📍 Rothenbuch, Germany
📅 July 2024
Rothenbuch versus the Call of the Road: A Long Journey Begins
Rothenbuch is beautiful. There is really no reason to travel the world – except for call of the road. For two years, I rode my mountain bike through the forests of the Spessart. More than 6,000 kilometers.
But at some point, the familiar is no longer enough.
One year before reaching my official retirement age, I sell my practice. The money will last for many years on the road.
And that is exactly what I am doing now.
Metzgergraben & Krone – The Journey Begins in a Grey Area
Uncertain Beginnings
The beginnings of my journey were uncertain.
Perhaps it was not even a journey yet. More of a back-and-forth.
I only had a Smart car. And no money. Saving has never been one of my strengths. What do you have to do to accumulate wealth? I have no idea. But it was never particularly important to me. I live in the moment. And most of the time, I achieve what I set out to do.
The only problem was that I did not yet know exactly what that “setting out to do something” would be.
My Journey Begins in a Kind of Grey Area
Mentally, I am already on the road – physically, not quite. Definitions do not matter. As far as I am concerned, I am travelling now. Why drive far away when extraordinary places lie right on your doorstep?
Starting from Rothenbuch, I begin to draw my first circles. Very slowly.
The first one takes me to the ancient oak forest of Metzgergraben & Krone. Five kilometers away. Easily reachable with my Smart. Even accommodation is guaranteed – I simply drive back home afterwards.
A beginning that does not want to be one – and perhaps that is exactly why it is.
When Oak Forests Become Beech Forests
The oak forests of the Spessart are often talked about. Large signs along the A3 motorway point them out. Yet in reality, there are no longer that many oaks left. And those that remain are often old, dying, or already dead. The slow-growing, proud oaks are increasingly being displaced by fast-growing beeches.
Metzgergraben & Krone
Metzgergraben & Krone is one of the last protected places of its kind. A small niche at the roadside is enough for my Smart. From there, a narrow path climbs steeply up the hillside. One kilometer in total – there and back.
Not far. But far enough.
Even in decline, the oaks radiate an incredible dignity. The fallen, moss-covered trunks support new life. Death and life lie so close together here that they are almost impossible to separate.
I feel a deep sense of peace. Almost something sacred. An atmosphere I will never experience again with the same intensity. Not in temples. Not in churches. Only here.
I drive back to Rothenbuch carrying a realization that is greater than this first circle: The Spessart is unique.