For my last week in Germany I found a short trail called the Donauberglandweg which would give me a different river (Danube) and some reasonably high mountains in forest (Swabian Jura), a mini mixture of my two previous walks. I based myself at Mühlheim and Spaichingen so I could walk a few days without my pack in the continuing heatwave.
25 June I started my DBW walk at Beuron station and I was immediately surprised by the scenery: the high limestone cliffs of the Swabian Jura above the town. I came first to a monastery and church, the church was baroque with a nicely painted chapel. I walked by the Danube - couldn't believe how little the river was, only a few metres wide - I thought it would be more imposing by now since I'm a fair way from where I was at the source in the Schwarzwald. I came to a grotto full of religious bling which was a pilgrimage site and began a climb in forest beside more limestone cliffs, a section with big caves.
I emerged by Schloss Bronnen, a rather simple building on top of the highest cliff (which I had seen from Beuron) accessed by a narrow bridge across a void.
Very close by were two amazing lookouts over the cliffs, schloss and the river winding through the valley far below.
Straight ahead in the distance was the tower of Kallenberg castle. I stayed in the forest, crossed a field and then more forest; it was lovely but getting hot. Woodpeckers I couldn't see and other birds.
I passed some other walkers. The forest was steep for a while and the ledge like path was rooty. I got to a lookout towards the schloss and had a chat with a couple doing the walk the other way. Soon after I went to look at the ruins of Kallenberg castle, the keep and some low walls, with a good vantage point over the little Danube, the two quite separate parts of Fridingen and limestone cliffs in the forest, and getting the opposite view I had had from the schloss.
Then I descended to the bike path along the river, went out into farmland and crossed the river. This part of Fridingen was hidden until I reached the top of a small ski slope and could see the town in the valley. Down in the baking hot town I found a bakery and when I sat down I looked across the street and saw a stork guarding its nest on an electricity pole. The town was full of half timbered buildings.
I got the bus to my hotel in Mühlheim. Chanterelles for dinner. 14 kms
26 June I got the bus to Fridingen and went back up the ski slope to the DBW and into forest. There was an early lookout towards Kallenberg ruins but the next two lookouts were far superior, looking out over the valley I walked above yesterday
and the amazing cliffs; sometimes jagged spurs, sometimes thin slices of cliff and that tiny river below.
For a while I crossed meadows before a sharp descent to the second part of Fridingen where I walked along the river.
Back up into forest with a long climb to a closed hilltop cafe at the Kolbinger cave, also closed but from the entrance I could imagine what it was like. The view from there was half crop fields and half forest. I descended passing large Mühlheim cave, I could see inside this one and it was refreshingly cold. Lots of views over the lower part of Mühlheim. The last bit of trail down the open mountainside was nice.
I hadn't expected what a dump the lower town would be: no cafe, nowhere to sit, no shade, and the reason all the hotels were in the upper town which only had two streets but lots of characterful half timbered houses. I wanted to walk on but I would have no way tomorrow of reaching where I left off. I bought some food and walked up to the upper town, crossing the Danube and seeing the rather peculiar schloss with onion domes.
I found some shade by the old gate tower. 15 kms
27 June Now a problem: I can't do the next section of the DBW because tomorrow (Sunday) I wouldn't be able to get to where I would finish today. So I decided to leave the DBW and walk to Tuttlingen; I knew Tuttlingen had places where I could relax out of the sun.
I descended from the upper town and followed a sealed path into forest, spent a while in the forest going up and down as the day heated up. At one stage I came out onto a ridge with a view over the Danube valley (wheat fields) and Mühlheim, then more forest and more views from the ridge. Lots of different butterflies. Just before Tuttlingen I detoured to some castle ruins, a bit of tower and earthworks with a view over the town. Steep descent to the town followed by a climb to Honburg castle remains: very pretty with two towers and connecting walls, partly restored.
From there I went straight into the town centre to recover with ice cream. I took a quick peek at the Danube - a bit slimy - but it was too hot to walk along it so I got the bus back to Mühlheim. 15 kms
28 June I crossed Mühlheim and walked along a valley beside a stream then climbed into pine forest which was much nicer. There were a few lookouts before I reached a plateau: parts forest and parts open grassland with juniper. At the highest point, Alter Berg (980 m), was a small chapel and a great view stretching to the Alps. I passed a large flock of sheep. After that I had a long stretch on a minor road across farmland, very hot work, small chapel by the roadside, and I was glad to go back into forest. I passed the European watershed where rivers start to flow north instead of southeast.
I came out of the forest at Dreifaltigkeitsberg (church, prehistoric earth ramparts, open restaurant) with an amazing view over Spaichingen 350 metres lower down (unfortunately I have to go down there and come back up) and a vast expanse of small hills, towns and fields, mountains on the horizon. I had a schorle. The descent was long, steps at first passing stations of the cross, then quite steep into the town. An hour after I arrived there was thunder, the temperature fell briefly and then the heat returned. 23 kms
29 June I found my own route from Spaichingen up through pine forest to the ridge where I could rejoin the DBW. It was a big climb in lovely quiet pine forest.
Along the ridge there were many lookouts over the towns and farmland around Spaichingen and a few chapels.
Further along I had views over Gosheim to Lemberg mountain.
As I approached a plateau at 1000 metres I heard thunder and soon it was raining, fortunately I could shelter at a covered information point (this point held the record for the most sunshine in any one year ever in Germany).
When the rain and thunder stopped the temperature was much more comfortable and after a nasty descent to the bottom of Lemberg I had a pleasant walk in forest to reach the final climb. This climb was really steep, and at the top (1015 m) I had to go up a high steel tower to get a view; there was a band of cloud obscuring the Swiss Alps but otherwise the 360 view covered a vast area to the Schwarzwald, the Allgäu alps, northwards (it's supposed to be the most extensive view in Germany). I walked down to Gosheim, the heat having returned, and finished at the town hall. 18 kms
Then I took the bus and train to Rottweil and checked out the colourful buildings, towers, churches and 1st c Roman baths ruins.
Total 85 kms
