Thanks for watching!

I currently live in Belgium and I've gone hiking with a group near the Belgium-Germany border. The only thing marking the border is a big ol' rock. A farmer in Belgium caused a fuss earlier this year because he moved the 'rock that was in the way' and didn't realize he moved the Belgium-France border as a result.

I like how you can see just a bit of landscape and as a German you just KNOW it’s in Germany

Once my wife and i hiked from Cologne to Rostock and I was quite surprised to find that you could walk that far without having to cross big streets or walk through towns. One of the best holidays of my life. We did have maps , a compass and were following the signs of trails which you can find everywhere.

A lot of the 'trails' go back to the pre-industrial dirt-road network for people on foot, horseback, carts and carriages which developed over many centuries, conecting hamlet, villages, farms and castles. With the invention of the car some of them were tarmacked, but many where left for acriculture and leisure, and some were eventually 'upgraded' into dedicated 'Weitwandwege' e.g. long-distance hiking trails crossing borders and countries. The U.S. is much less densly populated and had much less 'pre-industrial' time to establish this kind of road system. The focus has been on trains, cars and planes.

You can even walk from Germany to north-west Spain ("Jakobsweg"). However, my favorite is the Black Forest, especially the trails named "Westweg", "Mittelweg" and "Ostweg" which cross the Black Forest from north to south. It's about 150 km. During the warm season you will always find rooms in nice hotels in the villages you pass. You can even plan ahead so you don't have to carry your backpack but the hotel's staff will bring it to your next hotel.

What I really miss since moving to the USA in terms of hiking are the beer-gardens at the top of mountains. :-) It's like the reward for doing all the hiking, and you can count on one being there in Germany.

I really appreciate how easy it is to walk safely through beautiful countryside here, with well maintained trails and paths. And always so much beauty and surprises, too! My dogs also appreciate the freedom to sniff where they want and enjoy the freedom. I can’t walk at the moment due to a stress fracture, so I enjoyed your walk vicariously!

You got some great shots of the landscape! Reminds me of how beautiful Germany is.

In the States, the culture is "NO TRESPASSING -- Survivors will be prosecuted!" Here in Switzerland, there are trails EVERYWHERE, country and city. In the canton of Zurich, for example, the most urban canton, and far from the largest, there are over 20,000 km of paths with signs indicating destinations, walking time, and transport / accommodation / refreshment options.

Nice video. Just in case you didn't know: be careful with your dog. Every forest in Germany has a local ranger that keeps the deer and wild boars in reasonable numbers and if they encounter your dog alone and chasing after deer (especially in spring when they have babies) they are allowed to shoot the dog (it happens more frequently than people realize). If the dog doesn't chase then it is absolutely no issue having him running free.... The ranger will typically give you a warning first.

When I visited The US, rural Oregon to be more specific, I stayed in a small village which was alongside a small creek. I wanted to go to its riverbank, but that was impossible because everyone had their properties right to the water. In Germany you normally have a path alongside a creek or river so everyone can enjoy it.

Yes, it's possible to hike everywhere. For example, you have the "Nordsüdtrail", which you could use to hike from the most nothern point of Germany to the most southern point in one go. A lot of those trails are also quite old, you have medieval "Hohlwege", or even paths from roman time, used not only for centuries, but for millenia.

Fun fact: In Germany, there exists the tradition of "being on a journey", which means that young members of a trade hike through Germany and the adjacent countries for at least two years and a day after finishing their apprenticeship - and the only way of transport that's allowed is on foot or by hitchhiking. They are not allowed to own a car or use public transport.

You calling German paths a trail network is really weird to me. To me (a native German) they are just paths that have always been there, they aren't organized in any way, and they are everywhere. When I go hiking I just walk, and I often spontaneously pick my paths, and sometimes I go off the path to take a shortcut. That's how I grew up. I'd really like to go hiking in the US some day, I get the impression that there's much more true "wilderness" there. But this video kinda made me realize that you have to be a lot more "organized" about it in the US.

The only thing which bothers me is that there is so little wilderness (virtually none) remaining in Germany. Well, we have wolves, plenty of them, but they also prosper in rural areas. Didn't realize that hiking trails in the U.S. are limited to certain areas. Thank you very much for your contribution! Cheers from Berlin!

This is one of the things everyone takes for granted when you grew up here

Hiking in Germany - fabulous! I hiked the Rennsteig. One of the best things I've done in my life.

