Family day offers car-free fun

by Petra Lessoing
86th Airlfit Wing Public Affairs

Bicyclists enjoy a car-free route when cycling from Pfaffen-Schwabenheim to Wuerzweiler from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. The road is closed to motorized vehicles for 30 kilometers.

For the 25th time, Family Day in Appelbach Valley will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. “Biking — Skating — Hiking” will be the motto on the road from Wuerzweiler, northeast of Rockenhausen, to Pfaffen-Schwabenheim, Bad Kreuznach county.

Participants can enjoy the 30-kilometer car-free route with an altitude difference of only 150 meters.

In each village along that road, restaurants, associations and clubs will offer an entertaining program with live music, art displays, flea markets and children’s activities. Children can ride on ponies in Pfaffen-Schwabenheim, jump on bouncy castles in Niederhausen and Gaugrehweiler, and take part in a duck race in Oberhausen.

Culinary specialties include smoked trout, steaks, fried potatoes with ham and eggs, schnitzel with different sauces, bratwurst, salmon in beer dough, smoked trout, boiled beef with horseradish, chicken breast with gnocchis, salad with chicken strips and homemade plum cakes and waffles.

Event partakers can also explore churches and historical sites such as the monastery in Pfaffen-Schwabenheim, the castle ruins in Neu-Bamberg and the Jewish cemetery and former synagogue from the 19th century in Muensterappel.

Bicycle service stations will be set up in Neu-Bamberg and Gaugrehweiler. A first aid station can be found in Neu-Bamberg.

Bicyclists’ worship services will be conducted at
10 a.m. in Muensterappel and at 10:30 a.m. at Hof Iben.

Bikers, hikers and skaters can stop at the information stands in Wuerzweiler, Muensterappel and Neu-Bamberg to get a stamp and win prizes.

Collected stamps can be turned in on the spot or sent to Touristinfo, Bezirksamtstrasse 7, 67806 Rockenhausen.

Participants can start their tour at any of the locations of the car-free road, which is closed to motorized traffic from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The most southern starting point is Wuerzweiler, located northeast of Rockenhausen and east of Alzey. The most northern starting location is Pfaffen-Schwabenheim, located east of Bad Kreuznach.

For details and the event flyer, visit www.vgvkh.de. or www.rockenhausen.de.


Bikers, hikers and skaters stop in the villages between Pfaffen-Schwabenheim and Wuerzweiler to eat, drink or check out sights. This year’s car-free event is scheduled for Sunday.— Courtesy photos