During our visit, Sandra and Roman took us to see the Altenberger Dom, which is located about fifteen minutes away from their home. The Altenberger Dom located in Odenthal, Germany, is listed as a cultural heritage site. Construction on the church began in 1259 and is built in the Gothic style. The church holds a special place in Roman’s family because his parents were married there.
The inside of the church was beautiful, but I was especially fascinated by the stained glass windows. Most of the panels were black, gray, and white, which is very different from the colorful windows that most churches have. Those colors might sound dull and depressing, or maybe severe, but actually had the opposite effect. The simple color scheme allowed a lot of light to pass through, thus illuminating the church and creating a feeling of richness and grandeur. The windows were so pretty.
On the way back to the car, I spotted a sign for the Camino, which of course I got excited about. I’ve hiked the Camino de Santiago (Frances) twice, once in 2013 and again in 2018. Both times I began in Saint Jean Pied de Port, France and walked 500 miles (800 kms) to Santiago, Spain. The blue sign with the yellow scallop shell, that says, ‘Pilgerweg‘ is the marker for the Camino.
I also noticed another route with a picture of a witch called, ‘Hexenroute.’ Intrigued, I looked it up and found out that it’s a local hiking trail, not a long-distance trail as I had assumed. The English translation of the trail means “Witches Path.” Although I can’t find much about it, it seems that there were witch hunts in this area throughout the 1600’s.