Mugendorf Hike

The Team

The university started 1 month back. We have already made some good friends but we haven’t yet met outside the university so far. So we decided to go for a trek. And what better way to plan a trek than give the responsibility to the only German in our class.

We chose him as the leader and he did an exceptional job as choosing the spot. There were caves, hills and beautiful autumn colors. We decided to go to Muggendorf which is 1 hr from Erlangen.

We formed the WhatsApp group with 11 people who wanted to join. We ended up with 7 (6 Indian and 1 German) people finally. Some had other priorities and one woke up with a sore back.

Off we go

The plan was to take the morning RE29 train to Forchheim. From there change to RB22 Ebermannstadt. Finally, a bus would take us to the start of the trek at Mugendorf.

I was supposed to board the train at 0825 from Erlangen. There were 2 from Nurnberg and they started the journey earlier at 0810. Another friend wanted to join us directly at Forchheim. This guy, we accidently spotted him seated in the train at the Erlangen station so we got him off the train.

The journey started for some with a small hiccup for some – as the day was the first day of the month, the Deutchland ticket (bus pass) did not renew for some. So, they were not sure if they could travel. One did not join and the other one braved and joined us.

So the five of us boarded the train but we couldn’t meet the other two inside the train. A short 20 minutes ride brought us to Forchheim. Here we met the other two and we changed the train to RB22.

Another 20 minutes and we were at the Ebermannstadt station. We changed to the final bus which would take us to the start of the trek.

And then came of moment of truth — would the mighty PDF ticket rescue the ones whose app wasn’t reflecting the ticket update? Since this was a smaller place the bus driver wanted to check the tickets of everyone. Luckily, he was ok with the PDF and we reached the start of the trail.

Cave 1

The trek was supposed to be a 12 km long trek. The view from the bus stop was already beautiful. The woods had wonderful colors. Knowing that we were going to walk through it filled us with anticipation.

There were few other people also walking the trail whom we met. We greeted them with the only German words we knew – Hallo!! The woods have so many different trails one could follow that for the most parts we were alone in the woods.

The trek started with a steep climb through the village. And the we entered the woods. We were walking so slowly pausing every some distance to take a snap. Finally, there was a group of old people. The German friend reminded us that we might get overtaken by the oldies – that hit our pride and we immediately started walking faster.

In that hurry, we missed a turn and we reached above the cave we were supposed to go into. We then started going down a slippery steep slope for the cave. We noticed that the oldies overtook us.

Nevertheless, the slope was fun on its own. Adventurous and a bit risky. Some already started slipping. But we managed to reach the cave without anyone getting hurt.

The cave mentioned that it might have bats inside. The entry to the cave was narrow. I pictured myself running out being chased by bats like in Scooby doo.

The cave was empty and dark. There were some used up candles to the side. I finally saw stalactites and stalagmites for the first time! I knew what they were in theory, but I only realized which was which after our German friend explained it.

Autumn colors and Cafe

We continued the hike. We still had 11.3 kms to cover atleast. This first spot was just 700 m but we made it longer because of the missed turn.

A short distance from there we got the view of the open fields and beautiful autumn colors. The walk was on mostly flat grounds.

Berries, Stream and Cafe

One of our Indian friends asked our German buddy if a berry we found was edible, and he confidently said yes — but I noticed he didn’t eat it himself.

A little further down the trail, we spotted the same berries again, and this time I saw him pop one into his mouth. I asked if he was sure it was safe, and he grinned, saying he had checked after the first encounter. If the German was eating it, I figured I could too. The berries were sour but was interesting.

Then we ate the berries as we walked beside a stream. Soon we reached a beautiful cafe. It was a flour mill powered by the stream. The turbine still worked but mostly for aesthetics I guess. It was now a small cafe.

Riesenberg

At this point we were slightly getting hungry. We ate some fruits and decided to have our lunch at the next view point. It was some 2 kms away.

We traced our path back along the other bank of the stream.

We reached Riesenberg.This was an interesting structure with use arches. This was originally a cave that caved in, leaving behind the huge arches. This was covered with leaves making the place look more captivating.

Some passerby offered to click our group photo. This was the second time in the day when people volunteered to click our photo. The first time was the group photo above.

The wall had this inscribed on it. Quite ironic since the rock collapsed! Rock is also not permanent afterall.

“Following the path of the wind, come to the rock — the clouds may move and shift, but the rock stands unchanging through time.”

Lunch and Cave 2

We now had to find a good place to have lunch. All the good places were occupied so we climbed up some rocks like a bunch of monkeys. Had our lunch. Hunger indeed is the best appetizer. Everything tasted so delicious.

After the lunch we walked to the next cave. On the way, we met couple of interesting people. An old husband who has collected wild flowers and gifted his wife those. Then a cyclist climbing a very steep climb. To top it all off, a mother was on the hike with her adorable little baby, under one year old, snugly secured in a kangaroo-style baby sling.

Another steep downhill slide and we made it to the final cave.

Way back

The way back was fairly uneventful as we wanted it to be. We were all a bit tired after the 12 kms hike. We were extremely lucky to reach the bus stop at exactly the right time. If we had missed the bus the next bus was after 2 hours.

I was surprised the whole time to see so many people on hike. I love it that people here are so active and fit. I also met people with cheerful smiles and greetings all along. I also found the locals very welcoming with two of them volunteering to click our snaps even.

Our German friend was surprised why we clicked so many photos. For us everything was new and for him everything was usual. I secretly wished I could always see things with the same awe as today and I never get used to it!

Iteniary

Outbound: Nürnberg Hbf → Muggendorf Forchheimer Str.

Time	From / Platform	Transport	Duration
08:10	Nürnberg Hbf, Platform 4 C-F	R-Bahn RE 29 → Erfurt Hbf	24 min
08:40	Forchheim (Oberfr), Platform 8	R-Bahn RB 22 → Ebermannstadt	19 min
09:05	Ebermannstadt	Bus 389 → Gößweinstein Freibad	12 min

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Return: Muggendorf Forchheimer Str. → Nürnberg Hbf

Time	From / Platform	Transport	Duration
17:41	Forchheimer Str., Muggendorf (Oberfr)	Bus 389 → Ebermannstadt Bahnhof	14 min
19:04	Ebermannstadt, Platform 1	R-Bahn RB 22 → Forchheim (Oberfr)	19 min
19:28	Forchheim (Oberfr), Platform 4	S-Bahn S1 → Neumarkt (Oberpf)	40 min