So when I found out that the local history society (Verein für Geschichte und Heimatkunde) was offering a guided walk along part of the path, I decided to go along and find out more.

The Mühlenwanderweg starts in the woods at the Hohemark, behind the new Taunus Information Centre.  It then leads through the woods behind Frankfurt International School, and follows the path of the Ursalbach river and the man-made tributaries calls Werksgraben that were used to take water from the river into the mills and factories along the route.

In continues behind residential areas, past the back of Rolls Royce and then enters the old part of Oberursel near the Bleiche.

The path between the Freibad and Rolls Royce

Marion Unger, who is a town guide, told us about the history of the mills along the route.  We found out where mills used to stand, which buildings are still standing, and the different things that were produced be it leather, paper, or flour.  Frau Unger also had an interesting collection of old maps and photographs with her, allowing us to compare the views with those of the present day.

Before the water in the hills at the Hohemark was captured for use in the town as drinking water, a lot more of it flowed into the Urselbach.  In Oberursel alone, it powered 21 mills, and it took 10 litres of water to make 1 kg of cardboard.  Now much of the clues to this part of the town’s history are there, if you know where to look.  I learnt quite a lot about buildings and streams in the town that I had often seen, and not realised the significance of.

The water wheel at the Schuckardtsmühle

It was particularly interesting to learn that in one place the water is still being used by the land owner to generate electricity and perhaps this is something that the town of Oberursel should be looking at in order to secure future electricity supplies on a eco-friendly basis?

The walk finished at the Bleiche car park, but the path itself continues through Bommersheim, Weißkirchen and even as far as Niederursel and Heddernheim in Frankfurt, and maybe another day we’ll walk along that part as well.  It is signposted using a picture of a crayfish and a waterwheel.

The Mühlenwanderweg guided tour is being held again on 10th September and 9th October, 2011.  To be notified of other tours and events in Oberursel, sign up to our events newsletter.

Some other posts on this topic that you might like to read:

• Finding the right place for Frankfurt International School’s new sports centre
• A sponsored walk to Oberstedten and back
• How to get to the Hessentag: by train

Located just across the road from the end of the U3 train line, it is on the grounds of what used to be… the end of the U3 train line (or tram line 24 as it used to be called) which places it at the foot of the Feldberg.

The centre combines a general information point for visitors, with a restaurant for walkers and a hands-on exhibition about the nature and geology of the Taunus area.

Inside the main reception area there is a wide selection of brochures and detailed information about the towns in the Taunus area, but also about the routes for walkers and cyclists.  Much of this information is free of charge, but behind the desk there is also a selection of literature that can be purchased.

I was surprised to find that the centre was designed to cover such a wide area and it was a good reminder of how far large the Taunus area is and to find information on places such as Idstein, Grävenwiesbach, Usingen and Kelkheim.

On the other side of the building is the walkers’ resturant “Waldtraut”.  The name is a play on words, a mixture of the German name “Waltraut” or “Waltraud” and the word for forest “Wald”.  It suggests someone who is brave enough to enter the forest: wer sich ins Wald traut.

For the opening, the guests were entertained by the Powerhouse Swingtett – a jazz group from Neu Anspach.

Part of the old track bed from the tramline

Around the corner on one side of the building there is a climbing wall.  I am sure that children will love to climb there in future whilst their parents are in the restaurant, but I think that they have taken a brave step in leaving the area so open.  Basically, anyone can use the wall, which has its own opening hours, but apparently the grips are low enough so as not to need constant supervision.

The climbing wall

Back inside, the first floor contains a meeting room that can be hired and the main attraction for children: the hands-on exhibition.

Part of the exhibition is more high-tech, with satellite photos of the area and a video quiz, but others delve more into the geology.  Visitors can take a stone in and use a microscope and a set of reference stones to identify it.  There are also smaller stones available that can be mixed and put in a hot oven to “make” a new stone.

Identifying a stone

Linguists will be particularly interested in the dialect cabin, where there are recordings of different versions of the Hessian dialect.

In fact, when I asked which languages the guides spoke in addition to German, Hessian was the first answer!  This is reflected in the signs in the building and in particular in the exhibition – it is exclusively in German, although the guides speak English and French, I was told that their target audience is not the foreign visitors to Germany, but people from the wider area, eg. from Frankfurt and the Rhein-Main area.

The exhibition

Considering how many foreigners live in that area alone, I would have thought that at least the signs would have been in both languages.

The services on offer are rounded off by bicycle hire during the summer months – electrical bicycles called “Pedelecs”, that is – and a cashpoint.

The Taunus-Informationszentrum is open in the summer from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Friday, and 10am to 6pm at the weekend.  In winter it closes at 3pm on weekdays and 4pm at weekends.  Bicycles can only be hired between May and October.

The restaurant is open every day from 10am to 11pm, with the outside climbing wall open from 9am to 10pm.

Some other posts on this topic that you might like to read:

• Finding the right place for Frankfurt International School’s new sports centre
• Violence in the Taunus area
• The Mühlenwanderweg – walking where the mills used to be

The final part of our journey was to take place on the aptly named boat “Jeverland”, run by the Köln-Düsseldorfer line. We boarded in Oberwesel and sat back to enjoy the journey to Rüdesheim.

