Hiking in Germany

Fall hike at Partnach Gorge

If there is one thing that we have noticed in Germany, it is that people love to walk- in the neighborhood, to the bakery or grocery store, along farm roads, or in the mountains.  Even if it is raining in February and only 35 degrees, there will still be loads of people out for a stroll.  We have found that Germans love fresh air, and that going outside regularly is an important habit to them.
 

Summer hike at Breitach Gorge

We have been trying to embrace this habit, and we have started going on some short hikes.  Before we had kids Dan and I used to go hiking frequently, and he even asked me to marry him during a hike to a waterfall in  the North Carolina Mountains.

Partnach

Two of our favorite hikes have been at gorges in the Alps.  We have visited the Breitach Gorge in Oberstdorf, and the Partnach Gorge in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  These gorges are so beautiful, I know that my photos cannot do them justice.

Partnach

We have found that our kids are happiest when we have them outside and in nature, where they can go at there own pace and explore.  We have also found that we never seem to have enough snacks along.

Breitach

These photos somehow depict that we had the trails to ourselves, but that is far from reality!  Both trails were absolutely jammed with people.  

Partnach

There are so many interconnecting trails through the Alps that people can choose paths vary from easy wandering paths to week-long mountain treks.  There are also many mountain huts scattered throughout the trails for hikers to overnight.  There are also a lot of mountain top restaurants that people can hike to, eat and have a beer, then continue on their way (often you can also take the easy way by means of a cable car, which suits us a bit better!)

With all the toys we have the kids are
happiest to play with sticks and rocks!

Since our daughter is still only five, we do our best to keep the hikes short.  Hopefully as the kids get older, their endurance will improve and we will be able to explore the trails a bit more.  When we lived in North Carolina, we were in a very flat area with few hiking possibilities, so we hope to capitalize on our mountain experiences while we are here in southern Germany.