Philipp Fuchs and Christina Fuchs-Riesch know the paths in the Palatinate Forest well: the high grounds and valleys, the sources and fortresses—and their accessibility with a pram. After the birth of their daughter Sophia eleven years ago they began to look for baby-friendly tours. The collection the couple started to compile grew continuously and so did the interest of other families in their project. So the couple from the Palatinate wrote a hiking guide: “Mit dem Kinderwagen durch die Pfalz” (Taking a pram through the Palatinate). Philipp Fuchs reveals three of his favourite tours in an interview with WO SONST.
Philipp Fuchs’ life is closely connected with the Palatinate Forest. The customs officer grew up and got to know his wife here. Here, they became a family. And here they live: in Lindenberg, a little municipality with an approximate 1,000 inhabitants—in the midst of treetops. Neustadt an der Weinstraße is a seven-kilometre’s drive away, the Hambach Castle some twelve kilometres. Philipp constructed a forest playground in Lindenberg together with other parents. And on weekends he used to volunteer for several hours in the nearby Naturfreundehaus mountain hut in the Kohlbachtal valley—in the kitchen between steaming pots.
For Philipp, the Palatinate Forest is most impressionable, however, when he hikes along its trails and paths—when pebbles crunch under his soles, soft forest grounds cushion his steps or he has to climb over tree roots. “My wife and I have always liked hiking,” he says. In high mountains, for example. But primarily in the “most beautiful forest Germany has to offer,” he says with a tone of pride.
This hasn’t changed even after the birth of his daughter Sophia in 2010, neither after the birth of her brother Jakob four years later. The family used to spend much of their parental leave in the forest—the three of them, the four of them, and sometimes even with grandma and grandpa. “We would usually take a pram suitable for the countryside, with four air-filled wheels,” Philipp explains, which should do for most of the tracks in the forest. Apart from a pram, there are other things to be considered, when you plan a baby-friendly tour—such as the profile of the route, regular opportunities to stop off at a hut to change and feed the baby or to warm oneself up. “Apart from that you may need an incentive that motivates the kids. For our son Jakob this is the great meals the huts offer. He is kind of a comfortable type of hiker,” Philipp says. The daughter has walked next to her parents from early on. Jakob, on the other hand, used to ‘hike’ in the pram until his fourth birthday.
“During stopovers at the huts, we used to meet a number of families that were using our book. We sat down next to them with a smile, asking them what they thought about it.” Some 10,000 copies of the hiking guide were sold of the first edition. The second edition has been available in bookshops since 2020. And the Fuchs family never tires of compiling new pram-suitable tours, despite of the fact that Sophia and Jakob already prefer exploring “their” Palatinate Forest on foot.
Here are three tours the authors of the book “Mit dem Kinderwagen durch die Pfalz” (Taking a pram through the Palatinate) recommend as some of their favourites:
Our favourite “Knallertour”: from Gleisweiler to the Trifelsblickhütte hut
Length of the tour: 12.5 km | Duration: 4 hours | Ascent: 304 m | Incline: 378 m
To begin with: The tour is demanding and exhausting. However, it has a lot to offer: palm trees, a “forest shower,” animals carved out of wood with loving care, a typical Palatinate Forest hut without electricity and a castle ruin from which you have a unique view.
Abspeichern, ausdrucken und loswandern: Hier kommt die detaillierte Wegbeschreibung!
The oldest chairlift in the Palatinate, a castle ruin and a deer enclosure—close to the Villa Ludwigshöhe
Length of the tour: 8 km | Duration: 2 hours | Ascent: 311 m | Incline: 318 m
It is a great circular tour for families with children: a hike around the Villa Ludwigshöhe that has a very special meaning for us: We got engaged and then married at the Villa Ludwigshöhe. So, of course, we had to put a tour together that includes it. The special feature of this tour: We take a ride on the Rietburgbahn, the oldest chairlift in the Palatinate. It has a special mount to take even the pram. Once at the top, there is not only the castle ruin, but also an enclosure with deer that you may feed.
Abspeichern, ausdrucken und loswandern: Hier kommt die detaillierte Wegbeschreibung!
Kuckuckswanderung (cuckoo hike) in the heart of the Palatinate Forest and to the Naturfreundehaus hut in Elmstein
Length of the tour: 6.1 km | Duration: 1.5 hours | Ascent: 190 m | Incline: 188 m
Our third recommendation leads hikers to my hometown Elmstein—I was born and bred in Elmstein. Cows, Christmas tree plantations and a number of playgrounds wait for you here.
Abspeichern, ausdrucken und loswandern: Hier kommt die detaillierte Wegbeschreibung!
Book recommendation: Christina Fuchs-Riesch, Philipp Fuchs: “Mit dem Kinderwagen durch die Pfalz,” Knecht Verlag, Landau 2020, EUR 16.90.
The book is available in book shops, alternatively you can order it directly at the publisher’s at www.buecherknecht.de