Westwards

Discover Risco Caido and Gran Canaria's holy mountains

A search for the pre-Hispanic culture on the Island of Gran Canaria (UNESCO)

In 2019 the fourth site on the Canary Islands was awarded the status of a UNESCO world heritage site: Risco Caido and the sacred mountains of Gran Canaria.

Prior to the arrival of Spanish conquerors in the 15^th century, Gran Canaria was the most populated of the Canary Islands, and therefore there are more pre-Hispanic remains than on any other island. All of the sites are situated in the mountainous interior. As the coastal areas are very dry and thus not very suitable for agriculture, and also do not offer much protection against enemies, the pre-Hispanic people preferred the cliffs and ravines in the interior with their fertile volcanic soil. The UNESCO inscription includes cave-dwellings, granaries, temples and burial sites of the native Canarians (antiguos canarios) of Gran Canaria.

This pre-Hispanic, native population had lived on the Canary Islands for about 2000 years, much of this isolated from the world and even neighbouring islands. They seem to have evolved from North African Berbers who arrived in the Phoenician and Roman times. Although the settlers brought knowledge about astronomy, agriculture and irrigation from the Mediterranean, they were not navigators or seafarers themselves and were cut off when the Roman Empire collapsed. The ancient Canarians thus had to cope with the limited possibilities and materials on the island. They were organized in tribes, lived together in villages and built round houses, but they also used natural and artificial caves for settling, rituals and burials.

Many more than just the UNESCO-inscribed prehistoric caves dot the island, such as Cuatro Cuevas

The core of the UNESCO inscription is Risco Caido, a cave structure with more than 20 caves, possibly used as an astronomical observatory by the aboriginal people. First, we make our way up into the mountains to the picturesque village of Artenara, nearly 1300 m above sea level. The newly inscribed caves must be somewhere near Artenara, but we are not sure where exactly and how they are accessible. We bring hiking boots and hope for some insights at the new visitor centre in Artenara.

These symbols were perhaps family crests

On exhibit in the dramatically lit exposition are some pots and necklaces as well as some farming tools, but most of the artefacts found in Risco Caido are in the museum in the capital, Las Palmas, we learn. On several screens videos show the reconstructed life of the people back in the pre-Hispanic time. The Highlight of the exhibition is a facsimile of the most stunning cave in Risco Caido, which was probably used for fertility cults or astronomical calculations. There are holes in the cave wall through which on certain days the sunlight would filter on the opposite walls, lighting up painted symbols. Archaeologists are still researching the purpose of these light beams and symbols. Unfortunately, the caves themselves are currently closed it turns out.

The Roque Nublo, the "mountain in the clouds" is the most impressive rock of the holy formations on Gran Canaria and visible from quite afar. It looks like a finger pointing into the sky on top of a mountain. Geologically, it is the core of a volcano – while the volcano itself eroded over the years, the solidified lava in the shaft remained in this peculiar shape. Below the Roque Nublo stretches an extensive plateau which the native Canarians used for rituals.

A fairly easy hiking path leads from the nearby parking area up to the plateau. We opt for a longer walk around the Roque Nublo with fantastic views from different angels, before we finally hike up to the plateau.  For sport climbers it is possible to climb to the top of Roque Nublo, otherwise you have to be content with the still impressive view from below the rock needle.

Another distinctive rock formation, the Roque Bentayga, was also used for seasonal ceremonies. Again, there is a good visitor centre, set up along with the UNESCO inscription, that explains how the archaeologists assume the ritual acts may have been conducted. Below the looming rocks the inhabitants had created a plateau with several pits and grooves probably used for sacrificing animals or plants.

On the hiking trail around Bentayga, the Cuevas del Rey (king's caves) are currently accessible

There are a lot of man-made caves in the mountain – some of them with traces of paint – but only a few are accessible to the public on a longer hike around the mountain.

Just as impressive – although not officially part of the UNESCO site – was a visit to the museum in Galdar, where we had a fantastic guided tour. The centrepiece is a vast roofed area with the partly excavated remains of a pre-Hispanic settlement. Some of the living quarters are reconstructed and give a particularly good impression of how the living conditions might have been. One cave with painted triangles on the walls is separately protected behind glass, but visitors can enter briefly.

When the Spanish arrived on Gran Canaria in the 15^th century there was an estimated population of 15000 people living on the island. After the conquest there were only 200 left. The inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage list is an effort to recognize the cultural past of the islands.

Should you visit Risco Caido and the adjacent UNESCO sites?

To be honest, of the UNESCO sites we have visited this was one of the most difficult sites to connect with. The indigenous people had no scripture and most things known about them today were written down by the Spanish conquerors.  Archaeologists still do not know much about the use of the sites and caves and the explanations on site (and in the visitor centres) are accordingly vague. On the other hand, if you like hiking, most of the visits can be combined with good tours in the area. You really need a car to get to most of the sites.

If you liked the post about Risco Caido or are planning a visit to the Canary Islands you might also like our post about the UNESCO-listed town of San Cristobal de la Laguna on Tenerife. Tenerife even has a second UNESCO site, Mt. Teide, at 3718 m the highest mountain in Spain.

NB: Our visit to Gran Canaria was not sponsored in any way and all expenses have been paid by ourselves.

Desert hikes and sunny beaches on the Canary island of Fuerteventura

Two weeks packed with fun on beautiful Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura literally means “strong winds” and that was indeed the prevalent feature of the island when we visited Fuerteventura for 12 days in December. With a mild and dry climate and not far off the Moroccan coast, the second-largest of the Canary Islands is a popular winter destination for European tourists.

