Don't waste a nice Autumn weekend

Yesterday, since the weather was forecast to be nicer, Will and I decided to go for a walk in the Taunus hills. We took the bus to Kronberg and from there walked through a nice park and up to Falkenstein where on the hill there are the ruins of a castle. We we able to sit on an old wall and look out over the valley. All the little towns and then Frankfurt behind. It was a bit hazy and we couldn't actually see the river. The weather was great and the sun was shining.

Hard to see Frankfurt - but it is somewhere in the distance. Here we were at about 500 m elevation. We had come from 355 m in Kronberg. 

We started talking about the Taunus hills as I was trying to figure out where the highest point was. Will pointed out the various weather towers on one hill as the highest point. For some reason I then decided we should hike up there, right then. Kind of crazy, we hadn't prepared to do actual hiking, there was only 3 hours left before the sun set and we had no clue how to get there. So we just started walking in the right direction hoping to find signs. Of course (if you know the area) we did find lots of signs, but no where along the way were the signs to Feldberg. Everytime we came to a fork we just chose the path that kept going in the right general direction, or the one that was going up. We really lucked out because we found a nice route to the top. There was one point near the top where we started to think we were on the wrong hill, but just then the towers came into view. We ran into the road that goes to the top, and climbed the last little way to the area at the top.

View away from Frankfurt from Großer Feldberg (the highest peak of the Taunus at 878 m)

It was a good thing that I got so much exercise yesterday because today I went out for lunch with the Steinbach crew. Andy and Lindsay had rented a car this weekend and so took us all to Hofheim to a restaurant they had been told about. It was the Waldgeist XXXXXL restaurant. And it definitely was XXXXXL!! I had a 1/4 schnitzel which was 250g of meat - I think about twice a normal portion! The largest piece of meat on the menu was 2.3 kg of schnitzel! It even included a little note saying "nur für eine Person" (only for 1 person). We saw someone order the 30 cm hamburger.... We asked how long the restaurant had been open, and apparently 11 years but the XXXXXL part only for 9. And it started as a kind of joke, and then caught on! The food was great, and I now have dinner as well! And all of this for less than 15 €. Too bad the only way to get there is with a car. 

Well, I've got a pretty busy week coming up. Tomorrow a group of us are having a movie night to watch the 3rd Twilight movie because on Thursday we are going to the theatre to see the new one. Plus Christmas markets open on Thursday!!! I believe we will be heading into Frankfurt for those on Friday. Good thing the week is busy with so many fun things :)