Recommended, 2024

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The new desire for hiking! Plus: the best hiking trails

With route tips

More and more people lace up their boots and go out into the countryside. Wait, you not yet? Then you get good reasons for this. And great tips for hiking trails !

"Sunday we drive into the countryside !" Of course, as a child you often heard this saying. For who was not hauled by his parents into nature before? We are then lustless shuffling through gravel paths through German mixed forests, while Dad with his plaid shirt and ultra-short pants rushed forward and mom gave us comfort ("We're here!"). Muffing cow dung and aggressive wasps have compounded the trauma. And at the latest at 18 we have done everything possible, only one thing: hiking.

Often in adulthood an "awakening experience" is needed to still enjoy the whole thing. For example, when friends persuade one to come along. Or a birthday party is scheduled, which is outrageously celebrated in a hut to which you have to run miles. But ... on the way, a stream ripples so beautifully that the stress of the week surprisingly vanishes. Or a deer peeks through the bushes, a golden eagle floats in the valley ... At least now, the cow patty smell is transformed into the scent of a whole new freedom!

Many people in Germany are experiencing such experiences, because hiking is booming . The mountaineering manufacturer Meindl had delivery problems due to high demand recently. Other outdoor outfitters are also looking forward to rising sales. And the German Alpine Club, which also has branches in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel and Berlin-Kreuzberg, has an increasing number of members from year to year.

"The enthusiasm is great, but most would rather climb the low mountain range than dizzying peaks, " says the former Harald Schmidt co-man Manuel Andrack, who prefers to swing his boots because of his fear of heights in the Eiffel or Saarland. Born in Cologne, the native of Cologne has written three books about hiking and has also co-fired the boom. Just like his TV colleague Hape Kerkeling . He made with the pilgrim primer "I'm off" then for a significantly higher traffic on the Way of St. James .

"Although, " says Andrack, "pilgrimage and wandering are two fundamentally different things, the pilgrim sinks into his meditative thoughts and wants to reach a destination, for example a monastery." Triste ways are not a problem for him, but the hiker loves nature and After a round trip we like to return to the starting point. "

That both are doing something for their health, is undisputed. "Blood pressure, heart rate, body weight, blood lipids - everything goes down if you walk regularly, " says the Munich internist and sports physician Karlheinz Zeilberger. And "regular" means three times a week, one hour each. Sure, not everyone lives on an alpine pasture and has the meadow with ibexes on their doorstep. But there are even hiking trails in the Ruhr area or just outside Berlin (especially beautiful here: the Schorfheide forest or the lakes near Potsdam!).

And the best news, says sports psychologist Felix Ehrlenspiel: "If you're walking, you're not getting up to speed so fast.The stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline are not so well distributed thanks to regular exercise - for example when we're in the job interview or hear criticism from the boss . "

If you want to start hiking, you only have to take care of knee problems and ask the doctor first. Especially the descent in the mountains pollutes the knee joints; But hiking sticks can help. Important before the first tour: Run the shoes on small walks - otherwise there's bubbles. If you then have a similarly ticking walk companion who does not ring you out at six o'clock in the morning and wants to go to the next three thousand meter peaks, there is nothing standing in the way of the hiking pleasure.

As city dwellers, we are already enjoying it because we can finally put our eyes on foresight - for example, at the sight of an endless hilly landscape. And the rushing forest instead of annoying street noise: great!

Author Manual Andrack ("The new hiking" - order at Amazon.de ) appreciates not only the peace on his excursions, but also the conversation with friends or his family: "When we are several hours on the road, we talk about God and the world - just about topics for which there is hardly any time in everyday life. "

The good: You CAN talk while hiking, but it does not have to (unlike in a bar or restaurant). Being in motion together - that has something casual and casual. In the best case, you are not only closer to nature, but also to the people at his side.

Out into the green? Here are five tips for great hiking trails and hotels:

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