After yesterday’s enjoyable walk in the city forest, I looked for a longer walk. There are many walks in the Taunus mountain range north-west of Frankfurt. I found a walk called the “three peaks walk”. The highest point was about 850m although the walk started at 400m.
Getting to the start required a train (to the amusingly titled Bad Homburg) then a bus. I had time before the bus was due and looked around the station area.
In total, it took about an hour to get to the start of the walk.
The walk was along good paths, suitable for walkers and cyclists. Much of the walk was covered too. I didn’t see any other walkers until I hit the first summit, the highest point on the walk, Großer Feldberg.
At the summit, I saw quite a few seniors. I wondered how they’d got there. Then I saw a bus stop and two coaches. There was a road to the top!
I had lunch at a viewpoint on the summit where there was a large two-seater reclining bench. The cafe on the peak had a wooden interior. It was quite traditional in its food options and didn’t have any vegan cakes.
The gift shop was small and after looking around, I continued what would now be a mostly downhill journey.
The second peak was rocky and surrounded by a tree graveyard. Some of the trunks looked burnt. The path on my map was not discernible. I scrambled upwards for a while but then realised there was more to do. Since no one was around, I decided it was safer to leave the rest of the climb. I found a path around the tip of the peak, which was easily navigated.
As I continued, I saw a few more walkers. I briefly stopped at a cafe, where I spoke to a South African German who lived eight months in South Africa. He was not very complimentary about Frankfurt, adding that it was more dangerous than South Africa! I was sceptical. He mentioned the area around the main station filled with dodgy people. As far as I could tell, these were mostly people who were homeless.
In Frankfurt, I’ve noticed people going around looking in bins. They usually have large bags or are wheeling around trolleys. One had a child’s pushchair without the child. They’re looking for material (bottles, tins, etc) that can be recycled. Shoppers at some supermarkets deposit their recyclables. It’s possible that you get paid for recycling.
The third peak was just a gentle uphill walk, near the finish.
I returned to the bus stop and saw that the next bus was in about 15 minutes. There was a bus shelter, slightly inset from the road, to sit in. At one point I saw a bus but was too late to stop it as it sped downhill around the corner. As it happens, it was not supposed to stop at my bus stop. I took the hint and stayed next to the bus stop. If I missed my bus, I could end up waiting an hour. Within minutes my bus came speeding down the hill. I held out my hand and it had enough time to stop.