Hello everyone, last weekend we started our journey for a new trip. The temperature was showing 14 degrees. It was a bit windy. We had decided to search for the source of the Danube River. After about a 50 km car journey, a pleasant walk was waiting for us.
We visited a small village called Schönwald. This place is located in the state of Baden-Württemberg. A stream flows on the right side and there are houses standing alone. We climbed higher and higher, we had to reach the source of the Danube River. The top of the mountain was still snowy.
We arrived at our parking spot and saw this place. It's wonderful. Parents can come here with their children to breathe fresh air. Beautiful houses have been built and there are playgrounds for children. Everything is new. There is a place where you can make a fire. There are stone benches around it. There was also music playing. The atmosphere was incredible, to say the least.
Oh, there was also a telescope here to look at the stars. It's a fantastic thing for children. You could slide down from the inside. There are slides in three directions. It was very well made. It's a fun place for children.
There was also an area for cats. There was an iron lion in front of it. Very beautiful. I wish I could be a child and play here. Parents can sit and rest here.
We kept moving on. And we reached a church. This is the Saint Anthony church built in 1954. The stained glass windows are beautiful. Everything is clean and made of stone. There were candles and decorations, probably leftovers from last Easter. It's very cold here but spotless. Outside, the weather was quite warm. Finally, spring had come and our spirits were singing, our hearts rejoicing. We continued down the road and went all the way to the end.
The temperature rose to an incredible level, but there was still snow here. How could it be? Really surprising. We walked a bit more, about a kilometer. We didn't know what was waiting for us ahead. We were so close. Sunlight was shining through the trees and birds were singing.
Below, a stream was flowing,and there was snow at every step. We were walking and enjoying everything. But when it started to get dark, we had to pick up the pace because we needed to complete the journey before nightfall. It looked like it might rain at night.
This time, we had to climb a very steep hill. We kept climbing. Because the temperature was rising, we took off our jackets. We continued our way and reached the highest point on our route. As we continued, we started smelling animals. We thought it might be a little dangerous, so we needed to be careful.
While walking through a beautiful forest, we saw some old structures. This was probably an old shelter. There were abandoned buildings and concrete walls, perhaps from wartime. Some walls and roofs were collapsed. It was quite interesting. We were a bit worried because it could be dangerous, but exploring the forest was still enjoyable.
On one hand, we could see the concrete walls and some collapsed sections. Maybe it was a warehouse or something else. There were small entrances within the concrete walls. We saw something that looked like a chimney or ventilation shaft. There were door hinges in some places, but no doors. We couldn't tell what it had been used for since there were no signs to provide information.
Our next stop was another area by the river. This place looked like it was from the past. The surroundings had turned into a pile of concrete,and much time had passed over everything. Still, exploring such places in the forest was interesting.
We discovered another path and here we found a place where people might live or might have lived in the past. There was a small structure like a forest cabin. It was a small restaurant. A very nice place. We reached the top and there was an observation tower. There were stairs leading up, but it was closed. Maybe we'll return one day and climb to the top.
There's a hotel and a restaurant here. It's great to see such a place on top of high mountains. You can rent rooms and explore the surroundings.
In the silence, birds were singing and mountains could be seen around. As we continued, it was wonderful to discover beautiful views and walk under the trees.
We felt entirely alone in this forest. We were singing and enjoying the surrounding silence. Such peace is really rare. It was delightful to walk, sing and hear the birds in such a place. I recommend it to everyone.
During the journey, we explored different types of places. Some were like old castles or shelters. Some were natural forest areas. However, sometimes we encountered challenging paths. The beauty of the forest around us embraced us and we were enjoying it.
We came across a stone kingdom. We wondered what these huge stones were doing here. It felt like a place where giants moved the stones. The stones were round and seemed to fit on top of each other. This was truly an incredible place.
The changes within the forest were remarkable. In one place, there were magnificent forests, while in another, there were massive rock formations. At the same time, we encountered burning or cut trees. Perhaps there had been a fire here and the trees were cut down. The burned trees were still there. New shoots were growing and forest life was continuing. We kept walking on our hike.
We were getting close to our goal. At the end of the road, there was the source of the Danube River. We saw a sign with information in different languages. This road seems to attract many tourists like us.
We saw a small cabin with drink vending machines and some sweet snacks. We were only 100 meters away from the source of the Danube River. We took a short break.
Shortly after, we reached our goal. This was the source of the Danube River. There was a statue of PoseiDanube here, likely considered the guardian of the source. The Danube River is a large and powerful river that flows through many countries.
Rubbing the nose of the statue had likely become a tradition. The statue's nose had turned completely shiny, as so many people had visited here. Tourists often come here. We continued our walk. We saw a stone with information about which cities the Danube River passes through. This river starts in Germany and flows through many countries. The cities include Ulm, Regensburg, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Galati.
It was starting to get dark. It was around 6 pm and it was time to return to our car.
Our last stop was a place called "Circo Maximus." It looked like a small caravan, but the inside was fantastic. It was like a playground with different levels built by children or adults. It had a very interesting concept.
Inside, there were a lot of ropes and bridges and walking on them was quite challenging. Luckily, there were safety measures because it was a very high place. There was a 10-meter-high crossing. Afterward, you had to climb to this high platform. It looked like an interesting and quite challenging experience.
It was a nice walk. This corner of Germany feels like you're in another country. It's very picturesque and wild, reminiscent of Balkan beauty. Along with a small church on top of the mountain, we saw several hotels and restaurants, stumbled upon interesting structures like old war buildings or shelters and discovered historic sites and different points while walking along the river. We added another unforgettable weekend hiking memory to our collection.
