Upgrade of the Palatinate Weinsteig, Germany

One of our favourite long distance walks is the Weinsteig that runs along the edge of the hills bordering the Rhine Valley for 170km from near Grünstadt almost to the French border in Wissembourg. This has recently been upgraded by installing picnic tables at a number of viewpoints into the valley.
If you decide to walk in this area however there is some bad news, in that the Pfalzer Wald Verein, the regional walking club, is closing or reducing the hours of opening of its manned huts, where one can obtain refreshment. The problem is due to introduction of a minimum wage in Germany. This will push the costs of paying the volunteers who man the counters and kitchens up by several hundred percent. More information is available in German on: http://www.pwv.de/index.php/aktuelles/232-mindestlohn-wka-smartphone If you decide to walk the route and intend to eat at a PWV hut, then check the opening hours of the club's huts before setting off.

Walking with luggage transfer along the Weinstraße, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany

We have walked and enjoyed several stages of the Weinsteig a slightly tougher version of the German Weinstraße route. The 165km long route starts just over the border from the French town of Wissembourg and proceeds along the edge of the hills bordering the Rhine to Neuleiningen through Neustadt an der Weinstraße and Bad Dürkheim. The excellent Kleins Wanderreisen offer a 14 day trip for just over €800 pp for two people sharing a room with bed and breakfast in hotels and vintners accommodation, with luggage transfer starting each Sunday. If you want to book your own accommodation Gepäckservice Pfalz will arrange luggage transfer for €20 for one or two persons.

Walking the Neckarsteig

We walked part of the Neckarsteig a walk above the Neckar Valley between Heidelberg and Bad Wimpfen (124km, 76 miles) recently and were much impressed. The route switches valley sides and so the total height difference over the week or so is about 5000m (16000'). There are organised self-guided trips with pre-booked rooms with luggage transfer available from:

• TS Touristik Service e.K., 63840 Hausen im Spessart, Germany, T: +49(0)6022 2654744, www.ts-touristikservice.de for €549 pp in a double room for 7 nights.
• 100% Kanu+Bike, 74239 Hardthausen-Gochsen, T: +49 (0)7264 934900, www.kanu+bike.de, for €599 pp in a double room for 9 nights.

GPX tracks can be downloaded from www.neckarsteig.de.

Near Eberbach

Aldi outdoor clothing

According to the CTC magazine "Cycle" ALDI stores will be having an cycling gear sale or action event on 29 June 2014. There is nothing to stop a walker wearing a cyclists' wind- and waterproof jacket bought for under £10. The shops open early and are likely to be sold out quickly. Set your alarm.

Rohan Waterproof Trousers

We went walking in the Odenwald in February. The winter was warm and at this time it had been fairly wet, so the paths were muddy and so were our boots. It started to rain. We still had an hour to go before lunch. The question was, should we put our waterproof over trousers? Our boots were muddy. There was nowhere to sit and so we would have to put them on standing up. It would take too long and the rest of the party wanted to go on. We went over trouser-less. We arrived at the pub dry above the waist, but looking like we had been wading in the Rhine below the waist.
The moral of this story is we need a pair of waterproof trousers that resemble normal trousers, so you don't need to slip on over trousers to stay dry.  I was highly pleased to read in the Rohan catalogue/newsletter that Rohan had produced just such a pair: Dry Explorer and Dry Requisite. Unfortunately Rohan doesn't send us its gear to test and the nearest Rohan shop is in Canterbury, Kent, an 8 to 9 hour drive away, so we will have to wait until we next go to the UK to check out these trousers. I'll probably wait until Rohan sell the rest of this year's models off in November or so to buy a pair. However Rohan's descriptions are normally honest and it is claimed that the trousers are waterproof, so it is probably true. We sent a couple of spies to Manchester to check out the trousers in the store there. Their report: "We have been to Rohan in Manchester  - the waterproof trousers look and feel great but take 8 hours to dry after washing and are £95 to buy. They do not look like the usual waterproof trousers, just like ordinary material ( eg:- wool or cotton ), that is very good."

More Aldi walking gear

I bought a new merino vest from Aldisüd (Germany) recently, an undershirt not a waistcoat. It cost about 20 €, which in comparison to the prices charged by more mainstream outdoor shops is a gift. It has been worn both in the field and on our normal day to day mooching about. It has been regularly washed in a machine and is showing no signs of wear. Although the winter was mild we had a few wet and cold days and we chose one of these to be out and about. No clothing in our price range is completely waterproof under those conditions. Although my waterproof had leaked water onto my shirt thanks to the ALDI vest my core was still warm. I can recommend the vests highly