Grasleben: Touring the Lappwald
This saturday we are in for a roundtrip within the Lappwald. We start at the former bus station spa hotel Grasleben. The walk starts slowly and unhurriedly but upgrades gradually in its highlights. At first we pass by the idyllic Schafsteich. We then reach the rambler’s parking lot Drillingskiefer, come across the Studententeich and visit the Teufelshütte at the Fünfeckenstein and chill finally at the gravel pit quarz crystal of Weferlingen.
Easygoing start
We leave the parking lot at the Helmstedter Straße and turn left in front of the car bridge into the forest. Initially we walk through the woods, then a short piece through Mariental-Horst before we turn left again into the Lappwald. For the next five kilometres we walk straight until we reach the Schafsteich. This is a nice place for a break. The Schafsteich is a biotope that hold a lot of water lilies, roaches and dragonflies. Even kingfishers are said to live here. According to an information board the lake was created in the 18th century. The Schafsteich is not only a nice resting for relaxing and abidance. At this place a lot of insects can be watched within its natural habitat.
At the triplet pine
We circle the Schafsteich one and enjog the silence. Well at least until I see a blue condom dangling from a branch. Seems to be a good spot for an amorous tête-à-tête?! From the pond the rambler’s parking lot at the triplet pine is close. The pine is a tree with three trunks, something like a symbol for the Lappwald above Helmstedt.
Close to this distinctive place we find the Studententeich. This pool is smaller than the Schafsteich but you can also find dragonflies here. Unfortunately it does not want to be shot today.
Devil’s hut at the Fünfeckenstein
The next hiking highlight, the devil’s hut at the Fünfeckenstein, is quite a bit away. I am already curious to know what is the deal with this sight. In transit we meet some hikers who use the walk in the Lappwald for collecting mushrooms. The pickings however seem to be scarce. Two of the three baskets carried along are half-empty. We also would have loved to collect some boletus. Unfortunately we do not face any.
When we finally reach the hut at the Fünfeckenstein we are a little bit irritated. There is not corresponding stone. We see a rubblestone though but it does not have five corners. Eventually we get to know that the place is being name after five hiking trails that start here. Aha, but where does the devil’s hut got its name from? Seems like this remains an unsolved secret.
Deep blue and infinite silence
We leave the resting area a little bit helpless. So what, the the gravel pit quarz crystal of Weferlingen is still in front of us. Upon reaching this place we are disappointed at first. Everything is blocked with red and warning tape and also fitted with a CCTV system. Is that supposed to be it? A little bit further down the road we discover a place where we can climb a hill quite unhindered. Therebye we catch a magnificent view over the artificially generated pond. It is marvellous how beautifully the clouds mirror in the water and how quite and calm this place is. It feels like there is nothing else around us in this special moment.
We remain devotional for an instance and enjoy the view that could be somewhere at the carribbean using some imagination and the right solar irridiation. It’s good that places like that exist.
We turn left behind the site onto an old convoy road. We move uphill by now. Because of today’s temperatures we start sweating right at the end of this hike. We then turn right into a nice small trail that leads us back to Grasleben. From the ridge of the forest we enjoy a nice view onto the spa hotel at first and then onto the rest of the town.
We walk down the Hungerberg and reach the old train station of Grasleben. Meanwhile the building was modified by private citizens into a residential building. We walk back to our starting point at the Helmstedter Straße through the housing estates.
