Traumpfad - Booser Doppelmaartour

Magda had a holiday last Monday, May 24. Monday holidays are great for Magda because one third of her classes are on Monday. So not only does she get a day free, but one third of her prep time for the week is freed up. With this freetime, we decided to tryout another of the Traumpfad hiking trails that we have been hearing people talk about.

Traumpfad or "Dream Hike" is a project of Rhein-Mosel-Eifel Touristik, an organization whose purpose is to increase the tourism in this part of Germany. The Traumpfad project involves setting up well marked, circuit hiking trails in smaller villages in an effort to entice people to get out of the major tourist areas and see some other parts of the region. What is nice is that some of these towns have taken a sense of pride in their Traumpfad and have made efforts to make the hikes even more interesting.

Such is the case with the village of Boos. It is about 5 km from the Nürburgring, the famous race track in the Eiffel. Largely a farming community, the only indication of tourism is the motorcyclist attracted to the Nürburgring that race around the roads in the area. But the Traumpfad does help bring a little tourism to the area. To make their Traumpfad distictive, they has set up information stations along the way to explain the geological and natural features of the area. Also they have build a tower at the highest point in the hike that offers panoramic views of the Eiffel landscape.

The trail is a nice one even without these additions. Just under 10 km, in winds its way on the edge of the woods through the Eiffel. This means that most of the hike is under shade, while still allowing views across the hills and fields of the Eiffel. There is only the one major climb up to the tower. Other than that, the hike is mostly level or slightly downhill. The hike starts and ends at the double "Maar". A "Maar" is an small lake formed in the crater of a volcano. The Eiffel has a history of volcanic activity, the potential for which persists even today. These two "Maars" are mostly filled in, however the bowls of the craters are clearly visible and some water still exists. Some rather rare plants have found a home here, including Germany's only wild orchid and a plant with yellow follows that is only found in marshes (see the pictures below).