Hey Lee, youseem to be new in germany so here a couple of infos the Rabbit was definitiv not a wild one, in Germany the wild ones are Hares. Genetically different, can tell by the longer ears on the hare and the fur isnt different coloured. Those apple trees arent freebies, they belong to someone, and if you get caught " stealing" you could be scoulded and even charged. The apples are usually picked late in the season for cider. It might be wise to respect other ppls private trees, and mabey ask beforehand. The dogs without leash in wooded areas and open fields are frowned upon by the hunters that maintain their specific hunting grounds. The rule is you can only release the dog if you definitly can keep him under control, even if a deer ( or rabbit) hops in front of his nose. Hunters are allowed to shoot dogs that are not leashed and on the loose in their hunting revier, and there have been hunters known to enjoy shooting dogs for fun ....just fyi

In general, unless zoning law explicitly says otherwise, private property has to be open to the public. Fences are of course allowed in residential or industrial areas, also in certain recreational areas like ‘allotments’ (Schrebergärten), golf courses, etc.. They are also allowed for raising livestock but there are limits in which areas you can put up fences for that purpose and/or what kind of fences. But while being open to the public, the latter must not damage any property including crops which sort of confines people to existing paths and access roads around fields (or meadows with tall grass). To protect nature and wildlife, in some areas (and/or seasons) visitors might be restricted to existing paths. As to why there are so many paths and ‘roads’ that enable the easy crossing of private (agricultural) property, that has a number of reasons. Fairly fragmented land ownership requiring many access roads to get to each individual plot as well as sometimes ancient travel routes with a right-of-way. In mountainous areas, ancient and newer (access) routes got augmented by hiking enthusiasts as well as tourist offices.

Another shock maybe the right to free roam goes that far that you are allowed to cross private property, or you are not punished (no additional charges ) if you break out of prison. Because it inhibits your freedom of movement and it is a basic human instinct to roam. It also ties into german work-life balance with the sunday being a day of rest (ruhetag) , that's when most people will go out and hike with family etc.

Yeah “walking” in Germany is definitely different, however the kind of paths you were walking on were simply “Landwirtschaftliche Wege” (for agricultural purposes) or “Waldwege” (forest paths)-not the classic hiking trail we think of when we are talking “hiking” in the US. There are actual “proper” hiking trails in the backpacking sense of hiking or day hikes as well, but the ones you walked on are not exactly the ones. Sure, you could most likely walk from your house through whole Europe that way:) but it’s not what an American would consider “let’s go hiking and enjoy some amazing wilderness”, because that’s exactly the difference. There is basically no wilderness left in Germany, not the kind you would find in the US and that motivates people to actually pack their backpacks and set out for a hike. I’m not saying there isn’t at all. There are 16 National Parks in Germany but they only make up for 0.6% of Germany’s terrestrial area…excluding marine and land nature preserves, which are not exactly considered hiking destinations and camping is a complete no no. Now you take Germany’s areal size and compare it to the US and 0.6% worth of National Parks is basically nothing…So, there are limited options is what I’m trying to say, I suppose. In other words, if Germans set out from their home f.ex. they would walk from one village to the next, one town to the next, passing agricultural areas, forests aso but one would never really feel like being off the beaten path, since there would be a house or a road pretty close by. Not what I consider a hiking experience, but it definitely gives a ton of nice nature walk opportunities. And you actually have to have your dog on a leash…most ppl just don’t do it in the woods but you actually are supposed to:)

Wow this landscape is sooo beautiful....definitely gives you a new perspective. Loved the video 🤩

Yes hiking is definitly different here...but I love it! Sometimes we also do overnight hikes...but sleeping in the woods is a bit of a grey area...one night without a big camp is more or less aloude...but not in a Naturschutzgebiet/Nationalpark...fire is definitly forbidden. And by the way...dogs must be on the leash from 1April till 15 of Juli to protect wildlife on the ground... A lot of Germans don't know that either..or don't want to know it... When it comes to the freedom of their dogs...many dogowners dont give rats ass about little baby hares or the eggs of highly protected birds and other wildlife. Hunter are aloud to shoot your dog if he is stroling around in the woods... But most hunter don't like to shoot them because they have dogs on their own... And they dont want their houses burned down by a mob of dog lovers for protecting wildlife!

House rabbits get abandoned so often:( I hope the sweet rabbit is safe…

How very nice of you, to mention this. I, as a German, know many people who don't even realize how great this is!

