Hike near Bopfingen

At the last day in October we met at the Eastern part of the Swabian Mountains with comfortable mild weather. There we climbed Ipf Mountain: 

 

 The ascent to the top of the rocky plateau at an elevation of 668 meters was an easy hike.

 On grassy broad trails

we gradually climbed the mountain:

 

 

 

Vast meadows looked very inviting to frolic around:

 

 

 

 After having reached the top we had a beautiful view on the village Bopfingen 200 meters below, although bleared a bit by patches of fog:

 Directly in front of us one can see some of the many historic fortifications, some of which date back as far as the late Bronze Age (12th century B.C.)!

Simple ditches as well as massive barricades were built at this significant mountain.

 The mountain top had been eventually topped up and leveled out. This resulted in a wide plateau:

Findings prove that first settlements existed during the early Stone Age which became more important during the late Bronze Age.

The maximum importance was in the 5th century when Ipf Mountain served as an early Celtic princely site.

 Then we went downhill again:

 

 

 

 Until we reached the reconstructed buildings and fortifications:

 The fog lifted gradually and a clear blue sky appeared:

 

A reconstructed wall ("post-slot wall") like the ones that were built in the 5th century B.C.:

 

 

Then we continued to the parking lot and took the car to the Ellwangen-Roetlen, only a couple of kilometers away:

We visited a restaurant in which "Grandma" herself still cooks original Swabian dishes:

 

 

 

After having digested the meal a bit, we started for another stroll:

Indian summer leaves enjoyed us with their magnificent colors:

 

 

 until we reached a beautiful lake:

 

 

 

 

 On wide meadows along autumnly colored trees, our four-legged friends could play once again:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we went back to the village where we finished the day in a comfortable atmosphere with coffee and cake.

It was a wonderful day! Thank you very much dear Andrea Schneider for the fabulous organization!

 

 

Walks

 

 

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