We arrive in the South of the Island by Fred Olsen ferry from Gran Canaria and walk over to the nearby town of Morro Jable – a strip of colourful houses built into a dry wadi not so long ago. A balmy breeze wafts through the alleys and we have some cortados and a cheese sandwich at one of the cafés. Arabic is spoken at the neighbouring tables and Morro Jable definitely has a North African vibe to it.

Nothing in the desert landscape behind us would recommend this spot for a settlement, were it not for the broad white sand beach beginning here and stretching for many kilometres along the coast of the Jandía Peninsula. The island bus we take soon passes rows of hotel blocks set back from the beach, hundreds of hollow squares, balcony upon balcony of two deck chairs and drawn curtains. Most of the larger hotels have shut down due to the Corona pandemic, but a number of tourists are staying in the smaller hotels or bungalow parks and making dots on the largely empty beach.

Gran Tarajal, the tiny harbour town where we have rented a flat, attracts very few tourists. Some foreigners are staying on sailing boats in the yacht harbour. The sand on the small beach is a dark grey, and the sea promenade including the complete harbour front and bay allows for a maximum jogging route of perhaps 5 kilometres, but there is a small stretch of cafés and restaurants at the seafront.

Fuerteventura clearly is a beach and water sports destination. We aren’t beach people, and with winter storms, red flags, and high waves the water doesn’t look enticing anyway. Some people walk or run along the beach, a teddy bear is wearing a unicorn sweater to keep warm (sitting in the dunes), and only two older men shuffle waist-deep into the water. Over the next days we manage to do some sightseeing and hiking instead.

We climb Pico Zarza, the island’s highest mountain – at 807 metres not more than a longish desert walk, which will definitely make it among our top-1000 island hikes. And we cross the island at its smallest point at the Isthmus of La Pared.

Several museums on Fuerteventura introduce the local culture and traditions. The Salinas de Carmen today house a museum, where the old salt production pools are restored and exhibits and videos explain the procedure of sea salt making: Without even using pumps, the local salt entrepreneurs coaxed high waves onto the coastland and then drained the water into shallow pools. The saltwater was then gradually simmered down by the tropical sun until salt crystals could be scraped out from the flat basins.

In the cheese museum in Antigua, we learn about the production of the local Majorero goat cheese for which the island is famous. In fact, the locals predominantly subsisted on this cheese in former centuries because Fuerteventura is not suited to agriculture at all and goats were the only animals that could survive on the dry land. Cheese prices and cheese export was often highly regulated to prevent mass starvation.

The mill museum in Tiscamanita, one of the most pleasant rural villages on Fuerteventura according to our guide book, is closed for undisclosed reasons, but at least the restored, white-washed windmill looks nice on the pictures. The village however seems pretty average to us at best.

Betancuria, which even was the island’s capital for a brief period in the 15th century, is another one of those traditional villages advertised to tourists for atmosphere. The church, where a bishop was once meant to reside (but never actually arrived), and about 5 nearby houses are photogenic enough. They all house tourist cafés and souvenir shops, and we notice the broad pedestrian walkways and routes intended to keep hundreds of bus tourists away from the village’s narrow roads. In non-Corona times, the place must be brimming with bus excursions from the beaches in the south. We walk around the decaying old monastery just outside the village and continue to the Barranco del Malpaso, a peaceful canyon where a dam and a failed reservoir project left a seasonal lake and some burgeoning greenery.

For the last few days, we move to Corralejo in the North of Fuerteventura, a thriving tourist town with shopping malls, surf shops, restaurants, and beach bars. Most of them are open and we encounter the highest number of tourists we have seen on the Canary Islands so far this year.

A mountain bike ride along the north coast leads us past all the popular surfer beaches, a walk along the protected Corralejo Dunes to the eastern beaches where the kite surfers congregate. The nearby island of Los Lobos is uninhabited, but a small ferryboat brings day tourists for hiking, surfing or lounging on the beach. We spend a whole very relaxing day walking all over the small island.

Meanwhile we are back on the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria for more climbing and hiking.

 

Note: This trip is not sponsored in any way – all costs are paid by ourselves.

 

Happy New Year 2021 – Year of the Ox

We wish you a happy and healthy New Year!

As always, we conclude the previous year with a review of our travels. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic we had to cancel almost all our private travel plans and most of our work-related travel ceased, too. But overall we did not so bad in 2020, travel-wise.

January: Austria and Norway

In January we went to Eastern Tyrol for a cold, snow-filled week of winter sports. We don't do downhill-skiing, but we took the snow shoes and rented cross-country skis. At the end of January we went to Alta in Norway together with Isa’s mother to see the Northern Lights – and we did see them! Other Norwegian winter activities included reindeer-sledding and dog-sledding.

February: Eritrea and United Arab Emirates

Getting the Eritrean visa was a bit complicated (although the embassy staff in Berlin were lovely) and with the news about Corona we worried about not being able to travel there. In fact, Eritrea stopped issuing visas as one of the first countries worldwide, but they still let travellers with valid visas into the country. We spent 12 days there and travelled up and down Eritrea. On the way back we had a one night stopover in Dubai which we visited for the first time.

March: Japan and Germany

Natascha went to Japan for work in March with one of the last tour groups that started from Germany before the Lockdown. As flights were not suspended altogether between Japan and Germany and most sightseeing spots remained open in Japan, she could finish the tour as planned and came back to Berlin at the end of March.