Did you leave the bunny? 😳 Surely it is dead by now. A housebunny in the woods in this cold weather --- no chance to survive.

It looked sooo familiar, then you said close to France . I ve grown up there living in South Africa now. 😊

Maybe if you want from your place to Berlin you are looking for Europäische Fernwanderwege. There you can hike nearly endless. The longest goes from the Nordkapp until the south of Italy 8000km.

I had the same culture shock when moving to France from the US. When I moved to Helsinki it was cranked up to 11. Now I live 10 minutes from downtown, but my apartment building is surrounded by forest on 3 sides and I can basically hike less than 3 km through forested parks without crossing a street to an old growth forest that's mostly unbroken for the entire length of the country.

You can find plenty of places to hike in the US if you're just willing to drive 150 miles to get there.

This trails are originally for the farmers to get to their land. And because their land is very scattered they need many small roads. But the good thing is, we are allowed to use them!

I'm an American now living in the Netherlands. It's the same here, lots and lots of walking trails. It's just incredible!

I love the video and the soft background music. I need to move back to Germany. The tranquility and scenery is unmatched

Great video :) Thanks for sharing!

Also the forests are all private proberty in some way which is in the ownership of private people, municpals, corporations or states. But it's open to the public for everyone by law with exceptions e.g. army training grounds etc. In the US it would be tresspassing aka "get of my ground" with a shotgun :D

I'd say, the main difference between hiking in Europe and in the USA is, that hiking is mandatory in Europe, not a past-time. Hiking is the default form of moving around, even within cities, and a bike or the car is only the fallback option when hiking is just not feasible.

Switzerland also has a very good trail network. Every few hundred meters there is a post with little signs pointing to the destinations you walk to and approximately how long it will take to walk to them. Everytime the path splits into new directions there are signs that clearly mark where each direction leads.

Thanks for the video. For me as a german the question was: What could have shocked that poor guy when hiking here? Had to laugh when I found out. Thanks for that. Glad it was a positive cultural shock.

Joey Kelly: Hike along the old column trail on the former zone border between West Germany and the GDR. 1400 km

As far as I know America has several hiking trails through dozens of states, one along the west coast, one along the east coast of the United States, into Canada.

In Scotland we have the right to roam, as long as you don't damage crops or livestock.

I love the walking in Germany too... Very relaxing.. Life is good when it's simple...

It's Europe. You could walk to Sicily or Portugal. One thing I like about the US though is that wild camping is usually less of a problem than in most of Europe.

From own experience, I can say that there is no similar trail system in the mediterranean or in Belgium either. Foresters, farmers, hiking associations and municipalities maintain and keep open trails in DE, AT, CH, DK, SE, NO, FI, LI, EE and LT which otherwise would quickly become overgrown. Contrary to that, Mediterranean countries have a right of citizens to carry arms, which they use to shoot and hunt in the countryside. In those countries sign plates "private hunting" all over the place caution against being shot at. Inconceivable in Germany, where such accidents are the fault of the person that fired the gun. In France and Belgium, land owners, in accordance with Napoleonic law, can claim property of the adjacent land on which is a public trail if they argue that the trail has not been used for many years. Consequently, they do not maintain or cut shrubs or even dump green waste or debris on public trails to justify such claims. In again other countries like Greece, most rural areas are not in a cadastre, and thus locals are discouraged to maintain trails.

around my city, direktly in the meltingpott "Ruhrgebiet", are 500 km of trails, so nice

Schönen Gruß aus dem Bayerischen Wald, Ostbayern! Gibt nichts Schöneres als einfach aus dem Haus zu gehen und schon ist man auf einem markierten Wanderweg im Wald.

That's what frustrated me no end in the US. Back roads just are not connected. Getting around is possible only on the road network built for cars. Many of the back roads are private property too. And that's not talking about the open country yet, where at least in the German speaking part of Europe and Scandinavia you have a basic right to pass through.

I love this Lee ❤ thank you for sharing. I have subscribed!

I love that I can walk out my door and be on a trail within five to ten minutes. Plus just walking through my village is a treat.

Many of these "Wanderwege" can be traced back to pilgrimage paths from the "olden times". Some people in the Comments have already mentioned the Jakobsweg that leads to the monastery of Santiago de Compostella, one of the more important destinations for pilgrims.

