Happurg Hike

The Saturday hike with Highlights e.V was awesome. Highlights e.V is an NGO which works for Mental health and wellbeing. Especially this one focused on international community where mental well being and health is often neglected.

Courtesy to this group I enjoyed a nice hike on the Happurg trail. A well organized hike with roughly 30 people. There were people from India, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Italy, Croatia, Tunisia and some more. This internation collection made the trek more interesting.

The group gathered in the morning at the Nurnberg train station at 9.30 am. A half hour train ride took us to Happurg station. The roughly 10km hike started at the Happurg train station with the organizers setting the ground rules for the hike.

The hike started with a steady climb through the winding roads of the Happurg residential area.

After a short walk we reached a pair of gates which marked the start of the trail. The initial segment was a bit steep and we walked in a queue. With a leader leading us from the front and another experienced hiker walking at the back of the queue ensuring no one was left behind.

After the first climb which took us 1 hr we met a fox compass. Thanks to the compass we got our first beautiful view of the city below.

We continued walking for another 1 hr. In the mean time we got to know each other. Between these interesting talks we did not realize that we were close to the peak. We stopped for a quick lunch and reached the peak soon.

The descent from there on was whole another story. The first part was easy. We quickly reached the Hohler Fels – a rock structure.

The real fun began after this point. The road ahead was a slippery slope. With many people tumbling and rolling, this segment made the highlight of the trek.

After the treacherous segment we reached the lower regions where we found a WW-2 tunnel system called Doggerstollen. It was an attempt at creating an underground aircraft production line. But the war ended before this could be operational.

Finally, at the base we sat by the beautiful lake chitchatting, skipping stones and enjoying the view.

The 6 hour hike left us all mildly exhausted and full of memories worth remembering forever. Everyone had a smile on their face with the satisfaction of completing the hike. We were already asking the organizing team if there are plans of any more hikes.

I had never expected my first week in Germany to be so eventful. This was all possible thanks to the wonderful coordination by Highlights e.V.

Nice work guys!!! And thank you once again!