Heuweiler

Apologies in advance for the poor quality of the photos; I took them with my "Handy" (cell phone).

Having covered southeast Freiburg pretty well on Tuesday, I decided to explore northeast Freiburg today. As usual, I looked at my map before setting off. A path along the train tracks would take me straight out of town. Straight, as in no turns, as in really hard to mess up this time. Seemed pretty safe.

Oh my goodness, this is a gorgeous part of the world. Tree-lined city paths yielded to fertile farmland. The corn was high, the grass was green, and the storks and crows were happy. And lo, off in the distance was scenic Heuweiler, with its pretty church rising on a hill above the farmhouses. How could I resist? I was rewarded for turning east: along the road were stone markers dating from 1792, indicating the then-border between Austria and Baden.

Once in Heuweiler, it was easy to follow the rolling hills back south, with verdant forest on one side, vineyards on the other, and everything the most stunning, radiant green I've ever seen.

The trail signs started mentioning "Ruine Zaehringer Burg," with a symbol that looked like a rook from chess. Castle-like ruins? How could I resist? Instead of heading directly back into town, I followed those tempting signs, uphill and downhill, into woods and out, through farms and villages, past cows, a dalmatian, and some mighty tempting apple, pear, and plum trees (I hadn't brought any water or snacks), until, at last, I came to the top of a hill and found the tower. What remains dates from the 13th century; the rest was destroyed in a battle in 1525.

I arrived home after four hours and 13 miles, and I didn't get lost even once.