderful pictures and a fine narrative. I enjoyed it very much. If I lived anywhere close I would be off on this walk in a flash, but you are on the other side of the Atlantic, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! Yes, that's a bit far to travel just for a walk, however nice it may be.
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