Naturist Walking Day - 1

Our drive from Rijsbergen in the Netherlands to Cursdorf in Germany

Yesterday we drove from the Netherlands to Cursdorf, a small village in the Thuringian forest.  The 6 to 7 hour drive took longer than expected and we arrived at our destination lodgings a bit later than we had hoped.  Talmühle, just outside Cursdorf, is an old house in the forest but it has been converted into accommodation for walkers - a bit like a backpackers' lodge.

Today's walk was about a 15km circular walk which involved a stiff hike into the mountains, starting off at "An der Kaserne" near Zeigerheim.  There were about 32 walkers, 2 of them brought their dogs along - a spaniel and a labrador.  The spaniel was let off its leash and allowed to run throughout the hike but it was very well trained and responded to its master's call.  It had so much energy and clocked up a heck of a lot more mileage than we did!  The poor labrador was kept on a leash the whole time - I really felt sorry for it.

Quite a few walkers walked in bare feet but kept a pair of flip-flops handy if we walked over sharp stones.

This walker preferred to walk in bare feet - a very healthy reflexology session.

During the hike the forest kept us shaded from the sun and was cool - we were grateful for it because it was hot out in the open.  Bare skin also helped cool us down - clothes can be a disadvantage sometimes!  Clothed walkers barely batted an eyelid if we met them.  Quite a few walkers walked in bare feet but kept a pair of flip-flops handy if we walked over sharp stones.

Paul and I were stiff and aching by the time we got back to the car.  The group ended up having dinner at a tiny pub restaurant in Zeigerheim but we had to park outside the village and walk in.  Unfortunately the place, although warned in advance about the size of the group, seemed unprepared for us and despite the fact that most orders had already been telephoned through. Service was terribly haphazard and we had to re-order despite it being telephoned through earlier. And at least 3 people didn't get their meals until one of them approached the waitress.  The chef came out and had a chat with them - it seemed as if their written down orders had disappeared!  One chap decided to leave without his meal and eat elsewhere.  I don't blame him.  Unfortunately we were reliant on a lift so we had to wait until our host was ready to leave back to Talmühle.  Tomorrow is another day.