The “Jeverland” at the berth in Oberwesel

The slow pace allowed us to look at the paths and places that we had been to the previous day, as well as seeing part of the Rhine that we had missed by sitting in the train.  One example of this was Burg Pfalzgrafenstein. Built in the first half of the 14th Century and positioned in the middle of the river, this was once a customs house and has the unique form of a ship.

Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, standing in the middle of the Rhine

Next we came to Lorch, where we had stopped to eat the day before.

Lorch, seen from the river

After Lorch came the vineyards – here we could see the route that we had taken.

The vineyards on the slopes south of Lorch

After that – the part of the path that went through the woods. In the photo you can see how the vineyards suddenly stop and the slopes are covered with trees.

The woods and vineyards between Assmannshausen and Lorch

After the next vineyards we passed Assmannshausen. In the background are the school that we walked by, the start of the steps that we used to go down to the town and the chair lift.

Assmannshausen, seen from the river

Once again we passed the Mäuseturm, standing in the middle of the river.

The Mäuseturm

Then came the Niederwalddenkmal, standing high above the vineyards of Rüdesheim

The Niederwalddenkmal, seen from the river

Until we rounded the final corner and Rüdesheim came into view.

Rüdesheim waterfront

Here we left the river behind us and stopped in the town for lunch.

Rüdesheim

The final part of the walk took us back through the streets of Rüdesheim…

One of the “trains” that takes visitors on rides through the vineyards of Rüdesheim

… and up the hill at the back of the town, back through the vineyards to the youth hostel where the cars were waiting for us.

A last look back towards Rüdesheim and the Rhine

Some other posts that our readers enjoy:

• Listening by phone
• Introducing the “Schultüte”
• Starting school

The next day started with breakfast at the youth hostel (Jugendherberge). The youth hostel in Oberwesel is very modern, with en suite rooms and even a swimming pool and bistro in the basement.

The youth hostel in Oberwesel

Leaving the youth hostel, we crossed the wooden bridge to the castle that overlooks Oberwesel. From here, there was a magnificent view down towards the river. In daylight you can clearly see which parts of the castle have been modernised.

Schloss Schönburg

Rather than zig-zagging downwards through the woods on the path that we had taken the night before, we decided to use the Elfenley – a footpath that passes behind the castle and then carries on down behind the roofs of the houses towards the town centre.

The start of the Elfenley (Fußweg zur Stadt)

The path is narrow and in places there are handrails on the side to hold on to. At one point there was no handrail and it became very narrow, uneven and steep – you need a good head for heights for the first part after leaving the castle grounds!

Part of the Elfenley behind the castle, leading downwards to the town centre

As we descended, the town and the river came ever closer. It was a strange feeling to be standing on the same level as the church tower! The path continued to wind it’s way around the face of the hill, until, at an electricity sub-station, it ended and we found ourselves on one of the streets in Oberwesel.

The view of the church and the Rhine from the Elfenley

From here, we headed towards the river and crossed the main road by footbridge. At the river, we found the landing stage for the Köln-Düsseldorfer boats and bought tickets for the return journey to Rüdesheim.

The boat approaches the landing stages in Oberwesel

Soon the boat came into view and we went on board and found a table. Now we could sit back and enjoy the journey…

Some other posts that our readers enjoy:

• Listening by phone
• Introducing the “Schultüte”
• Starting school

Having stopped to eat in Lorch, it was now time to cross the Rhine and make our way to Oberwesel.

On this stretch of the Rhine there are no bridges, but small, flat, ferries that take cars and foot passengers back and forth across the river during daylight hours. Heading out of Lorch towards the river and the station, it was only a short walk to the ferry berth.

Looking from the ferry back up the ramp and the berth in Lorch

The ferries consist of a flat metal baseplate for the cars with ramps at each end. The bridge is a small cabin located on one side. Foot passengers pay as they board, the car drivers pay during the crossing.

Two rows of cars on the ferry, crossing the Rhine

In a matter of minutes, the ferry reached the other bank of the river at Niederheimbach and we disembarked.

The ferry in the berth at Niederheimbach

From the ferry berth we made our way to the railway station, only to see a train to Oberwesel leave before we could buy our tickets. As the next train was not for another hour, we had plenty of time to work out the ticket prices and I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get a discount with my Bahn Card on such a short trip within a Verkehrsverbund.

The ferry returning to Lorch

We made out way to the right platform and sat down to wait for the train to Oberwesel.

The view from the platform in Niederheimbach back across the river to Lorch

A number of trains ran through the station while we waited, but none in our direction stopped, until our train arrived. Only a few stops later it was time to get out again and we found ourselves in Oberwesel.

Our final destination of the day was the Jugendherberge (youth hostel), located on the hill near Schloss Schönburg. A sign outside the station showed us which way to go, and we proceeded to walk along a road up a steep hill. Half-way up the hill, we left the road and continued up a footpath that led in a zig-zag form upwards through the woods on the side of the hill. The two street lamps located on the path were not alight, and it got darker and darker as we climbed ever higher. Finally we turned a corner at the top and saw the castle floodlit ahead of us. From here, it was only a few metres to the Jugendherberge and a bed for the night.

Schloss Schönburg at dusk

Some other posts that our readers enjoy:

• Listening by phone
• Introducing the “Schultüte”
• Starting school