Wintersportzentrum Erbeskopf
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| the view from the top: yup, it was a nice hike up! |
Rodeln im Schnee! As if skiing in the Alps wasn't enough, the freshly fallen snow sent us on a journey to find a good sledding hill. Found a Wintersportzplatz website (auf Deutsch only) and a 2006 article online about the place. It's definitely a little known Winterpark area to the average American tourist, as the location was practically secret, the signage was minimal and everyone spoke German, except for the ski-rental guy!
I couldn't find GPS coordinates for it, although GPS "Heather" (as we call her) sent us on a beautiful storybook drive over the river, thru the hills to a cow pasture about an hour away. (The farmer gazed curiously then went about his work.) We even stumbled upon a "fun & love hotel....thought I might ask for directions until I realized what it really was...try explaining that to 3 boys...
Running low on diesel, we found the Esso, asked for directions and in a fabulous German-only conversation, I managed to get directions. We had actually driven past it earlier, but again, the signs didn't say anything about "Wintersportzplatz"--the ski/sled area wasn't visible from the road. The signs: "Hunsrückhaus" really???? not even one Wintersportz sign.
15€ later, we rented 3 sleds (Rodeln) for 2 hours. According to the English article, there was a tow bar to get you up the mountain to sled. Not so much the case anymore, but we (I) needed the workout anyway! We had a fabulous time tromping up and sledding/falling back down. Z and I rode together and upon putting the brakes on (my feet) the sled went one direction, we went the other and as we stood up, we watched the sled continue its descent without us. Poor Z tried to run and catch it --at the bottom of the hill! A (our nearly 6ft tall bubba, now affectionately referred to as "Klaus" by his father) discovered that sleds are easier to ride on when you're younger/shorter! N (our daredevil) flew down the slopes, trudged right up again and didn't want to leave. (there was a shorter "bunny" hill for sledding as well, with a few interesting bumps that sent the kids flying thru the air!)
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| adventure park swing near the ropes course |
The hill was hardly busy, although the ski area was a bit more crowded. Looked like a great place for beginners to ski, although waiting for the lift looked liked it was time consuming. There are no all day passes there, instead you buy a punch card (10 or 20 rides). Equipment rental was available, but it looked like most people brought their own. You could bring your own sled as well. A food hut and warming area was there as well. For those not interested in sledding/skiing, a nature preserve museum, cross country and nordic trails could keep you busy for awhile. Bring your German dictionary so you can understand the trail maps.
This place looked like a fabulous spring/summer adventure park with a ropes course through the forest. The boys are definitely interested in coming back here!
Tschuss!
Linda
Location: http://www.erbeskopf.de/tourismus-kultur/wintersportzentrum-erbeskopf.html
Head towards Trier on the A62; take the Birkenfeld exit to B269 follow this priority road thru Birkenfeld and on thru the village of Ellenberg (heading towards Mörbach). Left onto L-164 towards Deuselbach. Then watch for a sign/flags at the entrance on your left, about 3km down the road.
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