Third Fortuna hiking day
“You never walk alone” – a phrase every true football fan knows. So, let’s get ready for the third hiking day of the best football club in the world! Fortuna Düsseldorf, one of the few football clubs still run by its members in professional football, is inviting everyone to a hike. How could we possibly refuse such an invitation?
After the second hike took us beautifully through the Neandertal to Düsseldorf-Flingern, the organizers have chosen a loop course this time – a very good choice, in my opinion. We started at Ristorante Gavi, right next to the Neandertal Museum.
To my surprise, alongside “Shoeless Joe” and “Hot Pan,” B.L., an NST thru-hiker from the Class of 2023, was also there. As usual, the club provided the route beforehand via a GPX track. This year’s route was really well chosen. It mostly followed the Neanderland “Explorer’s Loop – Evolution Path,” a trail that I, as a local and experienced hiker, am very familiar with. Originally a twenty-kilometer loop, the route was shortened for this hike to around eleven kilometers.
Shortly after the halfway point, we were surprised by a few “enn paar Päntze” (Pänz = kids in the Rhineland), who had set up a small stand offering cold drinks, ice cream, and Fortunabrötchen verkauften. Eine nette Idee! Ich glaube, ich hatte das erste Fortunabrötchen seit meiner Kindheit – das weckte viele Erinnerungen. Solltet ihr nicht aus dem Großraum Düsseldorf stammen, kennt ihr das Fortuna rolls to the hikers. A nice touch! I think I had my first Fortuna roll since childhood – it brought back many memories. If you’re not from the Düsseldorf area, you might know the Fortuna roll as a “Matschbrötchen” or “Schokokussbrötchen” (chocolate marshmallow sandwich). Back in the day, you could find this treat at almost every bakery or corner shop (Büdchen) here in Düsseldorf. After this culinary treat, we continued through a beautiful stretch of landscape, always following the Düssel river, before returning to the starting point and finishing the hike with a freshly tapped Altbier. Of course, this year once again we received the hiking badge for successfully completing the event.
Conclusion: Respect and thanks to all the organizers, helpers, and of course to Fortuna Düsseldorf for the smooth organization and a wonderful day. So far, this has been the best hiking event, and I think the idea of the circular route should definitely be kept. Will we be back next year? What a question – of course!
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