My Day-Trips

Before walking the Westweg in 2016, I spent weekends exploring the Spessart, Odenwald and Taunus. These day walks were my training programme, my equipment test and, occasionally, a fairly direct conversation with my legs about what I was asking them to do.

The links below lead to the full German reports. Here is how the preparation unfolded.

1. Rothenbuch and the Spessart inn

My first walk followed old poaching paths through the Spessart towards the Gasthaus im Hochspessart. The forest has a long association with bandits and Wilhelm Hauff’s tale Das Wirtshaus im Spessart. It was easy to get into the spirit of it: rain was pouring down and I hardly met anyone.

I cannot say whether this particular inn was Hauff’s model. Its setting certainly fitted the story in my imagination, even with a road leading to the door.

The weather gave my clothing a proper test. I enjoyed the deserted forest and finished the roughly thirteen kilometres in just under four hours, rather pleased with this first outing.

2. Around Mespelbrunn Castle

The second walk brought the opposite weather: about 32°C, high humidity and a pack weighing roughly nine kilograms. The route took me around Mespelbrunn Castle, whose moat and woodland setting made a memorable contrast to the hot paths.

This time I covered about twelve kilometres in three and a half hours. Carrying the equipment I intended to use on the Westweg was already paying off: a packing list on a screen says very little about how that same load feels on a warm afternoon.

3. The chapel above Heimbuchenthal

I had planned to combine two routes into a longer walk. Family commitments and heavy traffic cut that plan short, so the third outing became a thirteen-kilometre circuit around Heimbuchenthal.

The little chapel called Herrin der Berge was one of the highlights. According to the local story, Peter Spieler promised to build it after getting into danger at sea while travelling to visit his brother in America. The chapel stands on an open hillside with wide views over the surrounding valleys.

I also stopped at the Waldsee. It looked wonderfully peaceful when I arrived, although a large, rather noisy group soon changed the atmosphere. The views from the higher ground were the part of this walk I remembered most fondly.

4. Finally, the Geißhöhe

On the fourth walk, I finally tackled the longer route I had postponed: roughly twenty-three kilometres via the Geißhöhe. Part of the climb followed the Alter Schulweg, the old path children from the hilltop settlement used to reach school in the valley.

Climbing it in modern walking gear gave me plenty of time to think about those children walking the same way through mud, snow and winter darkness. The path is now a nature trail, but the gradient has lost none of its enthusiasm.

The views from the Geißhöhe rewarded the effort. The descent then made it clear that reaching the top and finishing the walk were two quite different achievements. I covered the route in about five and a half hours, including short stops, and spent the rest of the day walking rather less elegantly.

This was my first outing of more than twenty kilometres. It also helped convince me that I needed a different backpack for the longer days ahead.

5. St Jost’s pilgrimage trail

The next walk took me to Fischbachtal in the Odenwald. St Jost’s pilgrimage trail was long and demanding, with woodland, open views and several interesting places along the way. The marking was particularly good, which made a welcome change from repeatedly reaching for the map.

The forest was still damp from overnight rain when I set out. Later, I reached the Neunkircher Höhe and the old ramparts of the Heuneburg. Standing among those stones was impressive even without knowing exactly what life there had been like.

Lichtenberg Castle provided another fine view before I returned to my starting point. My new backpack also proved a better fit: more of the load sat on my hips, and my shoulders noticed the difference.

6. The Tromm panoramic walk

The walk towards the Tromm offered open views, sculptures beside the path and a chance to try cooking a simple trekking meal during a break. Less helpful markings added a few unintended kilometres. In the end, with those detours and a forty-five-minute lunch stop, I was back after roughly five hours.

The old Ireneturm was closed when I visited in 2016. A new observation tower, the Trommturm, opened in July 2022. Its 192 steps lead to a viewing platform about 34 metres high. The full report includes a link to the current visitor information.

7. The Großer Feldberg in the Taunus

For the last training walk, I went to the Großer Feldberg. The lower paths were busy; higher up, the crowds thinned and the rain arrived. I repeatedly put my waterproofs on, took them off and eventually left them on.

Cloud covered the summit, so the promised panorama remained a promise. More worrying was pain in my left foot. With the Westweg only a week away, I finished this walk hoping that the preparation had not produced a problem just before the main event.

What the training gave me

These walks helped me build stamina, choose a better backpack and trim my kit. They also showed me that a shorter route can be surprisingly demanding — and that good equipment does not do the walking for you.

Continue to the thirteen Westweg stages · Back to the English introduction