Steigerwald
It always surprises me to find that one of the nicest places I have ever known, the Steigerwald, was at my doorstep all along.
Again, this is not an area that will garner much ink outside of Bavaria. In fact, most Germans will be hard pressed to tell you where it is. For the most part, it is what the name suggests: a large, wooded area nestled between the three Franconias, or three of the sub-regions of Bavaria: lower, upper, and middle Franconia (or Franken, as the Germans call it). If you were to locate it using cities or townships, I would say you would find it west of Bamberg and Nuremberg, but to the east of Schweinfurt.
The area is the same now as I knew it then: a haven for hiking and biking, a relatively untouched piece of land where time stands still and development occurs only gradually or not at all. This explains the resistance of the locals, including their elected representatives, to have their area converted to official national park status. After all, people reason, more protection means more exclusion, and shouldn't the area continue to be available for all? Here, people equate protection with inaccessibility, meaning their beloved forest will become a jungle if left to its own devices. I'm not so sure about that, although from my experience, I can easily say the area is ravishing, no matter what its status is.
Only a week ago, we rented an apartment for a couple of days just to get some country air. It would take us a little more than an hour along the Autobahn A3 until we would finally reach Ebrach, another charming little town nestled within the Steigerwald area. From there, the roads gradually become smaller while the number of cars decrease. The autobahn turns into a Bundesstraße, or a more minor highway, from there it becomes a Landstraße, or a country road that becomes as narrow and curvy as a roller coaster rail.
Once we are out of Ebrach, we follow a road for six miles through thick forest and rolling hills, which is where I slow down and simply enjoy the ride. We eventually reach the place located in nearby Koppenwind, next to a horse ranch, which is an added bonus, being that the boys are crazy about horses. Chances are you will hear the clopp, clopp, clopp of a horseshoe hitting a turf outside your window rather than the rubber of a tire. The loudest thing I hear is the refrigerator humming in the kitchen.
From here, we hit different towns, like Ebrach, Wiesentheid, even the abbey of Münsterschwarzach, where I went to school. Again, you wouldn't know where to find these places, but they are just as vital to Germany as the cities and the more heralded mountains or medieval fortresses...and usually without the waves of tourists accompanying the added hype.
Bamberg is less than a half hour away, so there's a another wonderful little city that is so emblematic of Germany. More about Bamberg in a later post.
The Steigerwald area is as good a place as any for a weekend hike or bike ride, if you're out to be one with nature, but would rather do without the crowds. Even years later, this place never fails. A solid but unknown tip, if you have time to spare when you're in the area.
Again, this is not an area that will garner much ink outside of Bavaria. In fact, most Germans will be hard pressed to tell you where it is. For the most part, it is what the name suggests: a large, wooded area nestled between the three Franconias, or three of the sub-regions of Bavaria: lower, upper, and middle Franconia (or Franken, as the Germans call it). If you were to locate it using cities or townships, I would say you would find it west of Bamberg and Nuremberg, but to the east of Schweinfurt.
The area is the same now as I knew it then: a haven for hiking and biking, a relatively untouched piece of land where time stands still and development occurs only gradually or not at all. This explains the resistance of the locals, including their elected representatives, to have their area converted to official national park status. After all, people reason, more protection means more exclusion, and shouldn't the area continue to be available for all? Here, people equate protection with inaccessibility, meaning their beloved forest will become a jungle if left to its own devices. I'm not so sure about that, although from my experience, I can easily say the area is ravishing, no matter what its status is.
Only a week ago, we rented an apartment for a couple of days just to get some country air. It would take us a little more than an hour along the Autobahn A3 until we would finally reach Ebrach, another charming little town nestled within the Steigerwald area. From there, the roads gradually become smaller while the number of cars decrease. The autobahn turns into a Bundesstraße, or a more minor highway, from there it becomes a Landstraße, or a country road that becomes as narrow and curvy as a roller coaster rail.
Once we are out of Ebrach, we follow a road for six miles through thick forest and rolling hills, which is where I slow down and simply enjoy the ride. We eventually reach the place located in nearby Koppenwind, next to a horse ranch, which is an added bonus, being that the boys are crazy about horses. Chances are you will hear the clopp, clopp, clopp of a horseshoe hitting a turf outside your window rather than the rubber of a tire. The loudest thing I hear is the refrigerator humming in the kitchen.
From here, we hit different towns, like Ebrach, Wiesentheid, even the abbey of Münsterschwarzach, where I went to school. Again, you wouldn't know where to find these places, but they are just as vital to Germany as the cities and the more heralded mountains or medieval fortresses...and usually without the waves of tourists accompanying the added hype.
Bamberg is less than a half hour away, so there's a another wonderful little city that is so emblematic of Germany. More about Bamberg in a later post.
The Steigerwald area is as good a place as any for a weekend hike or bike ride, if you're out to be one with nature, but would rather do without the crowds. Even years later, this place never fails. A solid but unknown tip, if you have time to spare when you're in the area.
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