Aaper Wald – A Sunday Hike

It was a chilly Sunday morning. As my 7:30 AM alarm rang, I asked Siri, “what is the temperature?”. Siri answered, “It is currently 2 degrees”. The lazy in me looked out of the window for a moment. Noticing the darkness, I curled into my blanket, setting an alarm for 8:30 AM.

At 8:30 AM I asked Siri the same question and Siri repeated his previous answer. Sigh! Still 2 degrees! I pushed myself out of the bed, I had to do this.

I got fresh, had some light breakfast, wore 2 layers of clothes, followed by my thick winter jacket, hand gloves and beanie (?? it is the winter cap! Well, even I didn’t know before 😉 )

I went to the garage to pick my new companion, Mein Fahrrad (my bicycle) and quickly paddled to my nearest train station.

On the previous day, I had taken all the instructions needed from my roommate – the Do’s  and Don’t’s of taking a bike in the train.

Instructions – First, I should look for the bicycle sign on the door. Second, wichtig is to check if there is already any bike inside. There are usually 2 spots, one in the front and one in the back of the train.

The train came and I hastily got in from behind. To my surprise, I noticed that there was no spot. Ok, cool, I started approaching towards the front of the train. However, a lady was already standing in the other spot with her stroller. Ok so our spot is gone! Hmm! But the train is empty and I have 3 stations to cross. Still fine. I can manage this risk. 

At the second station an old German man wanted to board the train. He asked if I wanted to get down, looking at my bike almost halfway at the door opening. I said “Nein!”. So then he boarded the train and started telling me in his heavy German dialect possibly that I’m standing at the wrong spot. I had all my explanations but on the other hand not the right german words to rescue me. I chose to stand there and nod. My mask shielded my smile, embarrassment and nervousness, courtesy Corona. The train arrived at third station and I had to go off board with my bike.  I looked at the old man and said “Schön Tag, Tschüss!”. It seemed to please him, his nod and twinkle in the eyes conveyed it to me despite the mask 🙂 🙂

Next I had to board a bus with my bike. It went quite smooth as the bus was empty. I could freely, proudly, ohne risk stand in the assigned spot for a bicycle.

Once I reached my stop, I had to climb a steep slope with my bike to reach the Aaper Wald. At the top then it was decently plateauish and I could cycle around. It was a vast open field of Kohlrabi. The green leaves laden with winter dew seemed dreamy and fresh. Narrow roads bordered these fields. People were jogging, walking, cycling. Small kids were also on their cute bikes, all geared up with colourful helmets and jackets.

On one side of the fields were the woods. Despite being robbed off their leaves by the Fall season, the tall trees were standing strong in the cold winter with a green hope in their hearts ♥️

For the first 30mins I was stopping at places, clicking pictures and making videos. Because of the cold, my hands were freezing and as a result of the in-between stops my meditation was breaking. So I put my gadgets in my bag, wore my hand gloves and leapt into a meditation mode 🧘🏻‍♀️

Sometimes I cycled through the forest and sometimes would be on foot when the roads were not so good. I was tired, breathing heavily, however, the air was clean, fresh and so pure. There was no sound of cars. Just the melodies of the forest and human life chirping. It was tranquil around me.  I climbed one small hill and from the top I could see the green patch of the Kohlrabi field, the narrow roads & the human life form at a distance.

On a Sunday morning, my body and mind was actually “chilling” positively at this place. I took a deep breath, soaking in the serenity & purity of this Aaper Wald. I promised myself to see this Wald again when the temperatures are bearable and certainly in summers this will be the weekend-go-to-place.

 

With gratitude in my heart for being alive, healthy, able to breath in this fresh air, see the green lush earth and for my Fahrrad for making the wandering easier, I pedalled back home for some warmth and hot (Trup)tea 😉