Japan without any tourists had felt eerily empty; but of course the darkened Berlin airport during the German lockdown was even more so. Although it was not required at that time, Natascha self-isolated for two weeks. Isa had already packed her luggage for almost three months of Japan when her trip got cancelled at the last moment.

March to May: Germany

Like everyone else, we stayed put at home, venturing out to the supermarket once a week. From April on we did smaller excursions and cycling trips within the city. In May, when the hotels were allowed to open again, we went to Cologne to celebrate the 82nd birthday of Isa’s mother. Being at a restaurant, sitting outside, for the first time after months was amazing!

June/July: Germany and Luxembourg

With our new bicycles we combined two longer cycling trips along the rivers Spree and Oder in Germany. In Luxembourg we did a fabulous 5-day trek, the Mullerthal Trail.
While we were hiking in Luxemburg the country was (again) declared a Corona high-risk area by the German government and we had to quarantine after our return, although we had only been in the woods meeting almost no-one. A negative PCR-test after a few days released us early from the quarantine.

And finally, we spent five days on the water, paddling along the river Peene in Northern Germany.

August/September: Austria, Germany, and Denmark

In August we went to Austria for two weeks of outdoor climbing and hiking. We especially enjoyed the Gesäuse area and the beautiful city of Graz. After some time in Germany, we had planned to go on another cycling trip to France, but could not find a way to take the bicycles to the Atlantic coast.

So instead we cycled to and through Denmark for almost three weeks, exploring curious cliffs, royal hunting grounds, and the cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus on bike. On the way back to Berlin we spent a few days on the island of Sylt.

October: Germany

We stayed in Berlin for the better part of October. Isa visited her mother in Cologne for a few days and we went hiking for four days along the Romantic Road from Tauberbischofsheim to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany.

November/ December: Germany and Spain

With Germany in light-lockdown again, we decided to go to the island of Gran Canaria in Spain for some climbing and since the German lock-down got stricter we have extended our stay here twice.

Right now we try not to make plans for 2021 and take the new year step by step – or rather, month by month. We will write a new guidebook about the Swiss Wallis region and hope that research there will be possible in summer. We also have bought tickets for the Tokyo Olympics in good faith. And we think there is a good chance that we will do some tour guiding in Japan later this year!

How was your year affected by Covid-19? Did you get to travel or did you stay at home? Let us know in the comments!

 

A guided tour through the Bauhaus Design Memorial in Bernau (UNESCO)

The modernist Workers' Union school was built into a forest outside of Berlin: The glass front of the Bauhaus-constructed refectory looks out onto sparse woods and a pond. In addition to the large windows with an intricate opening system, the room has large skylights fitted with special heating pipes to prevent fogging from the hot food. When we visit, the room is not in use and the chairs are put up on the tables.

Constructed in 1930 for the General Confederation of German Trade Unions (ADGB), the modernist school buildings underwent an eventful history.

The German trade union federation was founded in 1919 and soon started to offer short courses for labour union cadres. For the construction of a proper training facility, the City of Bernau near Berlin offered a convenient parcel of land, in the forest and with a small lake, but not too far from the capital.

The ADGB, keen to build a showcase piece of modern architecture, asked several Bauhaus-affiliated architects for submissions. Eventually a joint design by the two Swiss architects, Hans Wittwer and second Bauhaus director Hannes Meyer, was selected. The assignment came with a huge budget that left room for experiments and purposeful details.

The large windows and skylights in the refectory contrast with the auditorium – which has only one large window high up on the Northern wall. Nothing should disturb the concentration during presentations, and the room was even fitted with equipment for sound film screenings, which were still new and rare.

The tables in the refectory seat ten people each, and on each floor of the four dormitory buildings connected to the common rooms, there was space for ten students. The participants of the training sessions were organised in teams of ten, who would eat, study and have fun together, play football matches against the other teams. Over the weeks spent at the school, they should form a community they would – ideally – never forget. The Bauhaus architects made sure that this concept of sworn friendship was also reflected and enforced in the design of the building itself. All the houses were connected to each other, hidden from the world by woodland, and the union workers who shared this experience could be expected to become personally united, too.

Only a few years later the German trade unions were forbidden and the Nazi party took over the school facilities. And for all their dislike of the Bauhaus style and philosophy, they recognised the advantages for team building and used the former trade union school as a Nazi cadre school and for Nazi paramilitary organisations. As did, after the war, the authorities of the German Democratic Republic – who disliked both Bauhaus and Nazis. Nevertheless, they reactivated the school buildings as a trade union training facility for the East German Confederation of Trade Unions.

After the reunification of Germany in 1990 the school was closed and the building left to decay until in 2001 the German Chamber of Skilled Crafts (Handwerkskammer) got the lease on the premises. They soon started a redevelopment project of the original Bauhaus design that is still going on. Today the buildings are again used as a boarding school for students of vocational training courses – not too far off the original purpose and the priorities of the architects.

In 2017 the ADGB / Trade Union school in Bernau was added to the UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau.

At the end of the 2-hour guided tour we also get to see the gymnasium with its original wall bars from the 1930's and a huge window front. The spirit of the Bauhaus design is all around us and we think that the students who have the opportunity to stay here are quite lucky. 

Is the Bauhaus Trade Union school in Bernau worth a visit?

If you are interested in modern architecture the Bauhaus Trade Union school in Bernau is a hidden gem. The building is still in use for vocational trainings and not open to the public, but there are guided tours in German and English available (more information: www.bauhaus-denkmal-bernau.de/en).

