Another early start to the day; this time the event centre was at Kapellplatz, within walking distance. We arrived well before 9am, and met Philly and Stephen for our last day of orienteering.  From here, we are off to Barcelona, while they will be hiking in the Bavarian Alps.  Today was the headline event of the weekend – the Darmstadt City Race.  Thanks to its inclusion in the Euro City Race Tour, the weekend attracted about 120 international participants from 17 countries, as well as the locals of course.  Fields generally had 12-24 competitors, so quite well attended.

Today’s arena

Ian and Stephen were off first this time, an hour before us girls.  We just caught Stephen finishing as we left for our starts, but there was no sign of Ian, who started 10 minutes or so later.  We walked almost 1 km to the start, which was in the University. Darmstadt is a university city with several campuses, and lots of research facilities.

University

We began with a control in the campus, but were quickly out into the Herrngarten, or English garden, full of people enjoying the summer sunshine.  Three controls in there, including an annoying one at the top of a big mound, then out into the streets. This is the “posh” bit of Darmstadt, close to the Schloss. The course setter made great use of the many small lanes and courtyards in this section. Round the church – left or right? Zig here, zag there.  No 10 is an untimed leg to get us safely across the tram tracks – phew, time for a drink and a breather.  I was half running, half walking, as I still have trouble on anything rough, like bumpy grass or cobbles.

Market square. Several controls near here

Follow the tram line down past the Schloss and into the market square.  Wriggle between shops. Oops, that control is up on a terrace, and I’ve come in at the wrong end.  Now a long leg. Look for a tiny gap between shops, with a steep set of stairs.  Round the corner, follow the canopy out.  Oh – this is the automatic door they mentioned; I’m in a small shopping centre. Pop back out onto the street and press on.

Several more legs in the commercial area, then through the underpass and back towards the finish.  Third last control is next to the old city walls – impressive.  Except I have to run round them rather than through!  Scramble through a sandpit full of kids, out the gate and into another small park for my final control, and the finish. Punch in at 56 minutes, happy to finish under the hour and relieved to be still upright with my head in a relatively good state.

The old city wall. Control on the other side. Definitely uncrossable

Stephen and Philippa have both run well, to finish off their weekend.  Unfortunately Ian had a brain freeze near the end. He was running well and on target for 2^nd place. But after the sandpit control, he completely misplaced himself, and did a 180. He ran across the map in the wrong direction, and didn’t recognise anything.  His mistake took a good 5 minutes to rectify, and moved him down to 7^th place – which is still very respectable out of 23 starters. Overall for the weekend – 4^th for Ian, 7^th for me.

The sandpit control where it all went wrong

Today’s map?

We were finished a bit after midday, and set off for some sightseeing. We had a small map of the Mathildenhohe, or Artists Colony, which is Darmstadt’s main tourist attraction. On the way, we paused to look at the ruins of a church which is now a war memorial. It was destroyed in a bombing raid by the Allies on September 11 1944 (yep, 9/11), along with most of the city, and 12,000 people were killed.

Bombed church is now a memorial

Control just through the doorway

Wilting in the heat, we wandered slowly past the old city wall and the University. At one point the University is built around the wall!  Next we began the photO course. This was 10 controls located very close together. At each spot, you identify a photo on your control card, match it to what you can see, and write a letter in the corresponding square. At the end, it makes a word.  Despite being in German, I worked out that the word was Jugendstil. This saved us a hike down and back up hill.

City wall goes right through the University

Darmstadt likes its statues nude

The Mathildenhohe is very interesting. There is a Russian church, a swimming pool, an arbory, and a wedding tower (also known as the Fünffingerturm – what a wonderful word!) The artists colony was founded here in 1899, and it became a centre for Art Nouveau.

Mathildenhohe

Russian church

Roof detail

Gold and mosaic detail

Wedding tower or my preferred name, Funffingerturm

Sundial on side of wedding tower

After completing our mini course, it was time to part ways. Ian headed home for lunch. Stephen and Philly and I wandered a bit further into the market square, then said our farewells. It’s been lovely having friends to orienteer with.  From there I caught a tram north for one final piece of sightseeing.

Remember way back in Vienna, when we went to see the Hundertwasser building – the very unusual waste incineration plant. Darmstadt has its own Hundertwasser, this one being an apartment complex called the Waldspirale. Seven storeys high, it looks like a fine place for hobbits to inhabit. It is a thing of wonder, and I loved it. I want to live in it! It was his last work before he died. It was also a good warmup before we start on Gaudi next week.

Waldspirale. Hobbits live here. I wish I did

Back on the tram for home, and a soak in the bath.  Trams are the lifeblood of Darmstadt, and they snake out from the central Luisenplatz in all directions. It is an efficient system that works well.  I decided I like Darmstadt very much indeed. It seems quite relaxed and very liveable – small enough to get around easily, big enough to have everything you need. It has some interesting history and wonderful architecture, and more than enough to see on a short visit. The beauty of orienteering is that you can end up in places you would never otherwise go to, with their own unique charms, and often away from the crowds and the selfie-stick-wielding Instagrammers.

Ich bin ein Darmstadter. At least until tomorrow.

Our roof terrace. Farewell Darmstadt and Germany. Next stop Barcelona!