Tag: eifel

Waterfall experience

The Waterfall Experience route is a beautiful hike near the sleepy town of Bad Bertrich in the Eifel region of Germany. In the past this must have been a spectacular spa, but today many shops and hotels have seen better days.

The hike, however, shines. There are steep hills to climp to get to the Bismarck tower, which looks like it is wearing Bismarck’s characteristic Pickelhaube. The hike also leads to the highest waterfall in the Eifel – still not too high or impressive, but an adventure to get to. After walking past a cave system that was in use in the Stone Age, the highlight of the hike beckons: a spring that is used as a beer cooler, with a cache for a voluntary contribution. It’s almost utopian!

Two chapels

Today we visited a forest- and a field chapel. In the forest we found the chapel Dekke Tönnis – Fat Tony – for St Anthony. For fear of wildfires from candles the entrance was barred. Even more bars made the statue of the saint impossible to photograph. But it was a good place for a picknick!

After hiking through the beautiful forest we went to the Bruder Klaus Feldkapelle – Brother Klaus Field Chapel – a chapel built in 2007 in a very modern style. Parking is a kilometer from the chapel, so it’s a brief pilgrimage to get there. From the outside, the building looks a bit like a climbing wall. Inside, there is room for two people, it’s a really intimate space with big marbles in the walls that let the light in. It’s beautiful and has a very special feeling.

We were awed by the destruction in Bad Münstereifel, still visible after the floods two years ago, but driving through the Ahr valley, we saw that it was much worse there. It’s unimaginable what happened there. We ended the day with Flammkuchen in Bad Ahrweiler, where the marketplace was restored.