Nice Video Thank You 👍 and a New Abonnent, grüße Michael

You can hike throughout whole Europe if you want. It is not only Germany and you can go even further to Asia as well...

I'm Canadian and I spent many happy hours/days hiking through Switzerland. Like the trails you describe in Germany are also in south in Switzerland. I camped on hillsides between towns. The locals and I had great fun trying to communicate but end of day they gave me far more than I game them.

In Germany, we don't really have trespassing as a legal concept. Privately owned roads, paths, and land that is not currently "in use", as a worked field or a private residence for example, is open to the public as an explicit limitation of property rights. Opening gates, climbing fences, and ignoring signs that restrict passage probably won't fly, but if there's nothing to indicate whether something is public land or private property, it's open to the public if you're on foot or bike.

Interesting and Beautiful video. Enjoyed this video very Much. Thank you Very Much.

Der Laubwald sieht so schön aus 😊

As a German, I have to say that many of these hiking trails are also accessible to bicycles. Nature reserves arethe big exception, as well as ares which make it physically impossible, i.e. steep mountains with one small path, ladders, steps, ravines and so on. You are even allowed to bring your bike on the train, allowing you to bike one way and return back by train

Boy, I wish the US had hiking trails like that!

There are networks of long hiking trails that span all of Europa. You are able to hike from the North Cape in Norway to Sicily or from Portugal to Finland without even hitting a hard border. It's pretty amazing.

There is actually a network of trans-european long distance trails, which currently consists of 12 different routes. It goes all the way from the North Cape to Sicily in the south (route E1) and from the western tip of Portugal all the way to Istanbul (E3). Those two longest trails are around 7000km each. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_long-distance_paths

In Austria hunters are allowed to shoot on dogs who are in the forest without leash. Most dont do it, but one has to be careful. Dont know the situation in Germany.

As a European who had enjoyed the EU constitutional "right to roam free" , now living in California, I suffer immensely as a hiker and a biker. Americans LOVE fences and private lands where no one can set foot. I have been sent dog after, I have been shouted at, I have even been called LAPD on me just for walking! Just the sole fact that someone walks and not drives car here is very suspicious activity that can get you to prison or even shot. One really has to be careful where he sets foot in. Parks and hike trails close at sunset so forget about watching a sunset on a hill and have a beer or wine. That's illegal as well. If you go to National Park, you have to go only to designated camping areas with screaming kids and crowded by people (which thew point to go hiking is to get away from people and enjoy the nature, right? On top of that you have to pay to camp there. In short, this country is nowhere near free as it proclaims to be (the best freedom in the world) What a joke!

I've hiked and walked many trails and country roads in Germany, and have lived places in the U.S.where I had to get I in a car and drive to find a trail to walk or hike, so I kind of get what you're saying. However, the U.S. is a big country and very geographically diverse. Where I live in Colorado I can literally walk out my door and immediately access dozens of miles of trails.

I had to go make sure my rabbit was in the living room, because that sure looked like her.

It all depends where in the USA you are talking about. When I was in Pennsylvania I could go out my back door and almost immediately enter a forested area and walk/ hike for days. There are so many places like that. There are trails from Mexico to Canada, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic & don't forget about Alaska.

Just for the record, there is the EU Trail Network wich interconnects the Trails in the EU, so you can walk from Portugal in the West to Bulgaria in the East, just as example, it is also possibel to do it by bike. 60% of the German population are hiking, so it ´s a kind of National sport.

Joey Kelly: Das Grüne Band. 1400km entlang der ehem. Grenze zwischen West-und Ostdeutschland ( National Geography)

i got a Culture Shock too, and i live in Germany xD

You really should have caught that rabbit. It definitely was a domestic one, so it’s not equipped to survive in the wilderness for a long time. Unfortunately, that rabbit was most likely abandoned on purpose, since there doesn’t seem to be any house nearby and due to Corona the number of deliberately abandoned pets, especially rabbits, has spiked like never before. Maybe you can go back and try to find it again, but the chances for its survival since your encounter are infinitesimal.

But your dog has to be leashed inthe woods ! It s illeagel for the dog to chase something -- be aware the Förster has the right to shoot him down when he sees him unleashed and hunting !

If someone hasn't pointed it out already you might want to Google European long distance paths. You can walk the length and bredth of Europe on organised paths

I believe it is like this all over EU.

