July 27, 2021

I planned this hike hoping to drink some beer on this popular beer hike. It didn't turn out that way. Let me tell you why. The hike is called Fünf-Seidla-Steig known as the 5 half-liter hike. I think the name means you drink a half liter of beer at each of the Breweries. The entire hike is about 6 miles, but if you don't catch the shuttle you'd have to do a loop which would make it around 13 miles. I was in for a long day and got myself mentally ready for it.

I bought a number of train tickets and had to make sure I caught each train since I got the non refundable tickets. You roll the dice on these purchase because if you miss your train, your shit out of luck. My goal was to not lollygag during the transfers and have a sense of urgency when connecting trains. This is the mindset when catching trains in Europe. I have observed the Germans do this all the time and having the right mindset will enable you to figure things out especially in large train stations where finding the connecting platform or transportation mode isn't as easy as you'd think.

The goal was to get from Otterberg to Grafenberg. I planned for 5 hours and it took exactly that amount of time to get there. I had a perfect run. I missed no trains and no subways cars. The problem with German trains is that they change the platform or scheduled pick up times without notice so you have to be aware of that.

The main train was to Nuremberg. If the name sounds familiar it is where they had the Nuremberg Trials for War Crime during the Holocaust. I got to the Nuremberg area around 1100. The Nuremberg area is super pretty, but it was short lived because I had to catch an 1123 train to Grafenberg.

While on the train to Grafenberg, I made a quick adjustment and made a decision to get off at Weißenohe. This would enable me to hit the first Brewery called Klosterbrauerei. I walked with these kids (who were on the bus with me) to the Brewery (brauerei). It appeared the Brewery is connected to a church. All the doors were open so I let myself in. However, no one appeared to be working to service tourist. They seemed to be doing their own thing. I walked around the premises and no one greeted me. I helped myself to a stamp card and left thinking since I needed to catch the train here I could just come back when people were working.

The next two breweries were near each other in the middle of Grafenberg town. It was a 30 minute uphill walk from Weißenohe to Grafenberg. I found a path that led me to the town. The 2nd brewery was Lidenbrau. Workers were managing the bottles of beer but the souviner shop and restaurant was closed. That was disappointing. I did manage to see a stamp of Lindenbrau at the front of the restaurant, so I was able to stamp my card. The 3rd brewery was 5 minute walk from The Lindenbrau Brewery and was called Brauerei Friedmann. This one was empty. I think I heard someone in there but the lights were closed. They had an office at the front open and I grabbed a sticker to stamp my card. The brewery restaurant was closed too.

I was a little discouraged at this point. What made it worst was the 1 hour walk up to the 3rd and 4th brewery in the Thuisbrunn area. It felt daunting, instead of walking I decided to check the bus schedule and read that a bus going to Thuisbrunn was arriving in 5 minutes. I decided to wait and catch the bus. The bus driver was speaking to me in German. I knew what he was saying but I couldn't reply. I just said one word answers. He was a really nice guy and made sure I got off at the correct stop. He even told me what directions to go to when I got off.

The 4th brewery was Thuisbrunner Erchbrau. The restaurant here was surprisingly open and busy. The lady in the front was very nice and stamped my card. However, the souvenir shop wasn't open adding to disappointment. I wanted to stay here longer, but had no reason too. The 5th and final brewery was in the next village down the road called Hohenschwarz. It was less than a mile away and I figured it would be quick to get to. It was. I got there at 1430 (2:30pm).

The brewery's name was called Brauerei Hofmann. It was full on closed. I stayed there for 20 minutes hoping someone would see me and scold me to go away, but in the end I had free reign to do whatever. I couldn't find a stamp and that was disappointing so I left.

I left defeated. To make things worst I wanted to catch the bus back to Grafenberg (5 km walk from Hohenschwarz), but the bus drivers were taking a break and wouldn't be operating again until 1620 (4:20pm). I had to start to walk the 5 km to Grafenberg. It was long, but good for the soul as the German Forest seems to do that to people. I think that is why Germans love to hike so much.

I wanted to salvage this trip by going to Rewe in Grafenberg, but with time running short and Rewe being so far from the train station, I made a decision to wait at the train station until the train arrived.

Going back to Kaiserslatuern would be another 5 hours and I knew it would be a long trip. I took a short nap to recover and made it back to the Kaiserslautern Train Station at 2145 (9:45 pm). I got home and drank wine to get my alcohol fix for the day since I didn't drink any beer.

This hike is beautiful, but I think the way it is supposed to be done is to actually eat at each Brewries Restaurant so you can't enjoy the different beers of the breweries. To do that, you'd have to stay at the hotels in the area.