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hi housil i was in the lower camp. the main base was run by belgium,i saw little of the second war sites ,but i remember a kubelwagen and 3 occcupants being found in the lakes at the bottom of the valley (where the ranges were).i have some cracking photos of my time there.

rationtin440 wrote:I forgot to ask you housil, were there any cold war sites around the area where you hiked?

Not the places we were except the Bundeswehr barracks with it´s bunkers.

sodjer wrote: the main base was run by belgium,

Camp Elsenborn?

camp elsenborn??? the complex was called vogelsang,it was run by the belgians with a separate dutch/ uk contingent the main camp was at the top of the hill.the naafi(px??)was belgian as was security and all base function.i was in the camp on the hill side leading down to the swimming pool/playing fields and the dutch were in a separate area nearby,closer to the ranges,it was a very busy camp(i believe the belgians were armoured,as the photos i have show a lot of tanks ,but i don't remember them clearly,i remember a lot of climbing stairs thou,as all mess halls were at the top.

sodjer wrote:camp elsenborn??? the complex was called vogelsang

THAT "famous" Castle Vogelsang?! That was a German let´s say "military school" back in WW2.

thats the place,it also has a lebensborn camp nearby(think the dutch contingent were there)if you can visit at the same time you are welcome.i don't know if the area is still military active, as i would like to visit the range complexes.

When we did the "Battle field tour" this year, we jus drove by, but "Castle Vogelsang" was converted into civil use in 2006 and they restore it until 2015 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordensburg_Vogelsang

housil, ak70g2, thats my tickets booked.i ll be at bad kissengen on the 20 june,ill be stopping at vogelsang on the thursday,i have to be back in the uk for the 24th, bummer,i would have like to stay longer and done the nijmegan marches on the beginning of july.so if anybody would like to meet i m in.housil there is a cheap campsite in bad kissengen as part of the show with shuttle busses back and forth.

sodjer wrote:housil there is a cheap campsite in bad kissengen as part of the show with shuttle busses back and forth.

Didn´t know that. But it´s only an hours drive from my place anyway

I'm curious housil, what do you use for a backpack and other gear for day-hikes? I've been trying to find the most comfortable system and my preferences lean towards military gear. I've heard that the current Bundeswehr packs are superior to the American system in many ways, but I'm not familiar with them.