HeimatSpur Ulmener Acht – GesundLand Vulkaneifel

Over breakfast, I chose today's tour: the "Ulmener Acht" (Ulmener Eight Trail). The paths were almost entirely farm tracks in varying conditions: everything from mud pits to asphalt. The paths themselves were rather uninteresting. The rising ground fog was quite interesting to watch in the morning, desperately and hopelessly battling the sun. The witch burning site was also interesting: not in the market square this time, but outside on a hilltop. Presumably because of the smell. But: right in the middle of the forest. Incomprehensible. Haven't they ever heard of the danger of forest fires? People could die! Then a lot of walking along streams, including the still-young Üßbach. Views of gently rolling hills. Towards the end, a model airfield, whose flags reminded me more of a military area. From here, you could already see Ulmener Castle, which we then visited: only a few outer walls remain. Right at the foot of the castle, there's a maar and a sign: "Ulmener Maar Stollen." I couldn't quite picture what it was: Was I about to find a bakery selling a local butter stollen? A mine? But why maar? Surely those can't be mined? Or can they? It turned out to be a tunnel through a volcanic wall that separates the two maars near Ulmen. 126 meters long. That was definitely the highlight of the day. I walked back to the car along the second maar. Overall, the trail falls into the "you can do it, but you don't have to" category. More of a local walking path. But it was perfect today. So it was quite nice.

A very beautiful hike around and in Ulmen. I particularly enjoyed the section from Auderath Mill to Meiserich. Detailed information is available at... https://www.gesundland-vulkaneifel.de/heimatspur-ulmener-acht/

Oh, that was another little dream hike. The tour is actually 20 km, but since we know about the opening of the tunnel that connects the Jungfernweiher with the Ulmener Maar, we took this shortcut with us straight away. But from the front: brilliant weather, finally in shorts again, although it was still a fresh 9 ° in the morning. Quickly set off and enjoyed the vernal greenery. Along the Ueßbach and mostly on wide paths to elms. A service was taking place at the castle, which we didn't want to disturb, so after a short rest around the maar with beautiful views. Then through the newly opened tunnel. Yes, it's narrow, but two people can usually pass each other. Absolute highlight recommendation and so we saved about 2 km. Then around the Jungferweiher and for a leisurely breakfast break. The path itself is wide, but the views are very nice and you pass some sights. PS found an Eifelstein.

How wonderfully varied the Eifel is! Yesterday I was still talking about the different maars, today we visited two of them on the Ulmener Acht hiking trail. The Jungferweiher, which we almost circle right at the beginning, was created by a volcanic eruption, but its exact age cannot be determined. The maar silted up and was used for peat cutting. In 1942 the area was flooded and the Ulmener Bach was dammed. Today it is a nature reserve that attracts many waterfowl. However, we were still early in the year - the flat maar lay still in the sunlight. From the Ulmen castle ruins = upper castle you can see the Ulmener Maar, which is visited at the end of the circular route. This maar, approximately 11,000 years old, has always been filled with water and shows active volcanic activity through mofettes. A mighty volcanic crater of about 20 m height is visible around this maar. Volcanic slag can be admired at an impressive height on the church as a "wall". In 1208, Ulmen Castle got caught up in the mills of world politics at the time when valuable relics were housed there. For this chapter of the history of the Crusades see e.g. https://www.burgerbe.de/2019/12/02/als-burg-ulmen-1208-den-staurothek-schatz-huetete/ From my point of view, the two maars and the castle are the highlights of the tour, which almost exclusively leads through open countryside. So today we were able to soak up the sun and listen to the sound of various well-filled streams. For Jungferweiher see e.g. https://www.eifel.info/a-jungferweiher For the Ulmener Maar see e.g. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulmener_Maar or https://www.eifel.info/a-ulmener-maar Ulmen castle ruins see e.g. https://www.eifel.info/a-burgruine-ulmen

We had planned to run the home track Ulmener Acht, especially since the Ulmener Maar Tunnel was finished at the beginning of May. We started early and were able to pass the tunnel twice. At its narrowest point, it is just 70 cm wide. At 124 m, it connects the two maars, the Jungfernweiher and the Ulmener Maar. The Jungfernweiher is particularly interesting from an ornithological point of view. At the southern round we came to the unknown Üßbachtal. Very beautiful landscape. The conclusion formed the Ulmener Maar, the castle and the church.

Mostly corresponds to the marked route. Three junctions that were initially missed, because, for example, the signs were twisted (now correct again) and a self-selected path around the Ulmer Maar, above the actual route, have lengthened the route a little. The path itself is sometimes quite narrow and it goes downhill rather steeply to the side. Shouldn't be done on muddy ground. Sorry, but at the end of the path there is a bit of a back and forth because I was looking for access to the viewing terrace. Overall a nice tour, even if there were hardly any paths and the crossed areas of elms were not special, with the exception of the castle and the maar. But I wouldn't take an hour's journey to get there.

The altitude meters are once again completely off the mark. In truth they are at 330m uphill.

Hello Eifel, we're back. It's not a dance on the volcano, but it's always a fantastic hiking experience. Numerous hiking tours start in the cozy Eifel town of Ulmen. The "Ulmener Acht" and the "Muße-Pfad" were combined. I was able to enjoy this wonderful tour together with my hiking friend @uta_is_hiking. The Ulmener Maar is the youngest maar in the Volcanic Eifel. 🌋 As it was still foggy in the morning, we first hiked on forest-meadow-wellness paths, along the Nollen and Ueßbach and past their mills. Then the detour to the Muße-Pfad. The "Muße-Pfad" tells the stories of dark fellows who once caused mischief along the Ueßbach and had a lot on their conscience. The tour leads to historical penal institutions and crime scenes in and around Ulmen. It was a strange feeling to stand on the pyre with my eyes closed and imagine the flames licking at you from below. 🔥 I decided not to hang myself on the gallows after all, and I don't really want to imagine the third method, sitting upside down and tied to a chair and being drowned. We also had impressive views of the rolling hills of the Volcanic Eifel. Our hiking hearts beat faster when, after the nature reserve at Jungfernweiher, an old dry maar that has been re-flooded, we finally went through the Ulmener Maarstollen and to the Ulmener Maar, the destination of our hike. The Ulmer Maarstollen takes you back to Devon. 70cm wide should be enough for you. The maar, which is 39m deep, is the result of the most recent volcanic eruption in the Eifel and all of Germany around 10,900 years ago. We ended the day with fries 🍟 and veggie kebab 🍔. Eifel, we will definitely come back. 🤩😎