enjoying the first sun rays after a rainy morning.
near massenheim, a district of the city of hochheim ( about 14 kilometers from wiesbaden ), there are some former gravel pits that were turned into a nature reserve after the operators of the mining company stopped working on these grounds in the 1970ies. on these grounds you can also find an adventure playground which has a very popular feature - a 15 meter high tube slide which is attached to a climbing scaffold. it was installed in 2003. there are more gimmicks on this playground, but that slide is most prominent, as it also provides a wonderful view upon the nature reserve around it and towards the wider region, with wiesbaden, mainz and frankfurt districts. hochheim and massenheim are traditionally winegrowing and fruit growing towns, but in modern times their image has gotten a lot more industrial ( i think it's because of the proximity to some frankfurt and mainz districts that are heavily in the grip of various industries ). despite that, you still can be witness to their original infrastructure, both places have maintained a certain rural charm nonetheless.
i did not explore the towns themselves on this visit, though, but rather was interested in checking out the nature reserve most of all and to get there, you are bound to pass by the playground area. it's a super cool place, i even tested out some of the play structures, as the whole terrain was devoid of people and therefore i did not feel intimidated to try it out 😂 i visited on a moody weekday, which was pretty perfect, because i have heard that on sunnier days and on the weekend, this place is pretty heavily frequented.
the gravel pit landscape reminds me very much of the region i grew up in thuringia, as it also is dotted with lots of gravel pit lakes and sceneries. some of them in thuringia are used as swimming lakes even, but i haven't found something similar in this region of hessia yet, which always saddens me a bit, because i miss just jumping into one of these lakes in summer ( the rhine main region is not known for being rich in lakes - and the few bigger ones it has, are either not approved for swimming or they are regimented with hefty entry prices ). well, despite that, it's still nice to know that there are at least some smaller gravel pit lakes close to wiesbaden, and even though swimming is not allowed because of the nature reserve status, these places are still worth visiting as exactly this fact makes them highly recommendable. you can watch birdlife there, or just enjoy the calm atmosphere in a region that is known for being highly populated. the massenheim gravel pits stretch beyond the adventure park, the whole area is about 17 hectares in size and offers various small lakes. also very close the massenheim reserve are the delkenheim gravel pits, which can be found on the other side of the road that separates these two reserves. there, you can find a real lookout tower called 'crow's nest', and it's on my list for exploration in the wiesbaden east, for sure!
i loved the forlorn mood of the birch trees mirroring themselves inside the puddles of water on the ground.
a little funny mushroom growing randomly on the meadows of the playground. i couldn't definitely determine the mushroom, my guess is that this specimen is a very young panther cap. they are deadly! quite frankly, though, i am extremely unsure about this one.
a little rocky and colourful area next to the playground. probably a nod to the gravel pit history!
the playground. in the back you can see the tube slide tower.
it is attached to a really cool climbing scaffold! i loved that whole construction!
climbing definitely is super fun here!
and shooting photos from several perspectives was pretty successful!
yes, of course i climbed that beast ;)
climbing scaffold symmetry.
looking down. hopefully no one looking at these pictures gets vertigo 😂
arriving at the last platform before entering the slide down.
the view towards the taunus mountains ( and wiesbaden ).
and towards the village of massenheim and its little protestant church, which dates back to the romanesque era, but was destroyed several times, so now you see a building from 1762.
it is still very much apparent that outside of the borders of the reserve, gravel is still mined! in addition to that there is a waste treatment depository and a civic amenity site as well, but i hear that they are comitted to dispose of their waste in an environmentally friendly way, with respect towards the surroundings. oh, by the way, can you spot the sheep?
the peak of the tube slide tower!
and the view down.
and another view outside, towards hochheim!
down we go!
arrived happily and safe at the foot of the slide :D
rubber tire framed puddle self-portrait ;D
definitely loving puddle mirror photos! there's something quite abstract about them, isn't there?
heavy hearted i said goodbye to the amazing climbing scaffold and the tower and moved on.
but i wasn't sad for too long, since i encountered a lovely landscape soon after.
birch tree foliage transitioning from green to yellow! the sunny colour change of birch trees is probably one of my favourite things in autumn, though they can be hard to find in the mountains. you need to get further down into the valleys to encounter them more often!
you also rarely encounter amazing spooky owls in the wild either, so i was super happy to stumble upon this wooden sculpture! doesn't it blend in so well with the birch tree surroundings? 😍
discovering the wilderness of former gravel pits.
shining bright - rose hips!
always admiring everything covered with lichen!
i mean, their structures are so visually satisfying!
right? i love lichen!
charming paths illuminated by muted sunlight.
when the trees ablaze in the warmest colours possible ❤
sloe berries on their way to being more edible! they are best when the first frost goes over them, dimming down their acerbity and elevating their sweetness. still, sloe berries are most delicious when converted into jams and chutneys or schnapps and wine!
sometimes i snatch and devour them before their prime time, though, i kinda like the extreme acerbity, which numbs the tongue a bit 😅
the gravel pit lakes are fenced in, but i found a hole in one of the fences and took advantage of it to slip through and enjoy some quiet and transcendent moments at one of them. this lake is the biggest of 3 in the reserve, it has an expanse of 60.000 square meters.
a soft breeze was stirring up the water, creating some lovely ripples.
gold and silver are such a good combination in nature ❤
on the shores on the other side - a swan pair swimming some laps.
i thought of the lake as quite a romantic place, very pretty and gorgeously forlorn.
birch trees could be found everywhere, and they were stout & sturdy - real showpieces.
a water level scale.
winding roots underneath my feet.
seriously, i could stay in places like these all day, if there wasn't also even more to discover everywhere else 😅 the contrast of wanting to get settled, and wanting to uncover all that is to see on this earth, it is quite a stark one and will forever haunt my brain.
the swans again!
on the way back to the car i encountered a soft fellow - a tiny bunny!
passing by the owl tree again, this time revealing more owls from another perspective!
i rested a bit on one of several hammocks you can also find on the grounds of the adventure playground.
the cutest little snail there ever was! ( snails are always cute, don't @ me 😂 ) aren't the little tentacles the best thing about it?
a last picture of the tube slide tower - leaving me a happy and content being, after discovering such an unexpected paradise in an otherwise unimposing district. just shows, that even in the places you usually think of as boring, you can definitely find some surprising gems. you just need to be open-minded enough to check these places out anyway, not label them as uninteresting before you even explored them. i am sometimes guilty of that, and as it turns out, stand here corrected now! go and explore the unassuming landscapes, they have more to offer than you think!
until next time,
stay curious!
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