On the trail of a fairytale world

Feel like escaping to the world of Grimm's fairytales with gigantic castles, dark forests and medieval villages? Then the Zollernalb region in southwestern Germany might be just the place to visit.

Situated between the southwestern German city of Stuttgart and Lake Constance, the Zollernalb region offers some of Germany's most spectacular landscapes, shaped by the erosive forces of the changing warm and glacial epochs 70 million years ago.

Starting from the university town of Tuebingen a well-signposted cycle and hiking trail takes the adventurous traveler through medieval villages, past the towering Hohenzollern castle and through the Danube valley down to Lake Constance along the Swiss border.

The 195 km route from Tuebingen to Constance forms part of the Hohenzollern hiking trail and is also part of the German section of St James Way - the medieval pilgrimage path that leads all the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Tuebingen is only a short train drive from Stuttgart which is linked to the high-speed train network with France, Austria and Switzerland only about a two-hour trip away.

The 15 km walk on the cycle path from Tuebingen to the town of Rottenburg is a good easy walk to get the body exercised for the more strenuous paths lying ahead.

After a good night's rest in Rottenburg's Hotel Anker the next day's march of 20 km demands a steeper climb on mountain trails and parts of the Black Forest to Hechingen which dates back to the year 1255 when the village was established below the Hohenzollern castle. The gigantic complex dominates the landscape as it is positioned on one of the most scenic mountains in the Alb region.

Count Eitelfriedrich I (1576-1605) turned Hechingen into a center of the arts and Renaissance architecture with many buildings from this era still intact including the monastery church St Luzen.

The Hohenzollern castle houses treasures, such as the Prussian Crown and numerous artefacts from King Frederick II of Prussia.

Next stop is Balingen, which is entered along a beautiful footpath meandering alongside the banks of the Eyach river.

Another steep climb takes the hiker up the Lochenhoernle mountain with more breathtaking views of the countryside with its picture-book villages interspersed with forest and lush-green pastures. Here the traveler passes through the little village of Tieringen nestled in the mountainside at an altitude of some 800-900 m.

The walk then takes the hiker through dense forest that passes the Lourdes grotto in the Liebfrauental and the Bronnen castle built on a magnificent clifftop overlooking the valley.

Passing through the villages of Messkirch, Wald, Stockach and Markelfingen the hiker reaches Constance after a good 10 days of walking.

DPA