Writing articles on the decisions of the political committees and forwarding them to the media, processing their inquiries, writing speeches and greetings for the district administrator and heads of department, organizing and moderating events: for more than three decades, Michael Elsaß, as head of public relations for the Wetteraukreis, has been in charge of politics and administration shifted.

He did a good job, as was recently confirmed when he said goodbye to retirement.

Of course, the sixty-four-year-old has not only gained recognition over the years as a kind of information logistician who transmits and mediates.

He has also managed to highlight the Wetterau outside of office hours.

Wolfram Ahlers

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for central Hesse and the Wetterau.

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As a passionate hiker and cyclist, Alsace, who lives in Hanau, felt at home in the Wetterau, as he says.

He was able to explore the landscape between the Taunus, Vogelsberg and Mainebene on many tours and compiled everything in several hiking guides.

The instructions, with which attractions and lesser-known aspects of an ancient cultural and natural landscape can be discovered or rediscovered, are well received by day-trippers.

This caused Alsace to stay on the road and to write more hiking guides.

In a new project he is dedicating himself to people who are not very good on their feet and who have limited mobility.

The first to appear is a publication with suggestions for low-barrier hikes through the Wetterau, with more tours in other areas to follow.

It is a book that is rarely available on the market.

More than two dozen routes

The publication entitled "Einfachwandern" was created together with Martin Fischer, who acts as a co-author.

The retired teacher has been using a wheelchair and handbike for many years.

Which of course does not detract from its mobility.

Like Alsace, he is everywhere in the Wetterau and has discovered numerous routes for people with restricted mobility and has also proven himself as a tour guide.

Fischer had offered the tourism promotion of the district a cooperation in terms of barrier-free exploration of the Wetterau.

This is how the book came about.

The two authors show that there are plenty of ways to explore the Wetterau in all its facets, even with wheelchairs, walkers, handbikes and prams.

They tried out more than two dozen routes and put together stretches of different lengths and textures as well as different levels of difficulty.

A visit to the Friedberg district of Ockstadt is particularly worthwhile in spring, when the trees in one of the largest fruit-growing areas in the region are in full bloom.

A bird paradise with many rare species is the Wetterau floodplain landscape.

Anyone who appreciates landscape architecture and horticulture can head to the parks in and around Bad Nauheim and Bad Salzhausen. You can hike in the footsteps of the Romans, for example on the Limes circular path near Limeshain, where reconstructions of fortifications and even a replica of a watchtower can be seen along the route are to visit.

Other tours with evidence of the long history of settlement in the Wetterau lead to the Münzenberg Castle and through the old town of Büdingen with its almost completely preserved late medieval town wall.

Each tour is preceded by information on what needs to be taken into account, such as whether wheelchair users need pulling aids, the surface is suitable for walking frames and prams, whether the hikes should be undertaken with accompanying persons or whether this is not necessary.

Are there inclines to be overcome, side slopes to be taken into account, obstacles to be overcome, are there rest stops with disabled toilets?

– there is also information on all of this, as well as on parking spaces and connections to local public transport.

Detailed maps provide orientation, and to be on the safe side, all routes are available for download as GPX tracks.

If you want to get in the mood in advance, you will find numerous photos of things worth seeing along the routes when you leaf through them.

The book "Einfach wandern", ISBN: 978-3-95542-425-1, has 180 pages and was published by Societäts Verlag Frankfurt.

It costs 16 euros.