One of the things we enjoyed and did a lot of while living in Germany was Volksmarching. Hiking clubs in towns all over Germany organize annual hikes on trails that range from 10-30 kilometers through villages, fields and woods. Participants sign up and pay a nominal fee to walk the course (noncompetitively) and receive a patch, medal, or other token for completing the walk. It's a great way to get some exercise, see the countryside, and collect souvenirs, as well as recording all the hikes in a record book. We also took a lot of photos.
We participated in many Volksmarches in all kinds of weather. Leif was very young when we were doing this, from 2-5 years old, and although he walked a lot, we also took along an umbrella stroller for when he got tired, and even carried him on our backs.
We all amassed a lot of medals, and each of our sons had a large cannister of them. When they were young, we displayed them on black velvet hangings on their bedroom walls. They also had German hats with enamel pins from locations we visited, on hikes or otherwise.
This photo was taken in July 1978 during the Welden Volksmarch. Peter Anthony (9 and a half years old) again has a protective arm around Leif, who was three and half years old.
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