Our guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. She had worked at the school during the period of the German Democratic Republic and hence could spice her talk with a lot of personal anecdotes.

If you are interested in the design and architecture of Bauhaus you might also want to check out our blog post about the Bauhaus architecture in the German town of Dessau, which also belongs to the UNESCO site.

https://www.westwards.de/westwards/2015/04/bauhaus.html

Note: We were not sponsored in any way for this post. However we got a free guided tour with our German press card.

The royal par force hunting landscapes of Denmark (UNESCO)

Red wooden gates mark the entrance to the Jaegersborg Dyrehave, the deer park just north of Copenhagen. On this rare warm and sunny summer day, the broad, paved entrance road is full of people walking or cycling.

We turn into Mathildesti lane, a sandy, but wide and rather straight lane heading north into the centre of the park. In the 17^th century, Mathildesti lane was one of the major axes for riders to cross the huge deer park. Today there is still a smaller riding lane somewhere in the distance, but we don't see any horse riders nor many other people until we reach the small palace in the centre of the enormous park. What we do see is different kinds of deer, such as red and fallow deer, roaming through the woods in groups, grazing or eyeing curiously the activities at the golf course below the palace. Even today there are still hundreds of deer living in this royal deer park and former hunting ground.

They were brought here in the 17^th century when the Danish King Frederik III decided to create a hunting ground perfectly suited to his new favourite pastime, the par force hunt.

This type of persistence hunting became fashionable among absolutist monarchs because it required more people, more animals and more space than any other activity and thus made for a great display of power. During the par force hunt, hunters on horseback select a prey from a group of deer and pursue it, aided by several packs of hunting dogs with their handlers. The stag would run for hours in any direction until it eventually stopped, completely exhausted. Usually, the monarch or another eminent member of the hunting party “was given the honour” to kill the deer with a long knife, "demonstrating his power and courage", as the visitor leaflet explains.

As vegetarians we are not exactly partial to hunting anyway, but the "courage" in killing a worn-out animal leaves us particularly puzzled. As for the power – being cheered for that feat in the first place was clearly a display of power, as were the various groups of helpers involved, plus hundreds of classy hunting dogs, expensive horses, and any number of deer to choose from. And then, of course, to host a par force hunt you needed huge areas of lightly wooded land not used for agriculture – the stag might run for 20 or 30 km, with the hunters and officials, cheerleaders, and spectators following. Ideally, there should be straight, wide alleys for all those riders, and intersections offering good views for the spectators. Jaegersborg Dyrehave offers all that, on a lavish 11 square kilometres.

From the Hermitage Hunting Lodge (more a palace than a lodge) built to house the banquets during the royal hunt, we follow the suggested cycling route through the forest area with beautiful old oak trees. Along the way we pass a few more of those red entrance gates and some lakes. At a parkour training facility in the woods we try this more modern sporting activity – fun, but we need a lot more training …

Returning through the park, we see again several herds of deer before we arrive at the Bakken Fairground. Dating back to 1583, the Bakken is presumably the world's oldest amusement park, but apart from a wooden roller coaster operating since 1932, the rides are modern standard attractions and not particularly exciting. Copenhageners come to the Bakken to eat crêpes, churros, ice cream and burgers. Deer meat is not a speciality, although it's popular in Denmark. In fact, it wasn't a speciality at the royal par force hunting events, either: Apparently, the meat of the stressed and exhausted prey was so unpalatable that it was divided among the hounds.

Is Jaegersborg Dyrehave worth a visit?

It is definitely not a must-see if you have only a few days in Copenhagen. We were in the city for the third time already and decided for the excursion because we are always interested in visiting UNESCO sites. We fully enjoyed our cycling day in Dyrehave and learned a lot about par force hunting – basically everything we know about par force hunting.

If you go you should definitely visit on a sunny day and if possible have at least 4 to 5 hours of time to spend. A bicycle gives you much more freedom to explore the park, as it is quite large. In summer you can also take a guided tour through the Hermitage Lodge (it was already too late in the year when we visited in early September).

Klampenborg petrol station by Arne Jacobsen is worth a brief detour

How to get to Jaegersborg Dyrehave by public transport

From Copenhagen you can go by local train to Klampenborg. From the station it is an easy walk to the Dyrehave area; you can also take bicycles into the local trains. There is also a Bike rental in Klampenborg. We cycled directly from Copenhagen city, which took about 1.5 hours one way.

Stevns Klint (Stevns Cliff) and the Danish Dinosaurs

Why did the dinosaurs have to die? They disappeared a long time ago, so nobody knows for sure and it's still being researched, but a little-known coastal stretch in Denmark might have something to do with it. The coastal cliffs of Stevns Klint provided the researchers with a clue what kind of catastrophe to search for.

Our excursion to Stevns Klint was a coincidence due to corona-induced changes of travel plans (without Corona we should have been in Japan on a guidebook research trip) rather than a specific interest in dinosaur related sites.

On the chalk cliffs of Møns Klint

So instead we took the bicycles for a ride through Denmark and first spent a day at Møns Klint, an impressive white cliff formation looking out onto the Baltic Sea. The Møns cliffs are part of the same chalk formation as the White Cliffs of Rügen in Germany, and a popular tourist attraction with a visitor centre and a number of walkways and hiking courses.

It is not the cliffs of Møns Klint, however, that are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but the smaller ones at Stevns Klint a bit further north. We stop in the area on our way to Copenhagen for another full day of exploring.

