No, we have not flown several thousand kilometers - we are in the Allgäu, the wild south of Germany. Natural river landscapes like that of the Argen, which form a unity of river, floodplains and cultural landscape, have become rare in Europe. Few habitats have such a rich fauna and flora as they do. From the source to the mouth, they constantly change their face; no two river meanders are alike. Many species of animals or plants thrive only in a particular section. A sensitive ecosystem. A kingfisher, for example, needs steep, sandy baffle slopes on the banks so that it can build a long passage of one meter to its breeding hole in them. It dives into the water up to 200 times a day to catch fish for its offspring.

Wild river landscapes are like doors to largely forgotten spaces. Anyone hiking along here asks themselves: Am I really in Germany? The Allgäu Hiking Trilogy, an almost 900-kilometer long network of long-distance hiking trails across the region, brings these forgotten treasures back into the light and shows how unique and worth protecting our habitats are.

The three routes of the hiking trilogy make it possible to experience three landscapes and altitudes of the Allgäu that could not be more different. One of them is the Wasserläufer Route and it leads through a breathtaking landscape mosaic of quiet streams and wild gorges, enchanted lakes, colorful meadows, rolling hills and stony mountain giants.

The rivers and streams that run through the hilly western Allgäu like a large network of veins are also the main protagonists of the "Water Realm" trilogy area south of Isny around Scheidegg and Lindenberg. Due to the steep gradient towards Lake Constance, the water has often cut deep into the subsoil and formed many gorges. "Here is the belly of Mother Earth. The water is the original source. From the terraces and many lakes it has carved, you can see what an ancient land the Allgäu is," says Toni Vochezer, himself a native of Scheidegg for 40 years. He guides guests and locals alike on the trilogy tour around the town. All the paths are well signposted, and information boards at the various locations explain the special features.

But the other stage and theme locations along the Wasserläufer Route of the Allgäu Hiking Trilogy also offer guided tours into the rainforests of the wild south. If you want to know what the yellow-bellied toad sounds like, what a great crested newt or a Bechstein's bat looks like, or what a pimpernut is, you should definitely go on an adventure.