The great thing about hiking is: you can do it almost anywhere, at any time of day, in any weather! Let’s take the BÄR store in Düsseldorf on Königsallee as an example: lace up your BÄR hiking boots and step out the shop door. You only need to walk a few hundred meters on asphalt to reach the nearest park – the Hofgarten. There are beautiful paths that wind under old trees, along a riding avenue, leading to the Napoleonsberg viewpoint. A few kilometers further, and you’ll reach the Rhine meadows. Along the river, idyllic cycling and hiking trails offer views of Germany’s most famous river, with plenty of places to stop and rest. And if you want to go even further, head to the Eifel region, whose national parks are a paradise for hikers.
While we usually know our immediate surroundings well and can just set off, it’s a good idea to have a plan for hikes through unfamiliar biomes and landscapes. Various hiking guides for each region offer tour suggestions with route descriptions, maps, and tips. Apps are becoming increasingly popular; you can download them to your smartphone, and they provide numerous tours. The advantage: often, you just need to determine your current location, and the apps will suggest routes. If we enter the BÄR store in Düsseldorf as the starting point, we immediately get suggestions for seven tours starting right from the shop door – with details on length, difficulty, photos, places to stop, tourism info, etc. And of course, you can use GPS for navigation (which traditional book publishers now also offer). But wait! Before you set off full of enthusiasm, don’t forget the most important thing: the right footwear. Nothing ruins a great hike more than sore or wet feet. When choosing shoes, consider the terrain you’ll be walking on. The rule of thumb is: the rougher and steeper the terrain, the higher the demands on the shoe. Light running shoes like the HIGH PERFORMANCE, EASYRUN, or LADYRUN are ideal for flat terrain; mid-height, preferably waterproof trekking shoes (GRAN BECCA or TRANSEUROPA 2.0) are perfect for classic hikes; and stable, ankle-high hiking boots (BERGKOMFORT, FELDBERG, or INNSBRUCK) are best for mountain and snow tours.
PS: After the hike is before the hike: treat your tired feet to some relaxation and recovery afterward – whether with a foot mat or the UFO, for a wonderful self-massage for your feet!
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the new BERGKOMFORT hiking collection
