On Saturday we walked about 5 km along the Reuss River near the city of Wohlen, starting in a small and quaint medieval-looking town called Mellingen. The interesting thing about this stretch of the Reuss River between Bremgarten and where it flows into the Aar River at Brugg is that in a popular vote of 1965 it was decided that there should be no more construction along this section of the river, no motorboats, and no dams or blockages so that the river can flow as it will. We even saw evidence of beavers (they do try to tackle some very large trees!). It was slightly cold and windy, but we really just wanted a bit of an afternoon walk.
On Sunday we had no big plans, as the weather was supposed to be bad. But as the day was shaping up to be sunny we headed nearby to Menzingen in the direction of Aegeri again for another short walk through pastoral landscapes and around monastery grounds so we would be back home early in the day.
The main feature of both these walks was that the trail was mostly paved or forest trail, which was interestingly not too annoying but ideal for this time of year as it has been raining a lot and our preferred trails are simply too muddy.
Ca. 6 km along the Reuss River near Mellingen (near Wohlen) on Saturday:
(1 hour, 15 minutes to get there)
 |
| Just a little over 5 km walking along the Reuss River, mostly on nice forest paths, after visiting the town of Mellingen. |
 |
| The town of Mellingen on the Reuss River has roots that go back to the 11th Century |
 |
| Before heading on our walk along the Reuss River, we crossed the bridge to have a look at the little town (two streets). |
 |
| Height warnings for the low archway on the city gate didn't prevent vehicles from removing some of the cement! |
 |
| Looking down the town's main road to the other city gate with the clock tower. |
 |
| The two roads around Mellingen's old town center |
 |
| On this wall is transcribed in Latin what was originally declared here to the town citizens in 1296: The Dukes of Austria, Habsburg and Kyburg who ruled the area at the time, gave the citizens all the same rights and freedoms as the citizens of the city of Winterthur, as a reward for their loyalty and good behaviour |
 |
| This little castle was originally owned by servants (butlers) of the House of Kyburg from the early 14th Century to the 16th Century. It was rebuilt in 1575 and renovated in 1968 |
 |
| Separate portions of the castle were built in separate centuries! |
 |
| The original Carnival Parade? |
 |
| The first documented mention of the Catholic Parish Church in Mellingen was 1045. This Early Gothic construction is from 1675. |
 |
| Heading South along the Reuss River after leaving the town of Mellingen. The rest of the 5 km walk was mostly through forest paths with glimpses of the river. There was also a cold wind blowing. |
 |
| Information boards tell us that the Reuss River between Bremgarten and Brugg (where it joins the Aar River) is one of the most attractive sections of the Reuss River and it is allowed its natural flow here. |
 |
| Originally we had planned to walk further along the river, but because of the cold wind, we decided to end here at Gnadental, a former monastery, now a care facility. |
 |
| Walking a small section of the Reuss River near Wohlen, Canton Aargau |
Ca. 6 km walk from Menzingen to Aegeri (near Zug) on Sunday:
(30 minutes by bus)
 |
| A 6-km Sunday afternoon stroll in the area between lakes Zug and Aegeri, just a 30-minute bus ride from home. We started in Menzingen and walked via Gubel Monastery to Unterägeri |
 |
| There is a very large working monastery in Menzingen, the main feature of this town. That's where we started on our walk. |
 |
| Close up view of the monastery in Menzingen, with its copper dome |
 |
| The landscape is slowly starting to look spring-like |
 |
| A view westward toward Lake Zug and the town of Cham |
 |
| The Gubel Monastery. It was a popular walking destination for this Sunday afternoon. |
 |
| The first fleabanes? (Tiny daisies) |
 |
| We sat on a bench on the monastery grounds and admired the landscape to the South, with the back of Mount Wildspitz, and the forested area that we are going to cross before heading down to Unteräegeri behind that. |
 |
| Cute little shed? |
 |
| A typical farmhouse of this area |
 |
| There used to be a sandstone quarry here, and this house was built in 1874 to replace an old barn to serve as accommodation for the quarry workers. The cornerstones of the house and the stairway are all made of the sandstone from the quarry across the road |
 |
| Looking down at the town of Unterägeri before descending to the bus |
 |
| This is near where we live, so we have done a lot of hiking in this area. Recently we started in Unterägeri and walked along the East side of Mt. Zug to Allenwinden. This time we started in Menzingen and ended in Unterägeri (both the yellow paths) |
No comments:
Post a Comment