Altmühltal: Riedenburg to Kelheim
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I had to cancel the planned hike to Scharnitz due to bad weather conditions, so I and Mikuláš quickly came up with an alternative route near Regensburg, where the weather was much nicer. We set out to walk along Altmühltal Wanderweg, specifically from Riedenburg to Kelheim and Saal across the castles and monasteries in the area.
Despite the 10°C temperature in the shade, it was quite cozy under the sun, so we adjusted our route to stay on the sunny side of the river. We started by visiting the Rosenburg Castle and walking east to Prunn.
There we visited the Schloßprunn and descended back to the river, walking to Essing, observing Randeck from below. We checked out the gate at the village and headed to Kloster Weltenburg along the Keltenwall. It was a really pleasant surprise for me to learn about the 2000-year-old Celtic settlement in the area, and I'm definitely going to find out more about it in the future.
After having a picnic on the river bank opposite to the monastery, we climbed up the rock nearby, took a billion photos and headed to Kelheim. On the way we came across a small cave that we explored, although it was closer to a hole in the rock than an actual cave. If you check the map, there are tons of "caves" around, but all of them we saw were like that.
Another detour we decided to do was the climb to the Befreiungshalle Kelheim. After getting to the top of the hill, we checked out the building, which was unfortunately closed, and headed down into the town. On the way we came across an opened ice cream shop, so we treated ourselves as a reward for the hike.
In the town we explored the main street, the church square and two of the gates, later turning east again to Saal. We also came across a cinema with a Spiderman statue hanging off the outside wall of the building.
The last section of the hike was walking along the fiber and car factories to the train station in Saal. At that point our brains have started to shut off, so nothing eventful happened.
But overall, it was definitely a memorable trip. I planned to explore Altmühltal since last year, so I'm really grateful for the opportunity Mikuláš gave me, and for the few historical facts he told me along the way. In summer this route is probably quite busy with people, so early spring is the season to go!
