Rinsleyfelsen

Lennestadt-Saalhausen (51.128343 | 8.162032)

Sublimity

Rugged cliff in an old deciduous forest with a view of the Lenne valley.

A hiking group wants to get up to the rock. They have guitars and drums with them. For one lady, who suffers from shortness of breath, the path proves to be arduous and even torturous. But she is determined to get up there and won't be dissuaded by any coaxing. The group goes ahead, her husband helps and supports her. Together they first manage the steep rocky path, then the final scramble. When they reach the top, the woman asks for a song. She sings "Spread your wings and fly away" with the others. Someone has got wings on the climb and feels outlawed.

Third story. A woman from Saalhaus goes up the mountain with others. Hiking and singing is the motto. The Rinsleyfelsen is the highlight. Where the path becomes bumpy, she warns the others to be careful. But then she herself falls down. Bone hits stone. The result is a severe bruise. Is this an accident? When she has the injury treated, a serious illness is discovered in passing. She had felt symptoms for a long time, but had refused an examination. Now it seems to her that the stones have literally nudged her to finally go to the doctor. The illness was recognized in time and the woman recovered. A happy turn of events.

It is early morning. No one in the forest yet, except a young forester and his girlfriend. They walk briskly. The path leads them out of the narrow Saalhausen valley, slowly ascending at first, then steeper. Finally, they turn left onto a narrow path. Right at the beginning, two narrow beech trees lean towards each other from the right and left; they form an archway through which the two of them enter as if into a magical garden. Now they place their feet more carefully so as not to stumble between chapped, moss-covered boulders. Their destination is not yet visible, obscured by the springtime lime green foliage of beech and birch trees. They pass deadwood sculptures that could easily be mistaken for a buzzard flying away or a malicious witch's face in the morning mist. Soon afterwards, they are standing in front of their place of longing. The Rinsleyfelsen rises above them. It towers above the canopy of the forest. The last challenge is a short climb up to the narrow summit plateau, which invites them to settle down. At seven o'clock sharp, they each put a ring on the other. They get engaged.

It is stories like this that tell of the special significance of Rinsleyfelsen for the people in the area. That it is a place of the soul for them. When I arrive at the top of the rock myself, I notice fresh chalk drawings. A sun, circles of flowers and the message to subsequent climbers that the A loves the O. A good place for high-flying feelings. The summit rises out of the green sea like a small island. I can see far in both directions of the Lenne valley. The sounds of the main road, which follows the course of the river, are swallowed up by the forest. After taking a few notes in the last twilight of the evening, I calm down. Doing nothing, just looking. I am sitting on a rock in the surf of hectic everyday life. A sublime place for heavenly meditation. A refuge for romantics. Or simply a good resting place to eat sandwiches I've brought with me. They taste simply divine after a strenuous climb.

Author: Michael Gleich