Although it is wet and cold on these days in December, the urge to exercise prevails, especially since there are other destinations to be hiked.
The origins of the Weimar onion market probably go back to the Middle Ages; it was first mentioned on October 4, 1653 as the "cattle and Zippel market".
Weimar had once again inspired us to a visit: Weimar in summer: Moving, pulsating and extremely lively. The glory of the past flirts with fresh culture.
In the meantime we had completed our tour of the imposing, roofed and ancient wooden bridge across the White Elster, climbed up to the church and then walked along the river back to the camp of the bicycle camping trailers, who had now gathered around the campfire with grilled sausage and cool drinks.
Our friend Jörg invited us to a caravan or trailer meeting for bicycles (we will report later) in Gera for the first time in Germany and probably also around the world, a region that we had hardly explored so far.
The Wartburg, located high above the city of Eisenach in Thuringia, is connected to the history of Germany like hardly any other castle in Germany.
176 meters long, just 85 centimeters wide and 25 meters above the Bärental: the still "young" suspension rope bridge across the Bärental is a real attraction in the Hohe Schrecke Mountain Range.
Once again for reasons of direct regional exploration in Sangerhausen on the way, we liked to go to the Rosarium in Sangerhausen, the well-known and worldwide unique rose garden complex (as we had already reported on this).
Several times we had already noticed street signs to the moated castle in the Thuringian town of Heldrungen, which we had not yet followed.
After our so much impressing tour through the former Buchenwald concentration camp close to the city entry of the independent city of Weimar, which had proved to be much more time-consuming than planned, we first needed to talk, so that we were able to exchange first impressions and ideas.
In difficult times when contact with other people should be completely avoided, a hike through the forest is one of the few ways to escape the confinement of the city, the home and the conflicts within the family cramped in the house.
Slowly it gets wintry, even though it sometimes seems that the trees getting bare so quick, how nice was the slow browning of the leaves, especially when the sun brought the variety of colors into the trees.
Again and again we come across some ancient trade routes as part of our project work, which today can be traced back to the plans and systems of our forefathers in the form of highways, railway routes or bridge systems.
It is already a monumental impression that opens up before your eyes when you walk across the Krämerbrücke through the shopping street towards the cathedral and the huge market square then surprisingly opens up, in the background the imposing cathedral building and the Severi Church.
Our host, the campground "Unter den Jenzig" had mentioned some places of interest in the area, which we also wanted to visit together with our friend Detlef, who arrived to visit us from Halle.
Rudolstadt is situated in the valley of the river Saale, which runs from the south to the east passing the "Saaleknie". The city was first documented in 776 and since 1326 has got the city law.
Large parts of the historical city center were destroyed by American air raids at the end of the Second World War, especially from February to April 1945, later the city fell victim to the socialist reconstruction plans, so that - especially around the new Eichplatz - very few historic buildings are to be found in the city center.
After crossing the wooden covered bridge in Kunitz, we had taken the path into the village center, then walked up the path to the Gleißberg, which first leads us along some wine fields.
In our article about the porcelain centre of Kahla, we had already mentioned the many hiking trails and cycle paths that connect different destinations in beautiful surroundings, so we had chosen the way up to the Leuchtenburg with a visit to the local museum as our destination of that day.
After the first talks about places of interest in the area, the owner of the campsite "Unter den Jenzig" had also referred to the small town of Kahla, which, in addition to the porcelain manufactory, also had a still completely preserved, medieval city wall as well as some buildings from the time.