At the beginning of May, I went for a 5-day hiking trip. This one was relatively easy when it comes to the terrain but I like to see new places whether they’re high or low.

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After sleeping through the first four or so hours of the bus trip, I woke up when we were passing through rolling low hills and woods, and it was right away visible that it’s going to be a windy day – or several days. This wasn’t that bad at the lower portions, but ascending the first hill meant we’d get quite a taste. Especially as we climbed the lookout tower, where standing at the spot against gusts of wind was quite a challenge. The view was decent, though.

Leaving the hill, we could see the fluffy clouds flying at quite a high speed. We took a few turns around the hillside to reach a pond below it.

Then, we continued for a while through the woods until they gave way to fields. There, again, we were a bit more exposed to the wind but, away from the peak, it was refreshing rather than annoying. The trail led me around quite a large set of pastures with probably the largest horse farm I’ve seen so far with maybe two hundred animals across several fenced-off sections of those grassy plains.

The final destination for that day was a town that hosts a museum of curiosities. The location itself, in a tower, is already a curiosity as the displays are spread over 6 floors with relatively small rooms. Models of almost anything made out of almost any material were often the spotlight, such as a chateau made out of chocolate…

…wooden, life-sized motorcycle model…

…or Battleship Bismarck made out of coins.

Given the cramped space, taking photos was challenging.

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The second day was a bit looser with the planning, given that the start and end were at the hotel, which meant a bit more freedom in when to start. I, preferring early starts, set out shortly after breakfast. The trail led around a large reservoir first.

Once I reached the far end, it took me away from it to a town with a chateau that was left to the ravages of time for a long time, but a new owner started to renovate at least some portions with the plan to open it to public tours.

The front side was already in a decent state, but the (probably older) backside was still thoroughly ruined.

Leaving the village led me across the exposed landscape, with the wind being my company. Some of the fields had potatoes planted while others were still being prepared, and I was glad that the wind blew the smell of… fertilizer… away from me. Eventually, I reached woods that were noticeably damaged by the wind, and then it took me towards a valley to get on the other side.

Unfortunately, some genius decided to put on fences to protect the planted tree saplings with no regard for the trail, so I had to improvise in quite a tricky terrain, made even trickier by the fact I expected an easy walk and set off just in sandals.

This tricky part of the trail was, fortunately, very short, and I was soon back above the shallow valley, with the fields to either side and the wind blowing across the landscape, causing the trees to sway noticeably.

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The third day was to be a bit lighter hike. We were dropped off in a nearby town which had some museums and landmarks, but my main goal was the castle ruins above the town. On the way there, I passed some solitary rock formations.

I reached the ruin some 20 minutes before the opening time, so I was glad to have my Kindle with me and took the time to read for a while.

The ruin itself was, in the courtyard area, a bit messy – obviously, some repairs are going on there. The interesting part was the tower – to preserve the state in which the ruin was stabilized but also show the full shape, the missing parts were filled in by metal grates.

Shortly after leaving the ruin, a light rain shower arrived. This one was, fortunately, quite short, so I finished my loop around the town. I then visited one small museum dedicated to an old movie. A good part of our group had a tour of the brewery scheduled at 16:00 with an expected duration of two hours, so the departure was set at 18:15. I had over four hours to that point, so I decided to walk to the hotel, which I expected to take a bit short of three hours.

A moment after I left the town, the rain returned. Again, relatively weak, but much more persistent this time. The trail soon descended to follow a river, which meant not just the rain, but also damp grass, and I soon ended up with soaked pants. At least my rainproof jacket kept me dry in the upper half. I adjusted my pace to keep myself warm but not too fast to risk slipping (given that I knew there was a chance of rain, I took boots instead of sandals) but it wasn’t the best weather for enjoying the scenery.

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The fourth day was, fortunately, free of rain. The trail for that day was, for the most part, following a river valley and connected with the trail I took the day before a short distance before reaching the reserve pictured above.

After the previous day, it was a bit damp, but nothing that would bear trouble. It was a bit sparse on sights, unfortunately.

Here and there, some exposed rocks jutted from the sides of the valley, at some points, chalets were built through the valley, which made me wonder whether those people don’t fear floods at all.

And, because everything seems to be happening a month earlier than usual this year, I also noticed a couple of “broom bushes” already in bloom.

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The fifth day was a shorter hike to give us enough time to get home. We were dropped off near a set of abandoned and flooded quarries, which are a landscape that has its own charm, but most of them had the surroundings quite overgrown already, so there wasn’t an opportunity to take photos that would let me play with reflections a bit. A better view was near the ponds below the town.

The village itself was once a fort around a castle, and in one place, there’s a visible hint where the gate once stood.

From a small hill opposing the village, the view of the castle was quite good. The castle was abandoned long before that, but a series of lightning strikes in the early 1900s or so led to the collapse of the main tower and the roof of the guest hall being destroyed in a fire, giving it the current appearance with only the last corner of the tower still standing.

The courtyard itself is in a decent state, as is the newer portion of the castle. Inside, several panels mention methods used over time to keep at least some warmth in the castles, from wooden siding and woolen tapestries to the first uses of actual heating systems.

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So, that’s my five-day trip from early May. It was another part of my country that I haven’t seen yet. I’ve been seeing more places during the month, but those will get their separate post later. In the meantime, I hope the spring is treating you well.