Sunday, September 18, 2011

Walberla, it's short for Ehrenbürg.

Last year in Forchheim (this is how I begin about 90% of my sentences these days), my school was named Ehrenbürg Gymnasium, if you'll remember.  It's been my experience that most German schools are named after famous people (for example, my school this year is the Immanuel Kant Gymnasium). But every now and then, they are named after well-known geographical features of the region. 

The Ehrenbürg is a uniquely shaped large hill just beyond Forchheim in the Fränkische Schweiz (Franconian Switzerland). I would say it is something of landmark for the people in the region, almost symbolic in a way. But if you ever travel to this region, you will never hear anyone speak of the Ehrenbürg. That is because, to the locals, is fondly referred to as the Walberla (the obvious choice for a nickname there, really. If I'm being honest).

Hiking up the Walberla became one of this things that Gemma and I always planned to do, but never actually got around to doing. Eventually, about a week before I left, my friend invited me to spend the morning finally getting to explore the famous Walberla. It was the perfect morning hike, probably about 45 minutes up and down each, and a break for some lunch at the top! We even enjoyed some fresh picked fruit from the trees along our hike! 










So now I can proudly say that I took part in a Forchheim rite of passage: the hiking of the Walberla

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...