Summer in Spring

Well, it sure felt like Summer out there, even if the blossoms and the almost fluorescent bright green of the sun-light through the new leaves belied the true season. For the last two weeks we've had weather more appropriate to late May than late April: I've read that Germany has just experienced the warmest and also the driest April since records began in 1901. Of course, this should be sending us into a rabid panic - this IS global warming at work folks! - but most people have managed (as people always do) to push the nasty long-term implications from mind and just enjoy the good weather. And to be honest, I was one of them.

Ever since I got back from the trip along the Nagold I had been studying the bike map for a new adventure. I finally settled on a trip through the forests to the north-east of Stuttgart. Thinking myself a bit macho, I wanted something with more hills than the last ride (as pleasant as that was) and I figured that without heading south to the Alb this was the best place to get my "fix". So with my brand-new cycling accessory, the handlebar-mounted map-holder, I set off on Sunday the 22nd on the train to Schwaebisch Hall.

Arriving at my destination around 10am, I spent a bit of time walking around the largish small town (if you get my meaning) of Schwaebisch Hall. Although my sister liked it very much when she visited, she didn't have a very exciting cycling trip to do on the same day, so unlike her I didn't spend very much time there. Maybe I'll come back in Summer when it's too hot to do any cycling and just wander through the streets and along the river.

Striking out west towards the forest I immediately got lost in the less salubrious light-industrial hinterland of Schwaebisch Hall. Blundering about a bit I eventually came to a sign pointing to a village on the map and I was off and away. After a short ride across farmland I eventually came to the Naturpark Schwaebisch-Fraenkischer Wald, essentially a large region of forest. Although the boundary of this forest is rather large, it shouldn't be thought of as a monolithic block of trees: there are some villages scattered throughout it, and pastures or cropland surrounding the villages. The forests in Germany are not anything like national parks in Australia. Yes, there are some restrictions on what visitors can do within the forest, but the forests also serve an important economic role in supporting the lumber industry. On the day I went, however, there were far more recreational users than foresters - manic mountain bikers, sedate strollers and the odd gaggle of nordic walkers.


After a few hours cycling I reached the crest of the hill where the panoramic shot above was taken. The view for lunch was equally lovely, but I'm afraid that my camera's batteries died and so I can't show you any shot. Since most of the time I was in the forest, this trip didn't offer nearly as many scenic opportunities as the others I have been on. The most memorable aspects of the ride - the sedate cycle along the small forest streams, the exhilarating climbs - can't of course be captured on CCDs.

In general I was pleased with how things went, although because of some rather poor choices of route my legs felt like they were going to explode by the time I reached Marbach - I'll have to pay more attention to those pesky contour lines in future. In terms of setting a route and sticking to it with a minimum of fuss, however, this trip was quite a confidence-builder. Indeed, that feeling of content at good navigation is no small pleasure of these weekend outings. Last Saturday I bought the maps to cover the trip to the Bodensee. I've already begun to chart a course to get me to the lake, hopefully in two days. I'll have to start booking accommodation soon, as I plan to be departing Stuttgart in just over two weeks time!