The chalk cliffs of Stevns Klint lead all the way along the eastern coast of the peninsula. We had read about a 22 km hiking path, the Trampesti trail, starting in Rødvig and following the coast line. However, the bad weather and the lack of bus connections (3 per day) let us decide against the hiking. With our bicycles, we are more flexible to visit the major sights and walk some short stretches along the cliffs, with the option to quit if the rain gets too bad.

The narrow beach below the cliffs is covered in large pebbles and small rocks. In some places, the sea laps onto the cliffs and we have to step over some larger rocks to avoid getting wet feet. If all the 22 km of the Trampesti trail are like this, we wonder, that would make it a rather strenuous day hike. Nevertheless, hiking along the seashore is pleasant enough and thanks to the particularly rainy weather forecast we are all alone with the famous cliffs. About 3or 4 m of chalk rise above us, interspersed with narrow bands of shiny black flintstone. Above that, we can make out a thin line that seems to be grey.

And these few centimetres' worth of grey clay is the reason for Stevns Klint's geological importance for the dinosaur scientists. That layer of grey clay dates back 66 million years – to the time of the extinction of the dinosaurs – and although it exists everywhere on earth, it is rarely so approachable. The grey layer is the remains of huge ash clouds that must have covered the earth for decades (blocking the light and causing a cold period). And it contains enormous amounts of iridium, an element rarely present on earth, but often in meteorites. From these findings, scientists could figure out that there must have been a huge meteorite (or perhaps several) hitting the earth at the time of the dinosaurs, causing earthquakes, tsunamis and volcano eruptions and eventually leading to the death of about half the species then living on earth. The meteorite's crater, Chicxulub, was eventually found in Yucatan, Mexico – it has a diameter of about 180 km.

So, is the grey band we see the ash that killed the dinosaurs? But didn't the leaflets say that you don't get close enough to see it except from a boat?

Only when we take a trail leading up to the top of the cliffs in order to see the remains of an old limestone quarry, we realise that the Trampesti trail had been signpost above the cliffs all along: A wide strolling path over the meadows and fields – only by walking the “unofficial” route below we got to see the clay band.

Following that trail a little further, we come across a Cold War fortress that was mostly built underground and intended to control the ship traffic in the Øresund. The NATO fortress was in use until the year 2000. It is possible to get inside the bunkers with a guided tour (which we did not take).

Later, we cycle a bit further to visit a cute lighthouse and the old church of Højerup which stands so near the cliff that in 1928 the choir room broke off and fell into the sea. Thank god, the locals had seen it coming and had already built a new church farther inland.

We were luckier that day: the rain didn't get as bad as expected (and as most days during our Denmark trip). On the contrary, the sun came out and we could even take off the raingear for a while.

Is Stevns Klint worth a visit?

The cliffs at Møns Klint are definitely the more impressive and more visited ones. If you are not specifically collecting UNESCO sites or are very much interested in dinosaur stuff (or the Cold War), you may want to skip the area. However it was nice enough to spend some time there.

How to get to Stevns Klint by public transport

The nearest town is Rødvig, which is easily reaches by bus or train. From there you can walk or take a bus (not very frequent) or do a combination of both. Another option to explore the area is to rent a bicyle – it is possible to drop it off at a different place.

Note: We were not sponsored on this trip in any way; we paid and organised everything by ourselves.

Graz – the most beautiful city in Austria

After two weeks of hiking and climbing in Styria's impressive Alpine mountains, we decide to switch bare rock and high altitudes for some urban atmosphere in the province's capital city of Graz. Graz is not only a convenient traffic hub for our return journey to Berlin but also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage for its well-preserved Renaissance Old Town.

From the tramway window, we look out onto pleasant outdoor seating areas, where people are already leisurely enjoying wine and aperitifs. The scene has a distinct Southern European flair – Graz is, after all, not so far from Italy. We get off a few stops later at the main square (Hauptplatz), the centre of the Old Town of Graz. Apart from tramways, busses and taxis, no motorised transport is allowed in the whole Old Town area. The square is surrounded by 500 year-old houses with intricately decorated facades, Renaissance arcades and high, red-tiled roofs. Cobbled streets lead away onto the castle hill or into the mediaeval maze of alleys around the Franciscan church.

We wander some streets, marvelling at the beautiful houses and interior courtyards and inspecting some restaurant menus: mostly pizza and pasta. Eventually we chance upon a traditional tavern hidden in a pleasant courtyard that serves typical Styrian food: salads made with pumpkin seed oil, and mushrooms cooked "goulash style" with spicy peppers and pretzel-dumplings.

The next day we explore the UNESCO city more vigorously, armed with guidebooks, city maps and leaflets. We take in the "west bank" with the "friendly alien" art museum, the church of the Friars Minor, and the modern, purpose-built island in the river. Next we follow the main arteries of the Old Town from the town hall to the provincial parliament – a veritable Renaissance palace showing the burgher's affluence and pride, and also their protestant self-righteousness versus the old Catholic elites.

Most alleys of the Old Town lead up the slopes of the small Castle Hill (Schlossberg), so we need some pumpkin seed ice cream (very delicious) for stamina before we can continue our sightseeing. Several palaces of private citizens or of the Teutonic Knights can only be visited from outside, but there's also a magnificent cathedral and the old (lower) castle which today houses administrative offices. Nevertheless, the castle holds a tourist attraction – an unusual "double spiral" staircase, in gothic sandstone design, which you can get dizzy walking up and down.

