Start in the forest recreation area
We have already tested four Hiwwelt tours, and today is the last one. So far, every Hiwwelt tour has been varied and special in its own way; we are excited to see what the Hiwweltour Neuborn will surprise you.
The starting point of the hike is the parking lot at the Neuborn forest recreation area. It rained heavily during the night, and the natural ground is damp. In the meantime, however, it no longer looks like rain, so we are all the more looking forward to the eight kilometers or so that lie ahead of us today.
Already on the first meters we dive into nature: Meadows, butterflies and - due to the wet ground - snails, which we try to avoid as best we can. A real slalom!
Vines and roses
As soon as we leave the forest recreation area, we catch sight of the first vines. It is striking that roses grow next to many vines. Especially in the past, the roses were a kind of "early warning system", because diseases such as mildew first appeared on the rosebush. The vines could then still be well helped. Nowadays there are other methods to fight against such diseases. But the roses are still planted with pleasure - perhaps out of tradition or simply because it looks beautiful.
We pass the outskirts of Wörrstadt. If you feel like it, you can make a short detour to the center from here, but we stay on the Hiwweltour and continue hiking through the vineyards. We watch vintners and wine workers pruning the vines and still have to dodge the one or other snail. So in the middle of the vineyard, they must be snails.
The wine red vineyard storm
In the middle of the sea of vines stands the Burgundy Tower, which attracts us from afar with its strong, wine-red color. The tower with its viewing platform is modeled on the vineyard towers in Burgundy, because Wörrstadt has been twinned with the French community of Arnay-le-Duc there for many years.
The wind whistles quite strongly up here, but the view is fantastic. The vines look completely different from this perspective, less uniform and somehow wilder. In addition, you can - if you know it - recognize many distinctive points of this Hiwweltour, which in our case are still ahead of us.
A fancy house
We continued the Hiwweltour and still walk through the middle of the vineyards. A little later we reach a small covered rest area - "donated by the countrywomen, created by the pensioners' gang" the sign under the roof enlightens us. Particularly nice is the small plaque that explains the wonderful view we have from here of the rolling hills, into the valley and towards Sulzheim.
We won't miss the next detour, even though it requires a relatively steep climb. The Perka Vineyard House, inaugurated in 2011, is the first of its kind made of ultra-high-strength concrete. It is a joint project of the architecture and civil engineering departments of the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and one of the most unusual winery houses in all of Rheinhessen; definitely the most unusual we have seen on all Hiwwelt tours.
Dreamlike views and enchanted paths
Our next destination is the Greifenberg. The isolated tree with the spherical crown is extremely striking and has caught our eye several times before on this tour. Now we stand under it and enjoy a great 360-degree panoramic view over the hills of Rheinhessen all the way to the Taunus Mountains. A sign indicates that Roman sarcophagus finds were made here at Greifenberg. The table of wine is perfect for taking a short break with great scenery.
The hiking trail leads us down to a hedge whose entrance looks quite enchanted. I almost feel like Alice when I step through. Instead of Wonderland, a small path lined with trees and shrubs awaits us. Under the protection of the dense canopy of leaves, there is a completely different microclimate. "Outside, the air is quite humid due to last night's rain, but inside I can breathe easy.
Romantic Rommersheim
After this little adventure, civilization has us back. Garden plots with various fruit trees, cackling chickens and small garden houses reveal that we must be close to a village. And lo and behold: a short time later we are standing in the middle of the picturesque village center of Rommersheim.
We pass the shady church square and I admire the many colorful half-timbered houses that line our trail. In Rommersheim there are good places to stop for refreshments like the Winery Ullmer "Zum Woifässje or the Restaurant "To the glass drinking horn, which are open on weekends from noon.
Now it's back up into the vineyards. We hike high above the brick-red roofs of Rommersheim. Even like this, the village looks really charming. We pass horse paddocks and reach the Rommersheim stone cross, the oldest stone testimony of the village.
A true wine walk
In the meantime, we have already covered a few kilometers of this Hiwwelt tour and so we recognize prominent points on the horizon again that we have left behind us; the Burgundy Tower, for example, or the spherical tree on the Greifenberg. It's a great feeling to see in this way how much we have already accomplished!
The Hiwweltour Neuborn is really a true wine hike. We pass a few grain fields in between, but after a few meters we dive back into the vineyards. The hiking trail leads us up and down, we do not miss any "Hiwwel". The feeling of being "in the middle of it all" is really great here!
One last detour
Before we dive again into the forest recreation area Neuborn and thus close the circle of this Hiwweltour, we make a last detour. Instead of turning left in the direction of the forest, we head straight on towards the Oak Farm to.
The family-run organic farm keeps pigs and sells homemade sausage and other delicacies of the region in the farm store. We stock up with plenty of souvenirs for home, after all, there is not much distance ahead of us, so the backpack can be a little heavier. From the friendly saleswomen we then get the tip that we could walk across the large courtyard to look at the self-grown herb garden - said, done.
Back in the forest
Now it's really back to the forest recreation area for us, even if only for a short distance. We enjoy the silence, which is only interrupted by the chirping of the birds and the quiet splashing of the Neubornquelle spring. The latter comes in handy after a good eight kilometers of hiking. We refresh our faces and dry throats with the wonderfully cold spring water.
If you are thirsty for a more extensive refreshment, then you are in the Forest restaurant Neuborn. In case of high heat you can use the Hiwweltour Neuborn also in the Neuborn Bath and cool off in the water there.
Unfortunately, it is not that warm today, so we slowly return to the starting point of our hike. The last of the five new Hiwwelt tours is hiked and I can't decide which one I liked best, because each one is so different in its own way. Probably that's what I like best!
