Bikers, hikers enjoy car-free road Sunday

The 20th car-free adventure day in the Lauter Valley, “Autofreies Lautertal,” will take place 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Federal street B270 will be closed to motorized traffic on 35 kilometers from Kaiserslautern to Lauterecken. Walkers, hikers, bicyclists and inline-skaters will have the road all to themselves and be able to enjoy an entertaining program with activities, eating and drinking along it. The car-free route winds through the Lauter Valley from Kaiserslautern to Otterbach, Sambach, Katzweiler, Hirschhorn, Olsbrücken, Kreimbach-Kaulbach, Rutsweiler, Wolfstein, Oberweiler-Tiefenbach and Lohnweiler to Lauterecken.

The official start will be 10 a.m. in Otterbach.

More than 50 associations, institutions and communities will provide diversified entertainment and set up eating and drinking locations.

In Kaiserslautern, the road closure will start on Lauterstrasse near the Gartenschau area with food and beverages. A biker’s meeting point and beer garden on Lauterstrasse 117 will lure participants with live music by the Kottweiler-Schwanden Music Association at 11 a.m., the band Forty Eight at 2 p.m., and children’s activities and food specialties.

In Otterbach, hungry travelers will find an American barbecue, gyros, salad plates, waffles and alcohol-free strawberry margaritas. The little switch tower museum near the railroad crossing (direction Erfenbach) will offer a model train exhibition. The Reservists Comradeship Otterbach will serve food from the field kitchen, live music and first aid at the Red Cross area at the end of the village going to Sambach.

Along Hauptstrasse in Katzweiler, various food booths will serve Palatinate dishes. Children can have their faces painted and jump on a bouncy castle. The trout farm will present fish specialites and a juggler invites visitors to test their skills.

Hirschhorn’s culture association will organize a giant book flea market and offer wurst salad with fried potatoes at the village square. The Kaiserslautern Association for Environment and Nature Protection will offer organic snacks and beverages at the parking lot at the end of the village.

In Sulzbachtal, children’s activities will feature a duck race on the Sulzbach creek. Event participants can stop at a fossil exhibition and sale.

In Olsbrücken, the Otterbach-Otterberg union community office will provide tips on events in the area. A church service for bikers will start 10:30 a.m. in the Protestant church.

The local clubs in Kreimbach-Kaulbach will serve a variety of food specialties, children’s activities and live music.

In Rutsweiler, a church service for bikers will start at 9 a.m. in the village center.

The public swimming pool in Wolfstein will offer free admission and Dutch specialties will be served. The local lime mine will offer guided tours starting at 1 p.m.

The Wolfgang Bayer Band will perform in Oberweiler-Tiefenbach and a raffle can be joined at Reckweilerhof.

Heinzenhausen will have its annual village carnival with rides, sweets, food and live music.

In Lohnweiler, event participants can test Segway riding at the obstacle course for free, ride ponies or a merry-go-round and visit a quad exhibition.

Lauterecken will be the northern end of the road closure. The local fishing club will offer fish and salmon brötchen. Live music performances will be on Velden Square.

Event participants can board the Lautertal train at any train station to get back to their starting location. The trains travel between Kaiserslautern and Lauterecken. Train staff is available to help load and unload bicycles. The transportation of bicycles is free. To get the flyer and program in English, stop at the Window to Rheinland-Pfalz Ramstein Gateway in the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center, call them at 06371-406-208 or e-mail kmcc@infocenter-ramstein.de. For more information visit
www.urlaub-kaiserslautern.de.