We are about to call it a day and go for some wine tasting, but then decide to walk all the way up to the castle hill anyway because it's such a fine day. Some of the 16^th century fortifications as well as a clock and a bell tower are still standing, but mainly, the steep hill in the town centre is nowadays used as a park and recreational area. Both a cable car and an elevator inside the rock lead to the top (about 100 m above town), making the restaurants and beer gardens a popular after-work hangout. And the view over the historical red-tiled roofs of Graz is quite beautiful.

We are glad that we already went up the castle hill when the next day's weather forecast warns of summer thunderstorms later in the day. But for the morning, we pack our climbing gear and head out to Weinzödl, Graz's local sports climbing crag, for a few easy routes. On a pleasant summer day, it is well-visited by local climbers and a nice non-touristy thing to do.

That afternoon we head to the Eggenberg Palace on the outskirts of Graz.

The Eggenberg family were local noblemen who gained influence and wealth from the late middle ages and built their residence near Graz. In the early 17^th century, Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg had a new and representative palace built, which his grandson Johan Seyfried later decorated in splendid Baroque style. Various members of the Eggenberg family were displayed in the ceiling frescoes of the "hall of planets" – each in the pose of a Roman god or goddess symbolising one of the seven planets known at that time (including sun and moon). Luckily for posterity, the family died out soon after, and the palace remained unused for centuries – when the province of Styria bought the property, it was even possible to restore a number of rooms with their original furniture. Later, the conservators even discovered panels of a Japanese byôbu screen with a rare illustration of Hideyoshi's Osaka castle. Unfortunately no pictures inside the castle!

After an extensive and interesting guided tour through the palace, we realise that no thunderstorm has built up, after all, and that it's a beautiful late-afternoon, just about fitting for that wine tasting in the Old Town …

We have visited most of the bigger cities in Austria, like Vienna, Linz, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt – but Graz definitely is the most picturesque of them.

Graz Practicalities

We stayed at the A&O Hostel behind the station, which was convenient for us as we had a lot of luggage, but it is about 2 km away from the Old Town. A clean small double room was 44 € per night (without breakfast). The Old Town of Graz is small enough to walk – but a day ticket for public transport (including the Schlossberg cable car) is only 5.50 €. 2 days were enough to see the main sights and get a feel of the city.

Hiking the Mullerthal Trail in Luxemburg during Corona times

Luxembourg is such a small country that you are tempted to think it consists only of the City of Luxembourg. But of course there's also countryside, and in the countryside there is a long-distance hiking trail we have set our eyes on. "You walk in several circles around the small town of Echternach, in a somewhat mountainous area with lots of rolling fields.” Sounds strange? But it's supposed to be a beautiful trail with impressive rock formations.

This being Luxembourg, the trail is also well-organised with a lot of information online, including details on currently closed tracks and suggestions for walking stages using (free!) public transport. A perfect first excursion into a foreign country after the long Corona restrictions – we think. Equipped with hiking gear, tent and walking sticks we board a train for Luxembourg, but because of rail repairs and a replacement bus service we arrive in the area only in the afternoon. So we decide to get off the bus a little before the starting point in Echternach and skip the first part of today's hike. A wise decision, as the trail turns out more strenuous than we had anticipated, with rather a lot of ups and downs. That night on the campsite on the river Sûre we meet a young Belgian couple who have already strained their knees from their hurried descent into Born.

The next day the trail leaves the frontier river and returns through solemn hills and woods to Echternach, where we can buy some food and sip a glass of white wine in a café on the market place. So far, the trail is well-routed on foot-paths and through reasonably pleasant landscape and beech forests. The altitude differences are enough to make it good training for the mountains later this year – but it's not exactly exciting and would in normal, non-Corona years be second choice.

On day three, however, we start on the next circle, called Round 2 on the map, encompassing two day hikes from Echternach to Mullerthal and back (and then there's Round 3 beyond Mullerthal). This is the heart of the Mullerthal trail, we realise: For a whole day, we walk in mossy canyons, on craggy mountain slopes and among large fairy-tale boulders. After an already strenuous but exciting walk to Scheidgen, a sign points along the road and through wheat fields to Consdorf. Strait over the plateau it would be only 3 km to our goal for today, but we dip down into those enchanted canyons, follow streams and rock formations in weird zigzags. Never mind, the signposting is excellent and a couple of kilometres before reaching Consdorf the number of visitors visibly increases. The leaflets had promised us extraordinary rock formations and narrow caves in this area and warned to take a flashlight.

"Hey, does the official trail nowadays skip the exciting narrow passages? Like, for safety reasons?" When a small and promising-looking path leads upwards into the rocks, we follow it instead of the wider promenade down by the stream. Yes, that's the path to the caves, an oncoming party tells us. And indeed, the rock passages are impressive. You can walk on top of some rock turrets, and it's all very picturesque. But flashlights? Another fellow hiker assures us that she has been to really dark caves before, they must be somewhere around here. Finally we spot a crack in the rock wall with a path leading in and steeply down. There is no name painted on it (as there was sometimes on other famous rocks in the area), but it looks right.

Our headlamps would have needed new batteries – the cave is really quite dark and very narrow. With a backpack, it is impossible to turn round and sometimes we get slightly stuck between the walls and in the corners. After a few turns, we emerge onto a different path and now see the sign, "Kuelscheier," and an instruction to walk only in one direction (not the one we had taken). On our way to Consdorf we then pass another two nearly as narrow rock passages, “Deiwepëtz” and “Rittergang”.

