Once upon a time there were two giants who lived on two hills; one on the Felsberg, the other on the Hohenstein. One day they had a quarrel and began throwing boulders at each other. The giant from Hohenstein had the advantage of many more stones to throw, and soon the giant from the Felsberg was buried in a sea of rocks. Today that spot is known as the Felsenmeer.
This is just legend, of course, but there really is a sea of rocks in Germany’s Odenwald region between Reichenbach and Beedenkirchen. The real reason is there has everything to do with geology and nature and nothing with giants. (1)
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We have been to Felsenmeer twice in as many months. Nestled on a hillside in the Odenwald, a forest between Hesse and Bavaria, Felsenmeer is a delight for hikers and families alike. Starting from the bottom of the hill, you can look up the hill to a sea of rocks – not pebbles or skipping stones, but the big ones, boulders actually, the kind you can’t move even with a group of friends.
As you stand at the bottom of these rocks, you are instantly faced with a dilemma – climb up or go around? Families love this place; kids have no dilemma (climb the rocks, of course) and parents (or at least one) climb with the children. Those less adventuresome can climb the hill the easier way, through a system of pathways, steps, and bridges – still not the easiest, but definitely more appealing to some than rock climbing.
Working your way upwards, you can turn around and see a green valley with a village in the distance; keep climbing and you reach a bridge that stretches across the rocks from one side to the other. Keep climbing – you are half way there! At the top you will be rewarded with some artifacts from long ago when the Romans used this place as a quarry. A 30-foot, 27 ½ ton column from the 4th century is waiting to be explored and calling to be climbed upon.
Continue uphill just a little bit more to the northern parking lot and have lunch at Ada’s Buka, an African themed restaurant – great food, pleasant atmosphere, and comfortable chairs to relax in before you make the descent back to the bottom.
Those with children should be prepared for a quiet ride home as they will have expended all their energy in the climb.
http://www.felsenmeer-informationszentrum.de/
http://www.adas-buka.de/ambiente.htm
(1) http://www.felsenmeer-informationszentrum.de/download/intro_engl.pdf
wanderings 