This weekend’s big walking event is in Fulda, Germany. There will be walks Friday evening in addition to the usual weekend volksmarches. If you want to do the marathon walk Saturday, you must be signed in and ready to go before 7:30 a.m.  when the last bus leaves to take you to the starting point. The start hall for the bus departure for the marathon and the other walks is the German-American sport center on Haimbacherstrasse.

This weekend of walking is co-sponsored by the International Marching League, so you can get your IML books stamped as well as your IVV books. It also means there will be several thousand walkers at these events. As part of the evening activities, there will be a “Bavarian Evening” buffet Friday, as well as a Schnitzel buffet Saturday evening. Cost is eight euros each night.

• This weekend’s walk in Knittlingen is a Stammtisch event for the Stuttgart German-American Wandering Club, so look for their blue club flag at the start hall. The prize is a B-medal, so you might be able to get a leftover garden gnome with a welcome sign for your yard. Start the routes both days between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.

• The volksmarch in Bischofsdhron has a 5-kilometer trail that is stroller friendly. You could opt for longer routes as well. The doors open both days at 7 a.m.

• If you decide to walk in Blegny, Belgium, the start is at the Blegny Mine visitors center. This is at a former coal mine that is now a museum. Your start card will entitle you to a discounted price for the mine tour. 

• Another interesting Belgian walk is in Longvilly, not far from Bastogne. This is one of Bob’s favorite walks. Longvilly is located very close to the Luxembourg border and the trails will sometimes take you into Luxembourg. During WWII’s Battle of the Bulge, there was heavy fighting in the Longvilly area as American units like Task Force Rose and Task Force Harper tried to hold back the oncoming Panzer Lehr Division. As the remnants of these two American units withdrew toward Bastogne, they became entangled with Team Cherry, which was coming out to help them. The resulting traffic jam on the one little road that leads into Longvilly turned into a juicy target for the Panzer Lehr gunners. The fighting was desperate, but it slowed down the German advance, which allowed reinforcements time to get to get set up around Bastogne. Bob loves to get his boots on the ground in this historic area.

• Halloween heads up! The Stuttgart German-American Wandering Club is planning a bus trip to Frankenstein’s Castle Oct. 28. The plan is to do a permanent walk, have lunch and then visit the castle. The cost will be about 40 euros per person. If you are interested in going on this trip, please contact Kathy at: clubpresident@sgawc.org, as soon as possible. For more information about the Stuttgart club, check out its website at www.sgawc.org.

• Don’t forget next week’s walk in Grafenwöhr. We did not receive a flier for this walk, so we can’t list all of the information. In years past, the start has been at the Jugendheim on Kolpingstrasse, which is near the church. The 5-, 10- and 20-kilometer trails start both days at 7 a.m. They usually have a nice prize.
 
• We went on a pair of nice walks last weekend. Saturday we went to Hasselt, Belgium, for the “Spek- en Eierentocht,” otherwise known as the “Bacon and Egg Walk.” The five euro sign-up fee got us our IVV credit as well as a serving of bacon and eggs. Bob was expecting scrambled eggs with bits of chopped bacon in it. What we received was a thin, round serving of eggs, almost like a crepe, with two thick strips of bacon cooked into it. It was really pretty good. On the way out the door, we bought a bag of fresh pears from a vendor.

Sunday found us back in the same vicinity at Wellen, Belgium. When we walked in Wellen last June, we enjoyed visiting the town’s flea market. There was no flea market this time, but we did enjoy the “Appelen- en Perentocht,” or the “Apple and Pears Event.” This walk took us past several of the many apple and pear orchards in the area. There was no parking available in the area around the start hall, so we ended up parking about a kilometer away. Our complaining about having to park so far away ended when we went past an open bakery. We purchased some tasty croissants, which we enjoyed when we got home.

Email volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO AE 09752.

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