Thursday, May 26, 2016

Microadventures: Paddling on the "Altmühl"



The sun is shining outside and I am confined to my apartment with a cold that struck me yesterday. So, on this public holiday, no hiking trip, no sports, no nothing. The stress of the last months is taking its toll, this week I ruined an important experiment by a stupid mistake and now I am feeling sick, all signs that I have to take it a bit more slowly in the next days....so I spent the afternoon on the couch, searching through a few outdoor blogs for some travel inspiration. When you can't be outside in the sun, take yourself on an imaginary adventure trip.

And with my upcoming trip to Colombia in mind, I put on some road tripping music and started surfing from one great travel blog to the next, taking mental notes for further destinations and adventures. Oh, this ever expanding list of places to go....

However, after having traveled half the world through blog posts and reminiscing in memories of past adventures, I also thought I might share a few pictures of a "micoadventure", as one would call it in the outdoor blogosphere today, at the Altmühl in Bavaria. Sometimes it doesn't have to be the Amazon river or the Himalayan mountains, a small stream, a canoe, good company and some sunshine is just the right combination for a perfect sunday afternoon adventure. 

We had a wonderful canoe trip from Sollnhofen to Dollnstein which took us about 3,5 hours. We could leave the canoe in Dollstein and take the train back to Sollnhofen where we enjoyed a hearty meal at Aktiv-Mühle Sollnhofen (where we had also rented the canoe from). 












Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Hiking Daytrips: "Xanderklinge" in the Black Forest



As per suggestion of an outdoor blog (outdoormaedchen.de) we decided to stop over in Calw for this little hiking trip on our way towards Bavaria. We were spoiled with beautiful sunshine and the lushest green mother nature can offer. The Xanderklinge trek leads you through some glowing yellow rape fields and some apple trees into the forest. The Xanderklinge is a small creek with a little stream making its way through the jungle-like vegetation. It is one of the few places in Germany where not everything is neat and tidy but nature reigns. You make your way over rocks and fallen trees and climb up a few slippery rocks with a rope, all the while admiring the lush green that is so abundant around you. 
I am not sure if the pictures do it justice, since I am still struggling with taking pictures in the forest, the light coming in from all angles is still challenging.
So I can only invite you to make a little weekend trip out there yourself and enjoy the beautiful scenery with your own eyes ;-)
For more detailed information on the tour, Martin will share the details on his blog (martin-outdoor.de).