Saturday, November 8 – Marsha follows a blog called Travel Bug written by Susan. Without Susan really knowing it, she has Marsha all fired up about doing a Volksmarch. Now you ask….What is a Volksmarch? From the official website of the AVA, a volksmarch is a noncompetitive 3.1 mile (5 km) or 6.2 mile (10 km) walk. It's not a pledge walk, it's not a race, it is a fun activity! (Note: There are sanctioned U.S. events, but we aren’t interested in those events.) Every time Marsha reads Susan’s blog, she says the same thing…Paul, I want to do this! Well, she finally got her wish. With great weather here in Houston, we took to the park with our daughter, Carrie, for our first volksmarch.
On the AVA website, there is a search page. Marsha found four volksmarches right in the Houston area. The one we chose for today is the Hermann Park volksmarch. For each volksmarch, there is a starting point where you pick up a map and directions for the walk. We headed to Wyndham Hotel, to pickup our map and directions for our 10K walk. The map was helpful while we were on the city streets, but once we entered the huge Hermann Park we resorted to iPhone maps and park signs to find our way around.
The walk began in the medical district of Houston. According to the TMC website, Texas Medical Center (TMC) is the world’s largest medical complex. TMC comprises: 21 renowned hospitals, 13 support organizations, eight academic and research institutions, six nursing programs, three public health organizations, three medical schools, two universities, two pharmacy schools, and a dental school.
There is lots of beauty in this area such as water fountains.
And landscaping.
MD Anderson has several buildings in this area.
More hospitals and other health buildings.
Our walk took us past many historic statues….
Major Richard William Dowling was First Lieutenant in the first Texas heavy artillery company. He also formed the first oil company in Houston and owned more than 22 square blocks of downtown Houston. He did this all before he died of yellow fever at age 30.
You know this one…Sam Houston.
Next was Hermann Park.
Hermann Park is one of Houston's first parks and is beautiful. It encompasses 285 acres. The park has a number of entertainment options and venues for visitors including the Hermann Park Golf course, the Miller Outdoor Theatre, a jogging track, the Houston Zoo, the Museum of Natural Science with the Cockrell Butterfly Exhibit, the Buddy Carruth Playground For All Children, the Japanese Garden, McGovern Lake with its paddle boats, Hermann Park Mini-Train and much, much more.
Jogging, walking, enjoying track.
Hermann Park Mini-Train 
Buddy Carruth Playground For All Children
Hermann Park Golf course
We will finish our first volksmarch in our next blog.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
I'd love to do a Volksmarch, but I think I'd have to do it solo. :-( We know RVers from Iowa that go all over the country doing Volksmarches. So much history and oft missed sights to see. Looking forward to 'walking' along with you. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are right. It's a pretty popular thing to do. At least you're able to do it in Houston this time of year and not in Ohio where it's going to start getting pretty cold.
ReplyDeleteI follow Susan's blog, too, and wondered about doing Volksmarches. Will be interested to see what you think.
ReplyDeletenever heard of a Volksmarch but it sounds fun, pretty neat area too.
ReplyDeleteWe have friends that used to do a lot of Volksmarches. It sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun day.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I am going to the link now. First question - why "volks" march.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete"Volks" = German for people or "folks."
DeleteSounds like fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us around Houston through a Volksmarcher eyes. Carrie must have enjoyed this new activity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great tour of Houston and the photos! I guess I do a 'volksmarch' pretty much every day but I call it a 'walk'. I'll have to look this up to find out the difference.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great way to get people out exercising. By picking up a map of a preplanned route, you don't have to think about where to go. This gives us no excuse:) Great concept! You'll be experts in the Houston area if you do all four of these in that area:) How nice that Carrie was able to join you!! Good job, Marsha, Paul, and Carrie:)
ReplyDeleteoh goody. . .something to keep you busy. . .LOL!
ReplyDeleteHad the privilege of meeting the TravelBugs this summer. . .they are way serious about all that. . .
My in-laws did Volksmarches years ago and my MIL still talks about the great experience today. What a great way to get outdoors, see a new community, and meet some new friends.
ReplyDeletePaul and Marsha,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the shout out. Glad you enjoyed your walk. I've been Volksmarching for 18 years, sometimes with friends, sometimes with friends I made at Volksmarching events, and sometimes with my husband, Bob, and by myself on many occasions.
Volksmarching can be done all over the world. It started in Germany, hence the Volksmarch - people's walk.
Thanks for the great tour. We've done all 11 of San Antonio's walks; looking forward to exploring Houston.
Susan
http://travelbug-susan.blogspot.com