Slow down – ARS NATURA art trail

Haydau Monastery in Altmorschen with the Ars Natura circular route x3 - http://www.ars-natura-stiftung.de/index.php/de/x3-14-rundweg-morschen

Today, we decided to "slow down"... so we started quite early.... the route was quite easy to walk on tarmac and gravel, with short sections that were a bit more rustic... there were benches/rest stops every now and then, and some beautiful views. The highlights along the route were the many works of art, which I, admittedly as an art ignoramus, didn't really appreciate... but there were beautiful views that I definitely appreciated 😁 Overall, it was a nice walk that was quite varied in terms of scenery and was really fun for us! PS: We cut back a bit on the trail in town. More information about the trail: https://www.mittleres-fuldatal.de/media/touren/entschleunigung-kunstwandern-in-und-um-morschen#/article/fa144632-a692-4f51-bafc-89de0c6f275e

Today I used my day off for a really nice hike. We started with the train to Altmorschen, first visited the Haydau monastery. I was there before in autumn, always nice. Then we continued through the very well-kept, beautiful place to the forest. It was pleasantly warm and I even had to take off my jacket. I really like the ARS-Natura trails. That's why at the end of the day I can say that the journey was worth it - I did everything right.

The name says it all - deceleration. Half-timbered houses, Haydau Monastery, views, intact forest, meadows and fields - crowned by various works of art. Only the signs are a kind of search game. Parking in the parking lot at the monastery, directly opposite the main entrance is the Waltari-Bergmann-Platz, the starting point. The monastery garden is highly recommended.

After our longer hiking break, we first have to acclimatize again as far as the length of the route is concerned. So we chose a clear route, which - in my opinion - has an extremely pretty, feminine elevation profile (my wife scolds). We chose a circular route on the Ars Natura because splashes of color are rarely found at this time of the year and we were hoping for some impressions from this artificial hiking trail. We started in the morning in Morschen on the south parking lot of the Haydau monastery, briefly roamed through the monastery and then walked a detour through the village. The first installations of the art trail were already on display here. We left the residential area on ascending farm roads and reached the forest via Morschen. The path led us further uphill to a crossroads, which is referred to as "Kaufmanns Rast". Here we had reached the highest point of the first section. In order to be able to take a look at the octopus tree, we left the Ars Natura, hiked a small detour and met the next work of art at the edge of the forest "as planned". The then sloping path to Eubach offered us a beautiful view from the north over Morschen into the Fulda valley. When we reached Eubach, we meandered a bit through the village, because the originally planned path, which led through an organic farm, was blocked with a prohibition sign. Now it was uphill again along a babbling brook. Above the quarry we turned into the forest and the service road led us to a forest crossing. Here we turned southwest and used an old tree stump for our little break. Now we hiked back on the steeply sloping path to the village of Morschen. Contrary to expectations, the weather was good and so we made a short tour through the beautiful monastery complex before we bought tomatoes for dinner at a stall. Conclusion: The circular route was well suited as an entry point in terms of length and incline. The Ars Natura artworks provided the expected splashes of color. The condition of some installations is somewhat disappointing. Completely moldy books at the "deceleration terminal", partially missing signs and damaged works of art spoil the enjoyment. That could certainly be raised to a better level with a little commitment, but maybe we were just here too early in the year. All in all: a nice hike, where Peter was kind to us.

I was on the Ars Natura tour near Morschen today 🐾👣 First in sunshine and then in the rain. The topic of the round is "deceleration" and there are some really great works of art again. Unfortunately, it was still too cold for me to really "slow down". In summer it is certainly super nice to sit in the circle of the elements or to enjoy the sound installation 🙂👍🏻 I didn't discover the "bird woman", so I went back and looked for it. Either it doesn't exist anymore or I just didn't find it 😁 My favorite of today's round is the "Rider in Oak" I found the many "dog signs" a bit strange, there were just so many of them. I must have seen 10 on the way through Morschen alone. After the hike I wanted to have a look around the Haydau monastery, but unfortunately dogs were also forbidden here 🙄