Schmallenberg: Visiting friends of local origin: With locals through the Hochsauerland

The walking tour with the city guide, the harbor tour in the barge, the hike or bike tour led by a full-time guide: many tourist activities are professionally organized, educational and simply beautiful.

But there is one thing they often are not: personal and close to people. The situation is different with the so-called greeters, from the English word “greet”. They are volunteer guides who know their city, their village, their favorite places like the back of their hand and tell their anecdotes on free tours. The greeter movement was founded in New York in 1992 and has established itself in around 20 cities here in Germany since 2008. The motto: “Come as a guest, leave as a friend.”

In Schmallenberg in the Sauerland, tourism experts have taken up the concept and developed it. They believe that the nature of the Upper Sauerland is beautiful to look at, but what would it be without the people, the Sauerlanders?

Locals were asked to take part, and the “HeimatFreu(n)de” project, originally an idea from trainees, took shape. 18 Schmallenberg residents now take guests on their tours – but in contrast to a classic greeter city tour, these are often more complex and are not offered free of charge. A brief profile of five offers.

With tripod and camera: nature photography with Klaus-Peter Kappest

Anyone who goes on tour with the 55-year-old local friend has to get up early. Definitely before dusk. In summer, that can be four in the morning, before the very first light timidly appears on the horizon.

Klaus-Peter Kappest then goes on a photo tour with his guests. Sometimes on the Kahler Asten, the second highest peak in the Sauerland at 841 metres, or around the Heidkopf. The spruce forest on its steep slopes has disappeared: the bark beetle has wreaked havoc here.

Young greenery is now spreading across wasteland, which looks particularly impressive when the sun is low in the sky. The man with the camera and the twirled bath shows his guests the most photogenic places.

“On the photo tours I want to show the development of light, from the darkness of the night with the sunrise to full daylight,” says the professional photographer from Schmallenberg-Oberkirchen.

A tour for up to four guests costs 220 euros.

Northern lights in the Sauerland: Astro tour with Stefan Schwope

During the day he works as a development engineer, but as soon as night comes and the starry sky comes, Stefan Schwope is primarily an amateur astronomer and astrophotographer. Two years ago, the 47-year-old Schmallenberger became a stargazer.

“One evening I saw the Andromeda Galaxy, about 2.5 million light years away. That’s when my passion for astronomy was ignited. I was thrilled.” Schwope passes on his enthusiasm to those who are interested.

The next astro tours last up to six hours and leave guests in awe. “And in awe,” says Schwope, “because the more you look at the distant galaxies, the more you realize how big the universe is and how small we ourselves are.”

Stargazers in the Sauerland have also already discovered the northern lights. That was in spring, when the colorful celestial spectacle known from the far north could also be seen in other unusual southern locations.

Activities with Stefan Schwope cost 15 euros per person.

Hiking with fondue: Running and strengthening with Jenny Müller

For the friendly hiking guide, personal interaction on the “HeimatFreu(n)de” tours is important. That’s why she offers to address you informally before you set off. Together in nature.

Another 300 meters up the steep slope, and then the hikers have reached the shelter above Schmallenberg-Westfeld. Break! Jenny unpacks her backpack. Everything that fits in it: camping stove, fondue pot, skewers, plates and various pots with meat and vegetables.

Soon the broth is sizzling and the guests are enjoying the “hiking fondue”, as Jenny calls it. The 38-year-old arranges her hikes individually, taking a maximum of six guests with her. The hiking guide also offers her tours in winter, when the Sauerland is often covered in snow.

Participation costs 55 euros per person.

International understanding: Among bees with Wolfgang Jenke

He is the master of a million bees: Wolfgang Jenke from Cobbenrode in the Schmallenberg Sauerland. “As soon as the pussy willows bloom from around mid-March, the bees become active,” says Jenke, who has been beekeeping as a hobby since 1975.

He prefers to receive his guests between May and October: “The bees are particularly active during this time.” Within a radius of about three kilometers, the insects buzz around as they search for food – in spring the neighborhood of willows and dandelions, in summer the wild raspberries that bloom in abundance in the Hochsauerland region.

It goes without saying that during a visit to the 65-year-old, you will learn how bees organize themselves and how the honey gets into the jar.

The beekeeping lesson costs 32 euros for up to four participants.

Red-hot iron: Forging with Hubertus Dünnebacke

It’s hot in the workshop of master blacksmith Hubertus Dünnebacke in the idyllic Sorpetal. Visitors sweat and marvel. With powerful hammer blows, the craftsman not only shapes decorative garden stakes and flower stands from his glowing raw material, but also true works of art.

“Hardly anyone knows how soft and malleable red-hot wrought iron is at 1100 to 1200 degrees,” says the 56-year-old. On Saturday afternoons, guests are welcome in his parents’ former cowshed, which Dünnebacke converted into a workshop.

Six to eight people also take up the hammer themselves: small everyday objects such as kitchen brackets, which they forge under the guidance of the master, then become souvenirs.

A three-hour blacksmithing course costs 115 euros per person.

Ground elder and ground ivy: collecting and cooking with Nadine Albers

“Some people learned about herbs from their grandmothers,” says herbalist Albers. To varying degrees: many people know nettles as a kitchen herb, says the 44-year-old. “But that’s where it ends.”

Bringing nature closer to tourists and appreciating its value is how the Essen native and local friend sees her mission. Albers opens the herbal kitchen for up to six participants in her original field barn on the outskirts of Schmallenberg-Bödefeld.

Before cooking together, there is a hike during which everyone collects herbs such as cloves, ground elder and ground ivy. Afterwards, a wild herb menu is served, which varies depending on the season, for example: nettle soup, ground elder and nettle salad, feta and wild garlic schnitzel and finally nettle cake with chocolate cream.

Cooking with wild herbs in a Dutch oven costs from 65 euros per person including the menu.

Links, tips and practical information:

Destination: Schmallenberg in the Hochsauerland region has 25,000 inhabitants in 84 villages. One of the smallest districts is Hoher Knochen with only two inhabitants. The urban area has an area of ​​303 square kilometers (larger than Leipzig) and stretches from west to east over 25 kilometers to the summit of the Kahler Asten, the second highest mountain in the Hochsauerland region at 841 meters.

Heimatfreunde: The “HeimatFreu(n)de” project emerged from the final thesis of tourism trainees in 2021. Booking and scheduling (some tours are weather dependent) via Schmallenberger Sauerland Tourismus. In 2023, the project won the ADAC Tourism Award for North Rhine-Westphalia.

Getting there: By car, it takes around two hours to get to Schmallenberg from Cologne, two and a half hours from Frankfurt am Main and around three hours from Hanover. By train, take the Hagen-Siegen-Frankfurt route to Lennestadt/Altenhundem, from there there are disruptions to Schmallenberg.

Travel time: until October and then again from March.

Accommodation: There is a wide range of options, from hotels and guest houses to holiday apartments, farms and motorhome parking spaces. Overnight stays in a hotel double room start at around 50 euros.

Social media: tiktok.com/@schmallenbergersauerland; instagram.com/schmallenberger.sauerland

Schmallenberg Sauerland Tourism

dpa