HIKING/CYCLING 27 HIKING called “Brahmsweg”: you start near the Brömserburg, walk over the vineyard terraces of “Rottland” and “Bischofs-berg” and end at the ring wall in the cen-tre of the town. The pocket-guide “Hiking in the world heritage site”, which costs 3 €, is a new, up-to-date edition showing the range of hiking possibilities in the region and offers over 70 pages of detailed infor-mation about restaurants, hotels and natural attractions. Altogether ten day and half-day tours are described, with the emphasis on Rüdesheim/Assmannshausen. The tours range from Wiesbaden via Oestrich-Winkel to Lorch. Maps and walking guide-books can be obtained at the Tourist Information Office. Cycling Rüdesheim is a very good starting-point for cycling tours of the Rheingau. On the 25 kilometre route to Wies-baden you pass through picturesque wine villages such as Eltville and Oestrich. This section has a gradient of only 1-2% and is therefore particularly suitable for families. It is convenient to make the return journey by rail. You can cycle comfortably through the World Heritage Site “Upper Central Rhine Valley” on the left bank of the Rhine from Bingen to Koblenz for over 65 kilometres past castles and wine slopes. Start off with a convenient cros-sing by ferry from Rüdesheim and get cycling. “Tal total” is an annual event: on the last Sunday in June the main roads from Rüdesheim and Bingen up to Koblenz are closed on both sides of the Rhine for buses and cars, that means the Hiking Rüdesheim, Assmannshausen and the surrounding area are an ideal starting-point for short walks or long walks, wha-tever your taste. Above all the top-quali-ty hiking route Rheinsteig offers “first class hiking” over 320 km between Bonn and Wiesbaden and through the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Upper Central Rhine Valley”. The Rheinsteig is varied and well marked and offers ambi-tious hikers a hiking experience second to none. Breathtaking viewpoints invite the hiker to rest; some steep sections of the route require fitness and sure-foo-tedness. More information at www.rhein-steig. de. The popular circular hiking routes “Freiligrathweg” and “Spätburgunder-weg” are also suited to the hiker who is a little out of practice. Both Rüdesheim and Assmannshausen are ideal star-ting- points for long-distance or circular hikes because of their very good links to rail, bus and boat traffic. While the Niederwald Monument was being built, Johannes Brahms was staying in Rüdesheim and he composed his well-known 3rd Symphony here. He stayed with the Beckerath family (at the corner of Oberstraße/Schmidstraße), often went hiking through the vineyards and was inspired by the unique man-made environment. This fascination can also be experienced by our guests on the so- Tal total 26 Copy by courtesy of Galli-Verlag+Vertrieb GmbH, 86558 Hohenwart