I hike. A LOT, but I can easily say the Moorwald (Bog Forest) in Bad Leonfelden, Austria was the most entertaining 4km (3.6 km) to be exact that I’ve ever walked.
My husband, J.P. and I choose the Moorwald since it promised a short beautiful healing hike – the healing being the Kneipp arm and foot baths (the brain child of Bavarian monk Sebastian Kneipp who founded the Kneipp Cure, a type of hydrotherapy) and bog treatment – apparently bathing in a bog also has healing properties, including treating gout. Fortunately neither of us has gout, but curiosity got the best of us. Plus the Moorwald path fit in well with our stay at the Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa Bad Leonfelden a wellness hotel, which even offers a unique Kneipp Pure Living program.
In addition to being a healing hike, the Moorwald path is also family friendly. We don’t have kids, but we sure behaved liked them on what has been the most interactive hike I’ve ever done!
We slayed huge dragons!
Climbed on huge play structures constructed entirely from trees.
Contemplated trying the Kneipp arm and foot bath which among other things helps to improve circulation. J.P. thought this was the perfect solution for my cold feet. The 5C crisp temperatures on the other hand convinced me that I’ll just wear extra warm socks.
I did try my hand at making music though. Watch for my
Sounds of Nature CD being released just in time for Christmas! I kid!
I also took photos of the gorgeous bog forest, but despite the healing powers of the bog, it’s protected, since it’s a highly sensitive space so I stuck to the boardwalk as indicated by the signs.
I contemplated the alternative - a bog foot-bath but soaking my feet in cold mud on a cold day just didn’t appeal to me that much if I’m honest, but I told myself the REAL reason was that I didn’t have a towel with me.
Next up was the jump test where my fierce competitors ranged from a field mouse to a deer and everything in between. The good news is that I didn’t come in dead last – the field mouse had that honor, but I came in behind the deer and don’t even mention the squirrel to me. He holds the record with a whopping 4.5 meter jump!
You just never know who you were going to meet in the bog forest, like this impressive guy!
Next up came the impossible, a labyrinth! You had to move the ball through the maze only by shifting your balance on your feet. I could barely stand for more than 2 seconds, let alone shift my balance to move some ball around. I deemed it impossible, which naturally meant that J.P. had to try it. I smirked, he would soon see what I meant. Except that it turns out it wasn’t impossible. Less than 3 minutes later he had moved the ball through the entire maze without losing his balance.
Then, out to really impressed me, he showed off his strength by climbing up a wall! Not bad! Glad I married him!
So I didn’t pass ALL the tests the Moorwald (blog forest) presented to me – damn squirrel and balancing labyrinth! But I had have a blast and felt like a kid again! That’s more than reason enough for me to love the Moorwald!
