Bird Watching Tour - Nationalpark Eifel

Today's Eifel hike took me from the former Nazi "Ordensburg" Vogelsang along the Urft reservoir to the dam and then back across the plateau. A beautiful route, unfortunately again with the not so beautiful German past. But all the better as this former Nazi cadre training center is now being used. Also highly recommended is the abandoned village of Wollseifen, which has existed since 1947, and its history; a visit to the old school, which is still preserved, is highly recommended.

The tour was a little strenuous for me as a 76-year-old man, especially the long climb after the Urft dam up to Wollseifen! But with around 21 degrees C, the weather was perfect for hiking! The path from Vogelsang down to the lake and then to the dam is "long", around 7.5 km always along the water! I found the second part of the hike even more beautiful, more interesting partly through the forest and finally beautiful at the top with a panoramic view over the plateau! The last climb to Vogelsang was not as strenuous at the end as I "feared" 😏👍!

A beautiful walk in the Eifel National Park..from Vogelsang Schleiden ...A tough hike 16% descent ...the calves didn't like it that much..then fortunately there is a whole flat part. To then climb 12% again pfff.fortunately it wasn't warm..and this walk is so worth it 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️😄

A great circular hike in the beautiful Eifel 🌳 The starting point was the former NS Ordensburg Vogelsang. It is considered one of the greatest legacies of National Socialism. After the Second World War, it was first a British, then a Belgian military training area. Since 2006, a new place has been developing: Vogelsang IP as an "international place" for tolerance, diversity and peaceful coexistence. First, you walk across the extensive grounds, which was impressive and depressing at the same time. You then gradually crossed the Victor Neels Bridge into the forest, where you then continued along the banks of the Urftsee. The intermediate destination was the impressive Urft Dam. Here you also had the opportunity to stop off in a small beer garden. But we continued on and there was a somewhat longer climb up the Dreiborn plateau to the ghost town of Wollseifen. After the end of the Second World War, the British armed forces claimed the village because the area was to be used as a military training area. The residents were given three weeks to vacate the village and leave. 120 families and around 500 people had to leave their home village. Today, the ruins of the old church and the old village school can still be visited. Then we continued through the forest back to the starting point of the tour. In summary, it was a beautiful and absolutely worthwhile tour, which also made you think a lot because of the omnipresent historical presence.

Despite the storm and hurricane warning, we made our way to the Eifel National Park and we have not regretted it. It was a very nice hike with beautiful sights, even if one or the other sight made you think.🥾🚶‍♀️

The Urfttalsperre is almost next door to the Rursee. Originally I wanted to cover the 12km at running pace, but I quickly put this endeavor aside at the beginning due to the steep climbs up to the Dreiborn plateau 🥴 In the end, I had to run at least 4.5 km to the starting point of the circuit at the dam wall. Of course, the same route back again. I was also pressed for time because heavy rain was forecast at lunchtime 😒 There was a lot to see on the way, including the former Wollseifen settlement and of course the Ordensburg Vogelsang. I would have liked to take a closer look at these really interesting historical sites, but I was afraid every time I looked up at the sky. It is a bit sad to see that in the area of the Victor Neels Bridge the dam actually no longer exists and only the Urft flows. It is currently even possible to climb down into the pool.

Beautiful tour, half of it is very rocky, so sturdy shoes are recommended. Plan a little more time for Vogelsang itself, as it is a historically interesting site. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time for it.

A super nice hike around the Urftsee with a few steep climbs to Vogelsang