The Eifel Ladder

The weather is looking perfect and the Eifel Ladder with 60 km and 1700 m in elevation sounds manageable for a weekend getaway.

Trailhead is in Bad Breisig at river Rhine, a few miles south of Remagen, which can comfortably be reached by public transit within 1.5 hours.

The path leads me straight into the hills where the first couple of hundred meters in elevation await. The climb is brutal, I soon need a rest and get it with a lounge chair and a nice view.

On goes the rollercoaster but the scenery keeps me wanting for more even though it is inevitably leading further uphill.

Several shelters and picnic tables can be found alongside. And I often use the opportunity to stop to enjoy the view and re-catch my breath.

Wildlife is not to be spotted but I have some unusual livestock encounters.

I pass the "Rodder Maar" close to the town of Niederzissen. A maar is a tuff cone, a lake created by volcanic eruption followed by fill-up by groundwater. Scientists are however still debating over this case because they haven't found definite proof for its volcanic origin, hence they also consider the option of an impact crater caused by a meteor.

Now it is time to watch out for a camp spot but I need to walk a little further as the area in proximity of the lake is a nature reserve.  So I follow a forest road deeper into the woods and find exactly what I'm looking for, even and dry surface, and shrubs and low branches for privacy.

The noise of bird chirping and squirrels calling wakes me up. So I pack up, leaving no trace behind and find a spectacular location with a view for breakfast. In the far on top of the hill castle Olbrück can be spotted.

I pass another lake created by a groundwater filled former basalt quarry. The trail is being gentle to my tired legs this morning. For now it is an easy up and down. The surface quality is a mix of gravel roads and single trails.

Caused by drought and bark beetle

Looking back on the village Jammelshofen, deep in the valley where I got to refill my water bottles in a hotel. It is the hardest climb so far and straight up on a paved single road with some traffic. 

The the path becomes a single trail again (still steep and uphill though). Out of breath but happy I reach the peak of the Hohe Acht, a former volcano and at 747 m the highest peak of the Eifel mountain range. It is crowned with the Kaiser-Wilhelm tower which offers a spectacular 360° view.

looking towards Nürburg castle

looking back where I came from

Looking where I have to go: Adenau

The walk down to the village of Adenau, where I need to find transportation is nothing to write home about. Roughly 10 kms downhill on forest roads. My feet are not amused. But a highlight awaits for the pilgrim at heart: a way of the cross and a Lourdes grotto from the 19th century.

Adenau is a town of some historic importance as the order of St. John was based here in the Middle Ages. Today it is rather known for its proximity to the Nürburgring, a former Grand Prix race track. 

I am well ahead of schedule which means that I just missed the bus, and the next will arrive in one hour. So I spend my waiting time treating myself to a well deserved hiker meal in the inn at the market "Blaue Ecke" (blue corner). Another great little adventure is coming to an end.

Trailhead in Adenau

Timber frame building from 1630

A well deserved reward for the hungry hiker

The Bridge at Remagen

Very high on our to-do list since we moved here was the nearby Monument to Peace and Freedom, located in the pillars of the former Ludendorff Bridge, better known as: The Bridge at Remagen.

Built during WWI it stood strong until the end of WWII, achieving its fame in March 7th, 1945, when the US army captured the bridge, which had endured a previously planned destruction by the Germans, thus creating the "Miracle of Remagen" and helping end the war.

Bridge pillars and tunnel mouth

The museum is also very popular with American tourists probably due to the famous movie going by the same name. We had recently watched it and were surprised how similar the filming location in former Czechoslovakia looked compared to this area.

By the way, who needs the Italian Riviera if you can have dolce vita on the banks of the Rhine. A footpath along the river leads us to Remagen's old city core. Once founded by the Romans the town was part of the religious power play during the Middle Ages which lead to fame and wealth back then. 

Today the city is just a midsize suburbia with a somewhat nice medieval core, a Roman museum and several churches. 

Apollinaris Church

When the modern Romans a.k.a. Italians arrived in the 60s and 70s during the "German economic miracle", they brought along their excellent Italian cuisine, which we enjoyed right on the promenade by the river. Life is so good!

Ristorante Da Franco