February Recap: In quest of cake (or cookies)

I stuck around close to home in order to help my Mom settling into her new surroundings. Thankfully she can count on a supportive family while continuing to process her new reality.

A hike on the Volcanic Panorama Trail (Vulkan-Panorama-Weg)

Priory ruins Buchholz

View on Castle ruin Olbrück

Wolf gorge and caverns

View on Burgbrohl village

A museum train ride with hubby on the "Vulkan-Express" which included catering with mulled wine, pea soup and cake.

The ever present castle ruin Olbrück

The next hike is leading me to one of the highest peaks in the region, with 530+ meters not very impressive but it doesn't get much higher in the area. A nice motivation for this was a hikers' inn on top of the mountain Steinerberg.

Another weekend, another hike: This time starting in Sinzig, a city on the banks of river Rhine. The late start made me walk into the night. (no cake but dinner at home this time)

Another day, another hike, again I am drawn to the hikers' inn on the Steinerberg and found a different trail to get there.

After work I chose a hike along the river Ahr, which turned out to be a bit of a challenge as hiking trails and bridges were still not fully restored or plain missing after the flood that took place in summer 2021, alas the coffee place was closed on Mondays.

no bridge... a.k.a. taking a detour

On the final weekend I encountered what we call "April weather" with temps in the single digits (°C), and a mix of sun, clouds, rain and sleet. The trail had been slicker than Teflon, but I managed without major issues and got rewarded with a local goodie called Printen, some kind of cookie made from gingerbread, and coated with dark chocolate and almonds.

I did put 150 clicks under my belt this month, for this time of the year a new score in my books given that we should have gotten snow and icy temps. But meteorologists say that had been the warmest February since... ever.

January Recap: 100+ kms hiked

January happened so fast and went by so quickly that I had to scroll through my iPhone calendar and pics to jog my memory. Am I getting old?

Let's see... some routine medical checkups for ourselves (all in the clear) and my Mom (alas, dementia confirmed), continued adjustment of her surroundings and providing support and comfort as much as I can.

A short hike in the heathlands. All snow is gone.

An educational hike down historic routes (those Romans again).

Discovering a new trail on the other side of town involving two watch towers. We got snow!

A hike to the "iron rocks" in the Rhinebach forest, a medieval ore mining site.

We got some more snow. Kids loved it, commuters not so much.

More hiking in the snow, visiting castle ruin Saffenburg overlooking the Ahr river valley.

A visit to 'Beethoven City' Bonn, protesting against far right tendencies in politics.

A hike on the woodsman trail (Förstersteig).

A hiking trip around Lake Maria Laach.

100+ kms under my belt already, let's bring on February!