Hike: Nature Park Schönbuch

Want to experience and get to know local nature, the flora and fauna? You should head out to a nature park in Schönbuch forest. You could either just do a hike through Bebenhausen and then further deeper in the woods or choose another topic for your hike, for example, meeting the animals living in the area or looking for medicinal herbs. If you are not very comfortable doing that alone, check out their webpage – the nature park offers various events throughout the year, hiking route plans and all necessary information for a very interesting day out.

Roundtrip distance: 10-20 km depending on where you start in Tübingen and how much ground you want to cover.
Info: Check the webpage https://naturpark-schoenbuch.de for events and hiking route plans in the forest.

Bike: Siebenmühlental

Get your wheels spinning! This trip to Siebenmühlental and back can be, first, another training path for your road bike adventures and/or Tübingen triathlon, or it can be a whole day outing with various stops for food, sweets and incredible nature.

From Tübingen you need to get going on the bike lane towards Bebenhausen, then Dettenhausen and from there to Waldenbuch (your first stop at RitterSport, perhaps?). From Waldenbuch head towards Glashütte and turn left at the parking lot “Wanderparkplatz” to the bike path (or better yet, follow Google maps directions for biking). Here you enter the 10-kilometre-long valley of the seven mills. Stop for a bite at Schlösslesmühle, Mäuhlesmühle or Eselsmühle. The latter keeps donkeys, chickens and sheep that you can pet and bakes incredible bread at their local shop.

Round trip distance and time: approx. 55 km / whole day (or aim at 2-3 hours if you are training)
Info: Enter Elselsmühle in Google Maps and choose bike option. After Waldenbuch you should keep east from Steinenbronn.

Train: Zürich, Switzerland

Picture by Falk Lademann

There are two ways to get a special glimpse of the Zürich panorama: One way is to hike up to the city’s highest peak, Uetliberg, at 871 meters above sea level, and climb the panorama tower on top of it. Another way is to gaze over the Zürich lake to the old town from a floating sauna. Yes, you’ve read it right – the sauna “Seebad Enge” is situated on a floating platform on the lake itself. It has a Finnish-type dry sauna, a relaxation area, a swimming pool filled with lake water and an access to the lake. Not to mention, an incredible view of Zürich coastline.

Trip distance and time: 200 km / 3 hours (approximately)
Info: Take regional train from Tübingen to Horb and from there catch an IC to Zürich HB.

Plane: Geyikbayiri, Turkey

Primarily a climbers’ paradise, this little area in the mountains just behind Antalya offers a lot of activities also for people interested in hiking, skiing and visiting ruins dating back to Roman empire. Stay at one of the camping places – you can get a bungalow for cheap there – and check out the beautiful world-class climbing just 5-10 minutes away from your bed. Knowledge on single-rope safety techniques is a prerequisite! Beginners will have plenty to do but if you crush higher grades (7a-8a), you’re in for a treat! For the hiking enthusiasts interested in historical sites, visiting the ruins of Typalia, Trebenna and Termessos is highly recommended. Finally, the peaks around Geyikbayiri offer skiing even until April or May, so check out Saklikent ski resort.

Trip distance and time: approx. 3000 km / 3 hours by plane from Stuttgart and additional 1 hour by car or transfer from Antalya to Geyikbayiri.
Info: various airlines offer direct flights to Antalya from Stuttgart, so check www.skyscanner.de. Rent a car or get a transfer at your camping to get from airport to Geyikbayiri.

Aiste Seibokaite is a GTC doctoral student in the work group “Innovative Neuroimaging in Psychiatry” led by Prof. Birgit Derntl in Tübingen.