Heiliger Hain: When the heathland blooms
There is one thing you can count on, even in times of Corona: The bloom of the heathland. It is a rule of thumb that the blooming period takes place from August, 8.8 to September, 9.9 every year. Therefore it is high time to watch that natural spectacle on the spot. Okay, let’s go to the “Heiliger Hain” close to Gifhorn in the South Heathlands. And we won’t be disappointed: The sun comes through the clouds in the afternoon. The sun lets the erica glistening in various colours. The day is crowned by a picture book-like sundown. What a natural spectacle.
From Weißenberge to the Heiligen Hain
We are on a loop hike this afternoon. The parking lot at the Heiligen-Hain-Straße is pretty packed. That’s why we decide to walk the round anti-clockwise and to visit the actual attraction, the blooming heathland, at the end of the walk. A wise decision as we shall see later.
We start from the big ramblers’ car park and turn right into a country road. Right here we watch our first nature spectacle of the day: we admire some whitings that feast on the blooming erica. A couple of minutes later we come across a couple of (uneatable) mushrooms. Well, summer was quite humid, ideal conditions for fungal growth.
A first criminal case: How did the squirrel die?
After a while we arrive at Betzhorn via country roads. We cross the place and walk towards Schönewörde. At the city limits we meet a boy who stands in front of a dead squirrel. He approaches us and points to the animal. We also stare concernedly on the little rodent. The boy asks us how the squirrel died. Well as its body is not damaged and we cannot spot any skid marks we take it that the squirrel might have fallen from a tree. In any case it looks like it died a natural death.
Leaving Schönewörde we walk cross country through the moor. Suddenly we discover a frog. It scented us already and now lies motionless on the ground. It cannot understand that we only want to take pictures of it. We leave that poor creature alone and move on. Our next target is the Hermann Lönsstein. From there we turn left. We are still on the Heidjerpfad. But from now on things become serious, we are in for the highlight of the tour. Slowly but surely our enthusiasm rises. It is late afternoon and we have the heathland all to ourselves. We enjoy the calm, the buzzing of the bees, the wonderful air and the typical pink colour of the erica. The further we move on the more enrapt we are.
We finally reach the sheep shelter from the 17th century. A girl is being photographed here. Opposite to the building a group of cyclists enjoys a picnic. The thatched sheep shelter is not only the center of the heathland but also a nice rest area. Sure! We are virtually drunk by the beautiful nature. We click as much as we can. And the best is yet to com: a wonderful sunset.
Hallo Flip!
Upon looking for the best place to take a sunset photo we meet Flip. Well it is not for sure that this nice grasshopper is really called this way. But one thing is for sure, we cannot get enough of this little creature. We compete with our cameras for a picture. For a moment time stands still and we enjoy an instant of perfect happiness.
The heathland on fire
The sun sets, deeper and deeper. The sky turns gold at first, then the dyeing fades into an orange red. Also the face of the heathland transforms in the most excellent way. It almost seems as if the place is on fire. The colours are so deep and so beautiful. We are looking at the nature spectacle almost breathlessly, because there are no words that can describe the beauty before us. One has to see it for oneself. I am already looking forward to the blooming heathland next year.
