When hiking up to Hamburg Tower in Kaiserslautern, do NOT do what I did. I accidentally took my family on the extended, extra-long, scenic, scenic route. Probably added on a couple of miles for my husband, seven-year-old daughter and I. My advice: Choose the path that appears to be less traveled…that will make all the difference. This advice will save you from a lot of tortuous hiking and affirmations that you and your husband could never hack it on The Amazing Race without embarrassing yourselves. You’ll understand my advice when you get to the crossroads.
The hike up to Hamburg Tower itself is quite beautiful and surprisingly peaceful even for a weekend afternoon/evening. We occasionally crossed paths with a few people – hikers, mountain bikers – but for the most part we were free to explore in solitude as a family. The hike is not difficult and had we not taken the scenic route, my seven-year-old daughter would’ve had no problem with it.
The view makes it all worth it. You can see so much of Kaiserslautern from the top of the tower. The tower itself looks like it materialized out of a Disney movie or fairy tale. I was expecting Rapunzel to throw down her hair. We made it to the top of the tower a couple of hours before sundown and it was absolutely perfect.
The hike back down to the bottom was way more enjoyable because we had gravity on our side and we took the shorter route. Again, it was quiet and scenic.
One of my favorite parts was the hotel/restaurant at the base of the hike. My family and I relaxed. My husband and I had a couple of German beers and my daughter played on the playground, which was nice and within view from our table. The food was good, traditional German food and reasonably priced. There was a stage so I think sometimes they have live entertainment.
Overall, it was a great way to spend a Sunday in Kaiserslautern, Germany
Happy travels!