Keep your dog on a leash in the woods. The hunter is allowed to shoot a dog that is running after a hare. Man is responsible for everything the dog does. Insurance that covers damage caused by the dog is available from 4 euros a month. Letting the dog run into the woods without you knowing what he's doing is not allowed. When there is not a hunt or the forests are closed due to storms, everyone is allowed to enter them on the paths. You are also allowed to pick as much mushrooms as you can eat at once. But you have to know which ones are edible at all. Everyone should leave the forest and the field as if they hadn't been there at all. So certainly don't leave any trash or plastic behind. If there is no fence around you can pick a handful of apples. But most certainly the ones that have already fallen. You can cut away unattractive spots with a pocket knife, the rest is good. Many paths are laid out for agriculture and the timber industry and are good for hiking. But certainly not intended for everyone to drive by car there.

Every European country has such system, you can walk from Portugal to Estonia, if you want :))

Nice vlog!

On the other hand we are totally overcrowded. Population density almost twice of China. That results in streets everywhere and many many traffic jams.

I was like: this looks exactly like where I live and go hiking all the time. And then you mentioned that it was close to the french border. maybe Saarland area, I guess?

Why did not you save the bunny ! Its a domesticated bunny and will not survive in the wild.

I would say "Wandern" is a planned activity where you put on your Wanderschuhe and have a backpack with drink and food and first aid, and then what you are doing in this video is "Spazierengehen". I wonder if all the Wanderwege are connected but you certainly get far.

I think that rabbit is not a wild one, might be used to humans and is a runaway

You can hike almost anywhere in Germany, it’s a human right, unless you’re unvaccinated of course… then you’ll be concentrating in a camp.

Very beautiful and also rather typical for a lot of Germany. A rather small scale mix of fields, forests, orchards within low hills. I think that particular mix is due to the history of the land having been farmed/used on a small scale for two millenia or so. It's man made but in a long slow way and thus has a shire-like coziness, to me at least (I live in a different region, right in the middle of Germany but it looks quite similarly).

You discovered a nice place, my favorit is around lake Spitzingsee.

Beautiful Video! Picking fruit from trees is considered theft, though ;-)

Those right to roam wary a bit, quoting the Wikipedia: " Ancient traces provide evidence of the freedom to roam in many European countries, suggesting such a freedom was once a common norm. Today, the right to roam has survived in perhaps its purest form in Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Here the right has been won through practice over hundreds of years and it is not known when it changed from mere 'common practice' to become a commonly recognised right. " en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam

I live near a forest with a lake in a small village in Germany and go there almost every day on a 1-2h walk. Since I otherwise only sit at the computer for work, I need that. Hardly people, no loud noises from cars, ect. just nature uu. In my childhood I lived in a place where I used to go on hikes and bike rides with our border collie in the huge fields and forests. And rarely people had their dogs on the leash and there were never problems. I know it in cities, because of cars and everything, but didn't know that is a problem in the USA?

Dog chasing something in the woods is forbidden.

I think letting the dog run free in the forest is a bit dangerous. If the dog's hunting instinct breaks out, the hunter can shoot him for poaching.

I live next to a trail that was mentioned when the Romans were here…

Your dog must be leashed in order not to disturb wildlife!

Makes me value germany more :)

In Norway it is a human right to walk in the forests, mountains and by the ocean. However we dont have the right to walk on cropland. I guess Germany might have kind of similar laws.

I think generally the farmers on who's land these trees grow would appreciate you to NOT pick fruits while wandering. There are a number of videos on youtube complaining about quite some economic losses from tourists just helpng themselves to whatever grows in their sights.

Hello sir. Very nice subscribe done....

Come to Scandinavia and hike. most of us Nordic countries have a law called 'Allemansrätten', The best law ever if you ask me :)

if you take fruit from the trees no one is actually going to care, just don't do it in People privat Gardens or if they are protected by a fence. Great Video :)

Europe actually has a network of long-distance hiking trails. I live directly on the E8 long-distance hiking trail that leads from Ireland to Bulgaria. At some point I'll make this journey riding an electric unicycle. Unfortunately Germany has a big problem with corruption and riding such distance through Germany can put you in jail.

Your dog seems well behaved but you should be carefull. He can suddenly chase a deer into the forest and get lost

true. but there are no "mufflons" in germany. really. (if there should be some, they have been specifically put there, mostly for hunting. also, real mufflons live in montainous areas. in europe the can be found in corsica, other elba, parts of italy. they are even a bit of a pest on the island of giglio...