Hiking- But what kind of shoes should I wear?

Before we started our hike on the Rheinsteig we were thinking a lot about what shoes would be appropriate. In the following post I will tell you about our opinions and experiences.

Last year I decided to invest some money in order of buying hiking boots. By that time I already did a few day hikes and realized that my trainers which I was wearing weren't really supportive for my feet and also for my ankles. That made me sure that I wanted new shoes before going on an overnight hiking trip.

I went to many different shops and tried dozens of hiking boots but none of them fitted perfectly. So I continued my search and that is something I really recommend everyone who is buying new boots: don't give up if you can't find fitting ones in the first shop you go to. Try as many boots as it takes to find the perfect ones for your feet and purposes. Believe me it may take some time but you will find the right ones.

Important is a good informed shop assistant who gives you advise on what shoes could fit you and how you know when you find the perfect ones.

I found my perfect boots in March while I was on holiday in Bavaria. They are unusually light and not as high as normal hiking boots. They bareley cover my ankle but because I'm not going mountain climbing and I'm planning on hiking in summer mostly that's totally fine. They are waterproof and have a special technology called "air active". The brand is called Meindl and I am very happy with them. Even though I bareley used them before our two day hike I had no blisters at all. That is why it is so important to keep looking for a boot that fits perfectly even though it takes more time.

My Meindl boots in action

But also if you don't want to invest in expensive hiking boots you don't have to miss out! My boyfriend hiked the two days in normal trainers and did perfectly fine. Only at stoney passages he could easily twist his ankle and the sole wasn't thick enough so he could feel the stones through it.

All in all I can definetly recommend hiking boots but it's not a must-have if you're only going hiking once or twice a year.

If you're interested I can report how my boots will look after some more km so you get an impression of the quality of the brand Meindle.

As always,
Travel well

Rheinsteig, Germany

Long time, no see. Or better: no read. I am so so sorry. Somehow I totally forgot to write blogposts because everything was really stressful the last few month. I am visiting a new school and I am preparing for my leaving cert so I hope you understand but from now on I will try to post more often! I promise!

Now back to the real topic of this blogpost: I did it! I did my first "long" distance hike. Together with my boyfriend I travelled to Kestert which is in Germany at the river Rhine. From there we hiked to St Goarshausen. It was a 12,5 k hike which might seem very easy but it still was very exhausting because of the mountains we had to go up and down.

The landscape was really beautiful and we enjoyed the hike a lot. After ca 4 hours we arrived in St Goarshausen and had to take the ferry to the other side of the river to St Goar where our hotel was. It was a very cute little hotel right next to the ferry docks. In the evening we got Schnitzel for dinner in a very good restaurant just a few metres from our hotel,

The next day we started from St Goarshausen and hiked 21,3 k to Kaub. The hike was even more exhausting but we had great views of the valley with the river and lots of castles.

That tour and the one from our first day aswell are part of the Rheinsteig. A 320 km long hikingtrail that connects the cities Bonn and Wiesbaden. I can totally recommend this trail, every few metres are signs so you cannot get lost and there are lots of huts where you can rest.

All in all it was a great trip and we will soon visit the Rheinsteig again to hike other tours.

As always,
Travel well

*Backpack: Vaude (Maremma 36l)
  Cap: Columbus
  Boots: Meindl