When Trains Fail, Hikes Prevail: A May Day Adventure in the Hildesheim Forest
Today, my advice is simple: under no circumstances should you rely on Deutsche Bahn. You’d have better luck playing the lottery. Sadly, this isn’t the first time the train has failed to get me where I needed to go. And so it was again this May 1st. But despite the rocky start, we managed to turn a nearly failed day into a memorable hiking adventure through the Hildesheim Forest, ending at the lookout tower with a full-on May Day celebration.
The Train? Cancelled.
I didn’t even dare buy a ticket the night before. Who knows if the trains would actually be running as scheduled? Unfortunately, my fears were justified. Already at Braunschweig station, the loudspeakers were announcing cancellations. I managed to catch a regional train to Hildesheim, but from there… nothing. The plan had been to continue on to Coppenbrügge, but the platform grew more suspicious by the minute as no train arrived and no announcement followed. Finally, three minutes past the scheduled departure, confirmation came: The train is canceled. No reason given. Perfect. I called Torsten to update him. We were supposed to meet in Hildesheim, but now I had no hike lined up.
A New Plan: Into the Hildesheim Forest
While I waited, I searched for alternatives and found a promising 18-kilometer loop from Nienstedt through the forest. Could be something! When Torsten arrived at the station, we drove together to Nienstedt and started the hike at the Ziegenberg Hut, where the village maypole had been raised. The trail began across open fields before reaching the edge of the forest. We were in luck with the weather—it was almost summery.
Ridge Walking Between Diekholzen and Barfelde
About half an hour later, we reached the ridge trail between Diekholzen and Barfelde. It’s a beautiful, narrow path with frequent glimpses of the surrounding countryside. We passed several boundary stones, some marked in red or blue—apparently to prevent mountain bikers from knocking them over.
The forest trail meandered in what felt like random directions until we arrived at the Mathildenhall intersection, where, once again, the only thing to see was an information board. We continued walking—and suddenly, a tower appeared before us. Wait, hadn’t I seen this before?
Yes! I’d been here once before in December 2021. We had stumbled upon the Hildesheim Forest Lookout Tower—and today, it was alive with music, people, and festive vibes. Live music, strawberry punch, and tons of good cheer. And wait… what’s that sound? A peacock?
Peacock Pride and Strawberry Punch
Indeed! Not just one, but two magnificent peacocks were strutting their stuff, each trying to outshine the other. Their iridescent feathers shimmered like evening gowns. They posed and paraded like they knew exactly how fabulous they looked. I was mesmerized by the royal blue sheen of their heads and necks, and the “eye” patterns on their tail feathers that looked like embroidered jewels. Nature really outdid itself.
Eventually, we found a spot in the beer garden and treated ourselves to a glass of strawberry punch. A one-man band played the Westernhagen hit “Es geht mir gut” in the background—and honestly, in that moment, I was doing just fine. But we still had more trail ahead, so after a while, we reluctantly left the cozy scene behind and re-entered the forest, heading toward Diekholzen.
“Please Turn Around”
After a while, the voice in our hiking app informed us that we’d gone the wrong way. Her repetitive monotone got on our nerves fast. Eventually, we emerged from the woods into a residential area—St.-Georg-Ring in Diekholzen. Hmm, now what?
At the end of the street, we found a parking lot with a trail map and spotted a route that might lead us back to Nienstedt. But where was the trailhead? We walked under a railway bridge and asked a passing cyclist, who checked his phone and told us to take the next left and follow the train tracks until we rejoined the ridge trail.
Off the Grid
That seemed fine at first—until we hit a dead end. Now what?
Torsten consulted Google Maps, which told us to walk straight… into the forest… where there was no visible path. Still, we decided to give it a try—and somehow, after trudging through “the middle of nowhere,” we made it back to our ridge trail. From there, it was still 3.6 kilometers to Nienstedt.
Wrapping Up in Nienstedt
We descended steadily and eventually arrived back in Nienstedt. We took a quick stroll through the village, hoping to catch a glimpse of St. Andreas Church. The village is peaceful and quaint—barely more than two streets wide.
Our circular hike ended where it began: at the Ziegenberg Hut, beside the maypole. It turned out to be a beautiful hike on a perfect-weather day. I’m so glad we salvaged what started as a frustrating morning. And the best part? The train actually brought me back home from Hildesheim without a hitch. 😊
