Tracing Romans at the Saalburg

Today was the last day of our holiday and since we had been wanting to visit Saalburg all week, this was our chance. On the way out of Oberreifenberg we passed this curiously decorated restaurant.

Saalburg is a former Roman fortress rebuilt by William II at the end of the 19th century. As a result, it has an odd air between old and much older, and you can never be sure how many liberties were taken with the historical accuracy of the reconstruction.

After Saalburg, we rode further downhill into the valley of the Erlenbach.

We followed it to the outskirts of Köppern before turning around and heading uphill again.

Further along the ridge we had excellent views of the quartz mine named after the nearby Saalburg.

Crossing the limes nowadays is luckily much simplified by the absence of any Roman soldiers on watch.

On the way back up to Saalburg we passed one of the numerous Roman foundations scattered througout the forest. This one of a watch tower seems to be in a more likely state of repair given its age.

Back in Oberreifenberg we looked on as a family enjoyed the outdoors and the end of winter.

Source of the Weil and Roman foundations

Today was rather drizzly again, so we decided to have another stroll in the immediate vicinity of Oberreifenberg. This time both of us rode up to Rotes Kreuz, taking the route across Reifenberger Wiesen.

We had some cake at the Gasthaus and then strolled a short way to the source of the river Weil which we had followed on yesterday's ride.

The Weil river was also used by the Romans as a water supply for the nearby limes fortress which secured the border of the empire from barbarian invasions. The foundations of the fortifications have been lovingly, if unconvincingly rebuilt to emphasize their former layout. Clearly recognisable is the former bath house, an obligatory feature of any Roman military installation, with its various rooms and the fire chamber at one end.

Along the valley of the Weil

Today we set out along the cycle path along the Weil river which runs past our holiday flat. After about 4km it reaches Schmitten, home to a building designed by my Mum. To my knowledge it's the only one that was ever built, so we made a small detour to pay it a visit.

Continuing along the river path, we discovered that some people have a rather in-your-face approach to garden decoration.

The path continues through Dorfweil, Brombach, Hunoldstal and along a rather hilly detour to Altweilnau with its castle.

We had hoped to stop at Erbismühle on the other side of Altweilnau for lunch, but it has been turned into a home for refugees. Our next opportunity for food was Landgasthof Ziegelhütte just outside Rod an der Weil. We got there after about 2h20 of cycling, but the kitchen was closed and only soup or bread was available.

After 10 mins of deliberation, we decided to continue on in search of another guest house. But the only other ones we found in Rod an der Weil still appeared to be closed for the winter.

Eventually, we returned to the earlier restaurant and stopped one hour for soup and bread.

We then cycled back essentially following the same route, but taking some shortcuts where it had been too hilly.

Up and down Altkönig

The rain stopped today, so it was time for us to deliver on our promise to walk up to Mount Altkönig. I cycled up to Rotes Kreuz and we started by walking up the toboggan path towards Kleiner Feldberg.

Unfortunately the observatory at the top isn't open to the public, so we descended on the other side and headed towards Fuchstanz again.

We went past the restaurants and walked straight up towards Altkönig. On the way, we enjoyed very nice views of Großer Feldberg and the surrounding Taunus region.

After 2h of walking we arrived at the top of Mount Altkönig.

40 mins later, we arrived at Fuchstanz again and stopped for an hour for lunch before heading back to Rotes Kreuz and on to Oberreifenberg.

Oberreifenberg Castle

We started Good Friday with a cosy breakfast.

Outside was decidedly less cosy, so we decided to just have a look around town today.

The path behind our flat lead up to the castle. On the way, some horses were sharing our fate of being left out in the rain.

The views from the castle were also adversely affected by the precipitation.

If the guide books are anything to go by, Oberreifenberg's claim to fame »rests« on the self-proclaimed longest bench of the universe.

Another attraction that is sadly neglected by guide books are vintage delicatessen shops like this one.

The café where we had our holiday afternoon cake had neither updated their interior nor exterior design for half a century, and consequently never seen the need to update their souvenir postcards either.

Around Großer Feldberg

Today our plan was to follow a route around Großer Feldberg suggested by our hiking book. We agreed to meet at the top of Mount Feldberg. On my way up I was met with unexpected snow on the path which made cycling difficult at first…

…and later impossible, forcing me to carry my bike up the last 50m to the top (880m).

Finally at the top, I was rewarded with the view of the town of Oberreifenberg and its castle.

We started our walk heading east from the radio station that dominates the top of Mount Feldberg.

After a little over 3h we arrived at Bärenhöhle where we stopped for a snack for 20 minutes.

We then walked back to the Fuchstanz pass which took another 100 mins. It was starting to get late and the weather had turned quite wet, so I refused to climb Mount Altkönig this time around even though we passed close by. We resolved to come back for it another day.

We had lunch at one of the two restaurants at Fuchstanz that gave us an idea of how busy with walkers the area can become when it's less cold and wet than today.

From here it was another 1h of walking back up to the top of Großer Feldberg where we arrived at dusk. For the way down I opted for the road to avoid the snowy paths from this morning.