Hello!
Let me show you how the route from the Saarland was like.
We had an extended weekend in May and decided to go to the Saar River region because it was less crowded and we were very curious about what can be discovered in this place. Many of my colleagues from work said that of all the regions in Germany, this would be the only one they had not reached yet, and I had to tell them how beautiful and relaxed everything was.
Saarland is a state of Germany located on the border with France and Luxembourg. It is a relatively small region but with a special atmosphere from everything I have seen so far in Germany.
On Thursday, after finishing my work at the office, we set off directly on the road not to miss a May evening, sitting under the sky full of stars in the light of the lantern and enjoying the peace. That happened, we camped in a quiet campsite mostly with long-term tenants, most of whom lived there, but also had a small area for campers.
I really wanted to take a hike to see the curvature of the Saar River on Friday, which is what happened. The route was quite long but due to the multitude of points of interest I did not feel 16 km as much.
The fact that we found the route on https://www.urlaub.saarland/ and just downloaded a .pdf document on the phone helped us a lot to orient ourselves. The route starts in a small town called Mettlach and on a very steep street you arrive directly into the forest where the hike actually starts. Strictly the route stretches over a length of 15.8 km which we covered in about eight hours with breaks and a not very fast pace.
The degree of difficulty that appears on the platform is difficult but only a few parts of the gravel climb are heavy, which is why adequate footwear is needed. I had just bought a pair of hiking boots and then that day they made their debut and I even felt how much the right shoes with the right socks help, especially in supporting the ankles.
Along the route we saw many types of small games for children (which of course we tried), information panels about nature, points to take a break and admired the view.
The most crowded part of the trail was a high view point from where people can enjoy the beautiful Saar loop without going on the observation tower. This point is very accessible for everyone and so, there is no need to walk kilometers.
The treephone it is a very simple way to show children how fascinating nature is. If you scratch on side of the trunk with a wooden stick or some other object on the other side you can hear it. In this way they explained how the squirrels hear the predator coming.
Games like memory or “name the tree” were always captivating for children.
The information panels and games were very friendly and interesting made for children to understand how important nature is and how to protect it. There were many families with children on the route being a great opportunity to spend time together in nature, exploring and learning through play. At one point we had to take a small ferry to cross to the other side of the Saar River which made the route even more interesting.
The path above the trees was surprisingly beautiful, it is a completely different perspective on nature. I highly recommend you to try especially if you like this type of experience. To enter the wooden path we payed a fee then spend as much time as you want there and at the observation tower. At the entrance, in the counter area, we took a very pleasant break where we ate an ice cream in the small park arranged for visitors. You could buy souvenirs, snacks, but it was also a very nice restaurant.
Towards the end of the path there is an observation tower from the top of which you can see the gorge of the river Saar, a spectacular one. The maximum inclination of the path and the ascent of the tower is a maximum of 6% which makes it accessible to all.
This project is carried out by the architecture office stöger + kölbl architekten gmbh in southern Germany, which also designed other wooden observation towers in the middle of nature. Everything is very carefully designed and very well built and the observation tower offers the most beautiful view over the curvature of the Saar River. Everything is made of wood and this makes the whole construction integrate very well in nature.
After spending too much time at the observation tower (as some would say) but it seemed to me that we could still admire nature from that perspective for another hour, we realized that it was five o’clock and we still had a long way to go which made us step up.
We arrived at the parking lot around eight o’clock and returned to the campsite thinking of a shower, some food and sleeeeep. But no, our neighbors who lived there used to gather in the “yard” of one of them around the fire every night and we were invited. Anyway, their opinion was that we have to live as if that was the last day and then it doesn’t make sense to go to bed early. We managed to go to bed late but we slept extremely well after a really lovely day.
This was the first day spent in the Saarland and convinced us that this place really has a lot to offer and we need to return.
See you in the next post!
Lovingly,
Loredana