Today Vanessa, Miles, and I packed up food and snacks and drove to the Urach Waterfall. They had been here before, but that was on a Sunday and the place had been packed. Today there were hardly any people around. The walk to the falls was on a fairly short and level path. It followed along the clear stream that came downstream of the waterfall. The water was very clear and quite cold.
The waterfall was beautiful and had strange mossy overhangs on it.
There was a short and steeper hike to the very top of the falls that we did next. Common in Germany, there was a food hut at the top with drinks, including coffee and beer, food, ice cream, and a couple of souvenir mugs and magnets.
After stopping to eat the food we brought, we walked a tiny further along the stream upriver of the waterfall to find its source. The water appeared to come out of a jumble of rocks not far from where the waterfall began.
On the drive in and again from the top of the falls, we saw something like a castle sitting atop an adjacent hilltop. A Google search informed us that this was the ruins of an 11th-century castle.
Down in the parking lot, Vanessa and I looked at a few maps and figured out the path to it began basically from where we were. Miles, Vanessa, and I started the hike up toward it. The path was gently sloping up for a while and then got very steep.
Toward the top the ruins of a castle suddenly appeared. We wandered around. It was amazing. There were signs with the history of the castle, so that was really neat. Parts were closed off because a company specializing in castle building was working on certain sections. My favorite part was the window seats that were still intact. Also, I loved the views and the diverse and colorful wildflowers growing everywhere.
There were a few different paths available back to the parking lot. We selected a different one than the one we ascended. It was a gravel road and steep enough that walking on the gravel was slippery and a bit treacherous. At a crossroads, we moved onto a walking and biking path that was easier for walking. Several mountain bikers were riding down an even smaller path near us.
Back at the house I made dinner and tried a sparkling pink/red German wine and also a Prosecco from Italy.
After a shower and working on the blog, I headed to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment