A region without schöttergartens (gardens which got filled with stones so not a single green sprout could show, typical for the Benelux and Germany). I cannot believe it. In a random small village like Niederbronn-les-Bains we find more public space than in the occasional 25x more populated city in Flanders. We find bakery goods which the baker must have picked up, after they were dropped by an eagle who in turn stole it from atop a shiny mountain where the sun went under purple while a wizard crafted this peculiar piece of bakery art for his true love. And we find sandstone!

Fleckensteinerweg.

 

We meet people arriving from Berlin, Antwerp, Limburg and Frankfurt (David and Birgitta from Bohuslän). Rusted randomly placed rings alternate bolts and well protectable cracks. On climbing days we choose our routes carefully as there is a lot of variation in climbing quality with greasy sandy chossymossy routes alternating outspoken legendary lines.

 

• Left:
  Associés directe (one move wonder) seen from Parapluie de Pierre (sketchy unprotected start + weird top mantle).

• Center:
  Vol des Chauves Souris (highly recommended) seen from Normal Sup (highly recommended).

• Right:
  La Fissure (semi-trad) (very very recommended) seen from Pasiphaé (unsafe crux, full commitment required).

 

Recommended topo: Despite already dating back from 2009 we favored Sandsteinfelsen der Vogesen by Timo Marschner, Martin Schepers, et al..