This type of canyon with fabulous rock formations continues until a small waterfall near Mullerthal, where we turn into Round 3 the next morning. The crowds disperse, and the path turns less inspiring. In fact, the stage between Mullerthal and Larochette is the most boring of the whole trail although the village of Larochette is quite cute with a lively market square, French-looking houses and a towering castle ruin. There's even a few cafés, otherwise a rarity on the trail, and a food truck where we have sugary crepes.

From there towards Beaufort we pass some pleasant forests and many raspberry bushes, but apart from the small castle of Beaufort there isn't much excitement on this stage, either.

The canyons and mossy rocks continue again between Beaufort and Mullerthal – along the small streams of Haupeschbach and Halerbaach, we meet nobody, and even the road is far away. The old mill of Mullerthal is a tourist destination with restaurant, but we hope for a nice café in Berdorf. Now back on the second half of Round 2, we leave the crowds again and walk through steep boulders and enchanted rock walls. There are several restaurants in Berdorf, but they smell of canteen food and don't have outdoor seating – so we skip the break and eat the last few cookies on a bench. By the time we reach the so-called wolves' gorge near Echternach, we are ready to battle the wolves for food …

During our hike on the Mullerthal trail, Luxembourg has just been placed on Germany's Covid-19 travel warning list, due to a rising number of cases. So instead of our planned extra day in Luxembourg City at the end of the trip, we decide to use that day to walk the remaining stretch of the first hiking day, from Echternach to Rosport.

Back in Berlin, we had to alert the health authorities about our trip and to quarantine for 14 days. Luckily we could get out of this earlier after a negative Covid-19 test.

How to walk the Mullerthal Trail

The trail revolves around Echternach, which is accessible by bus from Wasserbillig (on the train line between Luxembourg City and Trier in Germany). All public transport in Luxembourg is free.

The normal schedule for 112 km of rather mountainous hiking is 6 full days. If you don't want to carry more than a day pack, it is easy to walk all stages as day trips from one base (most conveniently Echternach or Mullerthal), but there are hotels and pensions as well as many campsites along the way. However, there are few supermarkets or shops in the villages, and drinking water is also rarely available during the day. The trail is perfectly maintained with regard to signposting, rest areas and the condition of the trail.

More infos:

https://www.mullerthal-trail.lu/en

Note: We paid for the whole trip by ourselves and are not sponsored in any way to write this post.

Five days of kayaking on the German Amazonas – the Peene River

“Westerly winds and some showers, too cool for early July”. The weather forecast for our week of paddling along the Peene River in Northern Germany was not too favourable. But it means we will be paddling downriver, as Heiko at the kayak rental explains: The river's surface elevation in Verchen, at the start of our tour, is just 24 cm higher than at its end about 80 km away in Anklam. "The Peene is the only river in Europe that actually changes its direction with easterly winds and flows away from the sea." Local PR agents call the river Peene the "Amazonas of the North" – this may be a bit of an exaggeration, but large parts of the river are a nature sanctuary and we expect to see a lot of animals.

The only inn along the first stage of the five-day tour is closed today, so we make do with a snack in Verchen and start off from the banks of Lake Kummerow. After a few hundred meters across the lake, we turn into the River Peene, pass a few wooden decks and quays and then float between high reeds. Paddling is easy, with a light wind blowing steadily from behind us. Although there are two other kayakers not so far from us, within minutes of leaving the lake behind we feel enclosed in a muted world. Just the lapping and slapping of the paddles in the water and the water on the boat, the chirping of small birds somewhere in the reed. Getting into the rhythm of paddling takes a while, but it is very calming and relaxing. During the afternoon, the wind freshens up, however, and although it is just speeding us up from behind we are glad when we reach the rest area at Trittelwitz.

The rest area is very rustic and basic with a pit toilet and a muddy bathing spot where local boys come by to swim. A pair of cranes land across the river while we pitch our tent, and later we also take a refreshing dip between algae and water lilies.

The sign says "no lifeguard"

The next day we come through Demmin, one of several small towns we will pass during the next days. We forego the walk around town in favour of a visit to the local bakery that several people had already recommended (and rightly so). Afterwards, the cloudy weather turns into rain, but with a rain jacket and splashguard it is rather cozy, not least because the slow-flowing river is not cooler than an average swimming pool. Today, there are even fewer day trippers on small motorboats than usually (larger boats are forbidden), and apart from a handful of fellow kayakers on the "Amazonas" tour, we are alone with ducks and herons. High above us, we can spot eagles occasionally.

The whole river valley of the Peene has been turned into a nature reserve after Germany's unification in 1990, following decades of drainage and land reclamation in the marshy wetlands. Every now and again, we pass the entrance to dead-end canals, where peat was cut until the 20^th century.

On the third day, nearly everyone on the 5-day kayak trip (which is generally timed for Monday to Friday by the rental companies) is heading for the campsite at Gützkow because there are a few other places where you are allowed to disembark, but nowhere to camp. But although we end up meeting nearly two dozen fellow paddlers in the evening, the day on the river is quite charming and quiet, passing along forests and at eye-level with swans and cormorants. We don't see any beavers, however, although the river is supposed to be swarming with them. "There aren't so many animals at all," complains a Saxonian paddler, "we had expected much more wildlife".

Wildlife, in our experience, has a knack for turning up in our tent. And indeed the next morning, when we pull back the splash guards from the heap in our camp entrance, a high shriek pierces the air. A small bat had selected that pile as a resting place.

