In addition to routes that are suitable for day trips, the hiking organizations have also created and marked long-distance hiking trails that are divided into several daily stages. A special category of these routes are pilgrimage routes.
The motivation to hike is subject to considerable fluctuations, both among different age groups and generations, as well as in terms of the type of hiking and the trend over time. While it was still a natural professional necessity with the journeyman trade, combined with experience, adventure and personal maturation, the generation of the youth movement and the wandering bird celebrated hiking in songs and undertakings as emancipation from the encrusted adult world, as an escape from the desolate cities’ romantic discovery of nature and as an indispensable part of their special youth culture.
A study commissioned by the fitness magazine Fit for Fun from the Cologne Institute for Prevention and Aftercare (IPN) came to the conclusion that the energy expenditure when hiking is comparable to that when jogging. For example, the test subjects consumed as much food energy during a 2-hour hike in the lowlands as when jogging for 75 minutes. The gentle way is also said to be advantageous because the automatic pace adjustment rarely causes physical overstrain.
We were on our way back from Braunlage to Clausthal-Zellerfeld in the early afternoon when the wonderful sunshine, despite the forecast for rain, forced us to stop at the Oderteich car park.
A next Harz hiking destination was quickly found with the so-called World Forest, as well as other destinations in the Bad Grund area, so we also had the Albert Tower, the Hübichenstein and the quarry of the limestone mining area in mind.
Once again we were on a hiking tour in the Harz mountains, had already visited the Hübichenstein near Bad Grund and now wanted to go to the Harz hiking pin stamping point 129 to add another stamp to our hiking pass.
Today we have decided to visit the ruins of the Königsburg and the Königshütter waterfall in order, as announced, to fill our hiking pass with more stamps for the Harzer hiking pin.
As already reported in our article on the Harzer hiking needles, we had found increasing interest in the targeted hike to the multi-layered stamping points to the special highlights of the Harz hiking trails and thus also decided to equip ourselves with hiking passes and to supplement them with the various stamps.
The Hanskuehnenburg is a managed mountain hut in the western Harz Mountains, near the well-known winter sports resort of Braunlage.
The idea came spontaneously in the morning when research on the internet made us aware that the Romans were also active on the Main during their campaign against the Marcomanni.
"Rennsteig" hiking trail in the Thuringian Forest, which is now marked with a distinctive "R", has been used for many centuries by people with a wide variety of interests, whose motives could hardly be more different.
Once you have arrived in the northern part of Germany, a hearty wadden sea area hike should of course not be missed by Brita and Gerda during the travel program with alaturka.
At the beginning of our hike into the picturesque Feldaist valley, which we have planned for today, the Bruckmühle in Pregarten is our chosen starting point and is now home to active cultural and artistic workers as well as the region’s associations.
For the non-Austrian, a little introductory explanation: The term “Mühlviertel” is used to describe a landscape in Austria that represents one of the four historical “quarters” of Upper Austria. It is that part of Upper Austria that lies north of the Danube and belongs to the granite and gneiss highlands.
After visiting the state school in Pforta and getting to know one of it´s “master students”, Friedrich Gottlieb Kloppstock (we will report after the introduction), we also wanted to hike the circular hiking trail to the Bismarck Tower, which begins at the school and which leads to a spring named with writers name.
And once again, we had arranged to meet with Wolfgang Dorn and his tour group, this time in the small town Yavu near Kas to visit the ancient city Kyaneai in Lycia.
Near the beautiful Taurus Mountains, covered with wild macchia, about 110 miles to the north of Antalya, you will find the still-dreamy, beautiful village of Kaş, situated on a scenic slope. A place to forget all your cares!
As part of our two day journey, we took off in Korkuteli direction after Termessos to reach our next target; Gömbe near Uyluk Mountain (elv.3024 m.). Many of the Turks residing along the shore relocate to mountain sides known as “uplands” in order to escape from the summer heat.
Being a small town of Turkey, Ürgüp has a population of 15.912, located on east side of Nevşehir, which is large province of the region, with a distance of 20 km and has an easy transportation path thanks to highway no 767.
A new book has been published on Via Egnatia, the 2000 year old Roman road to Istanbul, former Constantinopel.
On the way back from Konya we stopped at a wonderful place in the mountains near Akseki, about 50 kilometres from Manavgat. There was a small green area with a wonderful view of the surrounding mountains. We were having a drink and a nice piece of cake when suddenly some backpackers appeared.
The eastern part of Turkey offers a huge variety to mountain hikers and climbers, from the tropical landscape of the Ponti Mountains along the Black Sea coast to the year-long snow-covered peak of Mount Ararat and the area of Hakkari in the far south-east. In the tradition of the Armenian people Mount Ararat is the centre of the universe and the Armenian people are the children of the mountain.
Perge, today one of the best preserved, most visited ancient sites on Turkey’s sun-soaked Mediterranean shore, in the A.D. first century was a living, booming Roman city, its colonnaded streets thronging with prosperous citizens, its massive theater crammed with spectators for shows and gladiatorial displays, its opulent bathhouses humming with the tittle-tattle of wealthy merchants.