Take a 5 km Hike to Waldgasthof Gundelhard

One of the advantages of hiking the hills of the Taunus is that if you are like me and need a reward for hiking, a traditional restaurant can be your destination. Most forest restaurants have a section with outdoor tables (a "Biergarten") and a simple playground for the children to play. Waldgasthof Gundelhard, a five kilometer hike from Eppstein, is no exception.

Park your car in Alt-Eppstein on the Gimbacher Straße before it curves up to the Kaisertempel; then walk up the narrow, windy road to the monument. Behind the restaurant and monument, you'll see some trails at the end of the parking lot. You need to follow the green trail signs, but sometimes it is easy to lose them. I would recommend getting one of the hiking maps ("Wanderkarte") of the Taunus. Eppstein's two shops on the Burgstraße carry them. There is one hiking map that has all the "Apfelweinrouten" (trails that go to all the restaurants or taverns which serve apple wine) listed.

The wreath hanging near Gundelhard's entrance identifies it as an apple wine tavern. Apple wine is a Frankfurt specialty and is served in traditional ceramic jugs called "Bembels". It is an acquired taste though, so you might want to start with the smallest size. I tend to order a "Radler", a mix of beer and Sprite, which I first heard of when I visited a cousin in Bavaria when we were 16. All her friends were drinking "Radler," which means "cyclist". I suppose the mix means cyclists can quench their thirst with beer, but not get drunk. It took me over twenty years before I realized "d-- Radler" is "das Radler" not "der Radler." Generally, German words ending with -er are masculine. Oh well. Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache.

Gundelhard's food portions are big--delicious Jägerschnitzel with mushroom sauce, tasty fried potatoes ("Bratkartoffeln"), real German mixed salads. They also have children's portions, and although the hike will take you at least an hour, when my middle son was four, he walked the whole trail with a 5-foot stick in his hands, so it's manageable for children. If you don't want to walk, you can always drive to Lorsbach and you'll find it at the end of the Munsterer Straße.