The ponds and the castles — loop from Éguelshardt in the Parc Naturel Régional des Vosges du Nord

The tour started in Etang de Hanau. Then it went to the castle ruins of Waldeck, which you can climb on, but no possibility of the tower. Past the pea rock, unfortunately still closed due to the breeding of falcons and ravens. We continue to Falkenstein Castle, a mighty rock massif with a wonderful panoramic view. A worthwhile climb.

Wonderful journey to the starting point. In the middle of the forest of the Northern Vosges in Erbsenthal we start from the small chapel Notre-Dame-des-Bois. There is still early morning mist on the Erbsenweiher. The sandstone formations typical for this area line the paths. We gain altitude extremely steeply and unpaved. A bit of climbing is necessary for a wonderful view of Château de Waldeck. There is still mist in the valleys. It's a shame that the Waldeck tower is not accessible. But it is fun to climb the ruins. The landscape covered in mist in the morning is magical. Meadow paths lead to the moors of the Bitscher Land. The Hotel Beau Rivage is located on the Étang de Hanau. Apart from the wonderful location on the lake, the beer alone is worth the trip. Absolutely! At the Étang de Lieschbach we naturally used the footbridge. It is a steep climb to the old walls of the Château de Falkenstein. And, not bad, this view of never-ending green forest carpets. On the route there was a small circuit around an undefined rock covered with the remains of a wall. Wonderful, along the wonderfully boggy, sandy Rothenbach we went back to the Erbsenweiher and the small Notre-Dame-des-Bois. PS.: In Bitche I still had enough time for a déjeuner in the Tower of Aromas/La Tour des Saveurs. A fine half cold starter, then veal ravioli filled with mushrooms with morel cream and a white. The gourmet coffee was a particularly positive surprise. PPS.: The highlights of Bitsch would have been nice too.

The inspiration for the last loop came from Nicolet We shortened their route (because of the castles and lizards 😉). Explored again three beautiful castles and some other sights in the Northern Vosges. Now it's enough with Buntsandsteinfelsen 😉 However, we definitely want to come back

Completed the longest tour of this hiking week today. 17 km and almost 500 meters in altitude are no small feat in this terrain. Plus the GPS & internet connection here in the forest of France is horrible 🫣 Who else has a road atlas with them today?? 🤔 The best way to find your way home is to look for the sun or the moss on the trees 🤪 But now to the tour. An incredibly beautiful hike with lots of rocks, a chapel, two castle ruins and three lakes. Nothing more is possible 🤩🤩 The beer of the day: A Hacker Pschorr Animator is a naturally cloudy Doppelbock with a whopping 8.1% vol. Good and tasty 😋 Of course, the people of Munich really hit the spot and rave about it 🫠 A Doppelbock that any beer gourmet can happily tame 🤣🤣

A varied hike through the lonely forests of the Northern Vosges in the Bitcher Land🌳🥀🌲 There is plenty of red sandstone to admire, small lakes, a pretty forest chapel and a few remains of the Maginot Line are also on the route. The elongated Erbsen rock with its huge "peephole" is walked on both sides, but access to the base of the rock is closed until the end of July to protect the birds breeding there. The Étang de Hanau, a large lake with a campsite and hotel, is a bit livelier 😉 On the way there you stroll through light forest and along a beautiful boardwalk with lots of information about fauna and flora, unfortunately only in French. The absolute highlights of the tour are the old walls of Château Waldeck and Château Falkenstein. Both structures are perched on mighty sandstone cliffs and can be accessed to every corner via well-secured ladders and passageways👍 But you do need to bring some time with you, there is a lot to discover and you should enjoy the beautiful view in peace😊 Because my recording equipment failed again😬 I have published the planned tour. However, the information on the altitude cannot be correct. My Garmin watch and my legs think that it was significantly more😂

The nice weather has to be used and so we drove a little further again to do a nice hike out of Rother Vosges. The Falkenstein ruins and the view from above over the cliffs of the Northern Vosges are very beautiful and the ponds and the autumn forest are atmospheric today. It was worth it even if we ran the lap several times

A forested hike in the Northern Vosges with few meters of elevation and moderate gradients, past three castle ruins (although little of the Rothenbourg castle ruins can be seen and the upper castle cannot be reached), three lakes, a forest chapel and a beautiful boardwalk. Despite the few opportunities to look into the distance, this is a beautiful route that never gets boring.

The tour was mostly over wide paths, but there was very little going on, so the wide paths weren't too bad either. Waldeck Castle is currently closed. So I only visited a small part. There is not much to see of the Rothenbourg ruins. I thought Falkenstein Castle was very funny 👍 I also had a great view from there