The last two paddling stages are not very long, and we arrive in Stolpe in the early afternoon. Having pitched the tent we have a fabulous piece of cake and good coffee on the terrace of the Stolper Fährkrug, the best (and most expensive) restaurant along the route, and then decide to paddle downriver to Menzlin and back for an excursion. The small harbour of Menzlin was a trading post of Vikings in the 9^th century, and boat-shaped stone settings still mark Viking graves.

On the final day there is enough time in the morning to visit the nature reserve's visitor centre in Stolpe before paddling the last couple of kilometres to Anklam, where we are picked up at noon. And just before the town at the mouth of the Peene River we finally see a beaver swimming next to us. And then a kingfisher, too.

What you need to know to paddle the Peene River:

This tour was from Verchen to Anklam, about 80 km. You could go on behind Anklam for another day or so, before the river gets really wide and more unpredictable. However the rental companies don't do pick-ups there.

We rented the kayak for five days from Abenteuer Peenetal in Verchen. The rental fee included kayak, paddles, life vest, splash guards and packsacks as well as the pick-up in Anklam. The kayak was fine, although not high-end, and equipped with a steering rudder.

Even for absolute beginners the Peene should be fine to paddle, as there are no currents or eddies at all. If you happen to have headwind the kayaking might be more exhausting, but five days seem plenty of time for the total distance, and the rental companies would also pick you up along the route.

We camped all four nights and brought our own camping gear. Due to Corona the showers on the campsites were closed, but we could have a bath in the river now and then. There are also some B&Bs and hotels along the river where you could stay, but you would have to make a reservation at those.

Note: We paid for the kayak rental by ourselves and are not sponsored in any way for this article.

“The city in your ears” - an app-guided walk through Berlin

A small queue is forming outside the Berlin TV Tower while we plug in our earphones to listen to the tour guide.  "Tall and lean, tall and lean … very clean," high children's voices are singing the praise of the futuristic TV Tower that was a showpiece of socialist architecture when it was built in 1969. At 365 m height (then – it has since grown a little), it was among the highest towers in the world, and the shiny metal ball holding the revolving tower café at a height of about 200 m was visible from all over Berlin. "But the first thing proud socialist East Berliners would see when they stepped out of the elevator was –  West Berlin!," the audio guide comments. Back then, the Berlin Wall divided the city and many citizens of East Berlin dreamed of fleeing to the capitalist West.

Since we are stuck in Berlin by the Corona Virus-related travel restrictions, we have decided to explore our city. The city guide app "Stadt im Ohr" (The city in your ears) offers a guided tour through Berlin Mitte by smartphone and thus with total social distancing: As in a classical city walk, two tour guides explain the history and tell stories about the various sights. At each of the ten sightseeing spots along the walk, you can listen to a 5-minute podcast with a picture, and we are guided along the route by an interactive map as well as directions in the text.

From the TV Tower we follow the walk to St. Mary's church, one of the oldest structures in Germany's capital. In the middle ages, the original townships of Berlin and Kölln covered only this part next to the Spree River and today's Museum Island. Nowadays, the old town centre is a surprisingly empty inner city area of squares and parks, dominated by the huge Neptune Fountain.

Marx and Engels dominate the small park where the old Berlin was

Across the River Spree we move on to the – newly rebuilt but not quite finished – City Palace which replaces the old socialist Palace of the Republic, which in turn replaced the original palace of the Prussian kings. The new building is modelled on the Prussian palace but will house a number of museums: The northern part of the Spree island is already home to some of Berlin's most important museums, including the Pergamon Museum and the "New Museum", which is full of very old things, among them the famous bust of Nefertiti.

Walking over to the "Old Museum" (which isn't really that much older than the "New Museum"), we cross the Prussian Kings' Lustgarten or "pleasure garden". Originally it was the kitchen garden of the palace, we learn, and was later turned into a kind of botanical garden where tomatoes and potatoes were planted in Prussia for the first time – for their decorative flowers, not their nutritious fruits.

The walk ends near the fashionable area of Hackesche Höfe, where numerous inter-connected backyards form a maze of cafés, shops, and cultural spaces. These days with the Corona restrictions, the atmosphere is rather subdued, but it is still a nice area to have some coffee and muse over our city walk.

Digital vs. personal - Is the digitally guided tour an alternative?

Yes and no. The Stadt im Ohr tour worked quite well with two different, clearly spoken voices, dialogues and some music. On the other hand we can also keep on track and stay motivated with a guidebook text we read to each other. Also we hadn't taken into account the wind (often strong in Berlin) which our earphones weren't up to – but then of course the noise will be even more of a problem on a real guided tour when there are more than a handful of participants. A real on-site guide would also be able to answer questions or to adjust to previous knowledge of the participants – again only in a sufficiently small group. Our audio guide, for instance, explained what constitutes a gothic church...

An advantage of the podcast definitely was that you can replay parts of it or take time out for shopping or a break in between.

Overall, using a city guide app may be a good option especially if you like to independently experience the city   but don't like reading a lot. So far, most of the Stadt im Ohr guides are only available in German – we did the Mitte tour in German but there's an English version, too: https://www.stadt-im-ohr.de/en/our-tours/mitte-schritte/

We might try another one of their walks in future. The app is free, but each walk costs 9.80 €. It was easy to download although it did not work the first time we tried it ... In our opinion the walks are a good deal to explore Berlin.

Note: We paid for the download and were not sponsored in any way to write this article.