Around the Altenberg Loop Trail

The walk starts at the parking lot 🅿️ at the Heiligenstadt swimming lake. I cross the Leinleiter river over the wooden bridge and walk through Mühlengasse past the Drip House, where weavers and carpenters 🪚 once worked, to the Zolleisen Bridge, built from stone in 1669. I continue past the market square with its beautiful fountain, continuing along the idyllic Leinleiter river to a path that leads me into the Schätzwald forest 🌳. Steadily climbing, I cross the forest and reach beautiful meadow paths 🌱, which offer a magnificent view of Greifenstein Castle 🏰, perched on a hill in the distance. Further uphill, at the edge of the forest on the right, a cozy rest area invites you to take a breather. Once at the top, after about 300 meters across the road, I reach the Pfarrwaldfelsen natural monument 🪨, hidden in the forest to the right. I explore the mystical rock formation and climb a few stone steps to a large cliff, offering a panoramic view of the rugged surroundings. A short time later, I leave the forest and my view expands to include wind turbines 🌬️ on the horizon. Shortly afterward, I enter a wooded area and descend a narrow path into an idyllic valley lined with ponds. After crossing another road, I continue my hike along a high-altitude trail ⛰️ with magnificent views of the valley and wooded slopes. On an easily overlooked path, I wind my way down the mountain through the bushes, cross the Plessenbach stream on a small footbridge, and finally reach Burggrub. Passing the Söldenhaus and the castle, built in the 18th century, I turn onto the panoramic trail. From here, I have a beautiful view of the Altenberg, which I've just circled, and after a few hundred meters, Greifenstein Castle. Back in Heiligenstadt, the Kneipp facility at the bathing lake offers welcome refreshment for tired feet. When the temperature is right, the lake invites you to take a dip in the water.

The day starts with a wonderful sunrise and a decent breakfast in the Naturfreundehaus Veilbronn 🚀 We start at the 🅿️ Hellmuth-Breckner car park at the Heiligenstadt bathing lake at 🌡 +21° Celsius 🌥️ cloudy skies in 🧭 direction Kalteneggolsfeld. We follow the "Green Triangle" marking a little way downstream along the Leinleiter until a narrow path branches off to the right into the Schätzwald. We follow this and from here our marking leads us steadily 📈 uphill. Once we have reached the top, we cross the BA49 county road, continue through the Pfarrholz past the natural monument "Pfarrwaldfelsen". After leaving the forest, we walk a good 300 meters downhill, first turning right, then immediately left again onto a path, down a small ravine into an idyllic valley with small pools and towering rocks on the slopes. ⚠️ "End of the terrain" 😮 our hiking trail 🚷 ends abruptly at the Plessenbach - as good as 🙈 We reach the other bank via a "rotten bridge" or 3 rotten boards, partly under water. Our hiking trail leads through the Plessenbach valley to Burggrub. Shortly before the town sign, we turn left onto the cycle path towards Heiligenstadt i.OFr. We follow the cycle path along the Leinleiter, through Zoggendorf until we reach our 📍 starting point Heiligenstadt i.OFr. again. After such a 🥾🥾 hike, it takes a cool down 🤣 1. A 💦 water treatment in the Kneipp facility Heiligenstadt i.OFr. 2. A cool 🍻 blonde in the 🏨 Hotel Restaurant Heiligenstadter Hof PS: My utmost respect 🎩 for my mum (78) and my dad (83) 🎩 25 kilometres and 440 metres of altitude in 2 days 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