 Day Hiking in Germany A Coal Mine Called Nightingale Nightingale or Nachtigall Colliery (“Zeche Nachtigall“) at the foot of the Muttental trail prides itself on being the “cradle of coal mining” in West Germany. Coal was actually dug out of the surrounding hillsides as long as 300 years ago, and in 1839, at the very dawn of the Industrial Age, one of Germany’s first deep mining shafts was sunk here. But as the 19th century went on, more Continue reading A Nightingale in a Coal Mine  While I don’t think it is slanderous to call most, perhaps all, of its cities ugly, Germany’s old industrial heartland of the Ruhrgebiet is still a great place to visit. Mainly for two reasons: - One, the Ruhrgebiet landscapes are nearly always interesting and can, occasionally, be downright idyllic – something that people who only know the Ruhrgebiet from its bad reputation find impossible to believe. - And two, some areas of the local cities have a strangely compelling poetry Continue reading The City of the Future  Easy hiking in Germany Meet the Lake District of the Ruhr A few weeks ago, we travelled all the way to the Mecklenburger Seenplatte in Germany’s “Far East” to experience a near-Scandinavian blend of beauty and bleakness. This week, we discovered that we could have had all of that much closer to “home”. Well, nearly all of that. The Duisburger Seenplatte (Duisburg Lakeland) on the western edge of the Ruhrgebiet, Germany’s old industrial heartland, is much smaller, for one. Around its Continue reading The Lake District of the Ruhr  Hiking in Germany The Coalminers Trail There are two things you should know about the Muttental Mining Trail, east of the Ruhrgebiet, Germany’s old industrial heartland: Firstly, for nearly all of the trail’s 9 km, you would never think that you are in the middle of what is essentially a city of 7 or 8 million people, the fifth largest urban agglomeration in Europe. Even on the few occasions where you leave the dense and deeply lush forests, you will find Continue reading The Coalminers Trail  The Dragon watching over Recklinghausen We crossed this Dragon Bridge when we got to the end of our day hike on the man made mountain of Recklinghausen in the Ruhrgebiet. The bridge, as a matter of fact, was an amusing distraction to the grey industrial landscape that met us on the other side. This is also our featured photo for Nancie’s Budget Traveller Sandbox’s weekly Travel Photo Thursday.
Don’t miss out on the highlights Continue reading The Dragon Bridge over Recklinghausen |
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