Wander through the Eifel with goosebumps and suspense

Jacques Berndorf's Eifel crime novels are also travel guides of a different kind, as his gnarled detective hunts around the most beautiful locations in the Hillesheim region. Here, fictitious corpses are draped and criminals are hunted... with a happy ending, of course.  

The picturesque medieval market town of Hillesheim not only has a massive town wall to offer, but is also the secret crime capital of Germany. There is one of the largest German-language crime fiction archives here, where you can browse and play to your heart's content, there is the quaint Café Sherlock with film paraphernalia as decoration, there is an escape room in the crime hotel... Above all, however, this was the place where crime writer Jacques Berndorf, the "inventor" of the regional crime novels, and of course his protagonist Siggi Baumeister felt at home. Reason enough to send holidaymakers in this idyllic landscape on a hiking tour to the exciting, bloody and mysterious locations of the popular crime novels.

The whole thing is a three-day break for amateur detectives, enriched with many amenities. On the first day of the holiday package, the route leads from Hillesheim around 18 kilometres through the small town itself, but also to the quarry on the vineyard immortalised in literature and to Berndorf, where the author lived for several years and which inspired his pseudonym. Berndorf thus became the fictional home of the eternally searching journalist Baumeister. On the second day, the route covers more than twenty kilometres, starting and finishing in Kerpen. The Eifel town of Kerpen is crowned by a medieval castle. The ruins of Neublankenheim Castle are also not far away. At the "growing" Dreimühlen waterfall, you can guess why the Eifel nature inspired the author to create so many exciting scenes. And finally, Niederehe is a popular place to stop for a bite to eat: in real life, this was also the favourite gastronomic address of the author and protagonist. The rural charm of the Landgasthof Schröder invites you to stop for a bite to eat at the weekend.

Route 1:

• Length: 17.4 km
• Start and finish: Hillesheim
• Highlights on the tour: Crime capital Hillesheim, quarry on the vineyard, Berndorf

Route 2:

• Length: 21 km
• Start and finish: Kerpen
• Tour highlights: Kerpen Castle, Neublankenheim castle ruins, Dreimühlen waterfall, Niederehe

A really good tip for investigators: don't do everything on your own, but entrust yourself to Klara Fall, Dane Spur or Hella Blick... real hiking professionals who know how to interpret the clues.
The booklet accompanying the Eifel Crime Trails contains all further information and is included in the price.

The package can be booked all year round! The best time to travel is from April to November.