Peaceful Hike at Fünfweiher

So, a few days ago, a friend reached out to me and presented me with the following challenge:

"I'm looking for a nice fireplace in the forest near Lenzburg. But I'm looking for something small for two, not a fancy one from the Internet where it is crawling from people. Just a basic fireplace, where you make fire on the ground, there's also no need for benches and tables. Do you have a tip for me?"

My ambition was sparked. I may not be the outdoorsy type, but hey, I grew up around here, and I've done my share of hiking and grilling sausages ;-) - Which, if you're not Swiss, is a national pastime for many of my fellow citizens. 

I was busy, but I sent her a couple of pictures without a lot of explanation, other than "I can't guarantee that there won't be other people".

Today was a gorgeous day, and I had some time to check out a location that we used to visit by bicycle when we were kids, It's called Fünfweiher, which translates to "Five Ponds." It is located in the mountain forest south of Lenzburg. Its name and a map from the end of the 19th century, indicate that there were once five ponds in this area. The ponds were built in tiers along the mountain valley rising to the south. Of the ponds, only the Fünfweiher still exists; all the other ponds have silted up in recent decades and can only be vaguely guessed at in the forest.

Until the turn of the century, there were a number of ponds in the municipality of Lenzburg, which had been created in the 16th century. Their main task was to supply the necessary fire-fighting water in the event of a fire. It was not until the construction of a central water supply with hydrants and elevated reservoirs (in 1890) that the importance of the ponds for fire fighting was reduced.

The ponds also fulfilled other secondary tasks. For example, young fish were placed in them and the mats in the mountain field below the ponds were watered. Tree trunks were also placed in the water for a longer period of time for hardening and later used to make culverts for water pipes (pipes made of wood) and well sticks.

Today, the Fünfweiher in the mountain forest near the city with its beautiful and well-equipped (tables and benches, firewood, a stone fountain with potable water and a "Plumpsklo", a bathroom of sorts, I believe it's called port-a-potty?) barbecue areas is a popular destination in a picturesque setting. 

Did I mention it was a fantastic pre-summer day? The perfect time for childcare groups or school classes to spend some time in the forest. There goes your cosy togetherness ;-) 

You may, however, step away from the BBQ area and walk around the pond. If you happen to be a Geocacher, there's even a cache for you to find.

From there, the Esterliturm lookout point can be reached on foot in about 20 minutes.

As you're exploring the area, you will come across this commemorative plaque that stands for NIKIN having planted a full million trees. 

To celebrate this milestone, NIKIN adopted an approximately 100-year-old beech tree. It was too tall to fully get on the photo!

Nikin is a sustainable Swiss fashion brand that plants a tree for every product sold. The company's co-founders, Since 2016, Nicholas and Robin, and their team of about 50 people, have already been able to plant 1.4 million trees and generate sales of CHF 24 million (about the same amount in USD) without external investors. Quite impressive, isn't it. 

By the way, the parking lot "Fünfweiher" is also the point of departure for Lenzburg's Walking Trails. which include views of three important landmarks:

Staufberg

Schlossberg / Gofi

JVA

JVA stands for Justizvollzugsanstalt, a nice long German word for prison. In order to keep the inmates busy, there are several jobs they get to do. One is to make fruity and savoury pies that are being sold at the little Hofladen-like shop every Wednesday. 

I keep mentioning the killer pies, as I like to call them, in my blog posts because a) they're super tasty, and b) I think it's great the inmates get to learn a trade and do some work that is being appreciated by the community. 

They made our beautiful wooden rainbow back in the days. 

Why is the store called 5-star-shop? Of course, It may simply be their rating for selling excellent products. However, the real reason is that the prison's nickname is "Kafi Fünfeck", the Pentagon Café, because that's what the building's shape is. You can see an areal photo in the Wikipedia article. 

I hope you enjoyed spending time with me in the free world!

PS: just across the street from this grocery store, you get to hang your laundry. Look closely though, the clothing items are sculptures!