Nordic Walking and Mushroom Stalking

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Despite my recently twisted ankle still feeling a bit dodgy, I couldn't resist the offer to try out Nordic walking today. The weather was lovely and a walk in the local woodland sounded very appealing.

My father drove us up to a tower perched on one of the highest hilltops and the view from the top was awesome. The air was so clear that we could see for miles and miles, right across Lake Titisee, the biggest tourist attraction in this region, and across as far as the French border. We then picked up our walking poles and with some scepticism about the whole Nordic walking versus normal hiking, headed deep into the forest.

If you've ever wondered why they call it the Black Forest, it isn't because the trees are black as such but that there are so many big pine trees lining the hilly landscape that it looks quite dark, even when the sun is shining. Inside the forest, it's even darker. I for one would not like to get lost in the Black Forest because not only is it dark but every tree is virtually identical!

We walked from the tower all the way down to the big lake which was only about 6 or 7 kilometres. On the way, we spotted some wild pffiferlinge growing alongside our trail and Glynn and Franziska spent a good half hour rummaging through the undergrowth to pick as many of the little yellow prized mushrooms as possible. Pfifferlinge cost quite a lot of money to buy fresh so it was a real find. I should have helped out too but the hundreds of ants swarming about the forest floor ensured I kept to the path our of their evil reach!

Arriving on the shores of the lake, we rewarded ourselves with some heavenly icecream and watched contentedly as big groups of Chinese and Japanese tourists paraded by. This is a very popular spot for bus tours of Germany and it's not hard to see why - it really is a beautiful area and I count myself very lucky to have been born here :-)

To round off a good day, we were delighted to learn that my sister was going to be discharged from hospital on the proviso she takes it easy at home. She should be back at work tomorrow but has been signed off sick for the week which for us is good because it means we get to spend more time with her than expected. Thanks for the get well soon message, Mary. Everyone here says hi!

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Photos

Tree toppers
Let´s see if we look this good after our hike through the forest!

Bear´s eye view
The ever fearless Jish braves the windy conditions atop of the lookout tower to treat us to a wonderful view of Titisee lake from way up high.

Who took my skis?
Franziska and Glynn in full Nordic stride through the Black Forest.

New Germany?
The views across the countryside reminded us very much of New Zealand only with German houses.

Record breaker!!!
Jude makes great time for her attempt at breaking the record for extreme forest non-skiing....she makes it look so easy!

Magic, Mushrooms ;)
Glynn & Franziska go shopping at the local organic mushroom store.

Skip to the end...
Glynn & Jude pose at the finish line and quickly realize that when Franziska said there would be plenty to drink at the end she clearly wasn´t on the same wavelength!

Spoilt for choice
Jish decides to leave the grown-ups to it and treats himself to big helping of ice-cream.... now which page is in English?

Masterchef :)
Franziska serves up a fantastic meal comprised of the local mushrooms that she and Glynn picked during the hike and proves that she can make a meal out of anything ;)