First, we pay a visit to the chapel with the old cross on the outside wall, which was built in the difficult post-war period from 1946 to 1947. The interior is simple and tasteful at the same time, characterized by the art style of the post-war period, making it a gem among the places of worship in the municipality of Simmerath. After just a few steps from Kapellenstraße, we enter a quaint path lined with well-tended beech hedges, which is so narrow in places that only one person can walk through it.

At the junction with Weiherstraße, we come across the "Zur Alten Post" inn, which has been family-owned since 1871 and where the postilion used to harness fresh horses after the arduous climb through the Tiefenbach valley. Huppenbroich, first mentioned in a document in 1369, is a successful blend of tradition and modernity. What is also striking is the symbiosis of buildings and nature. It is rare to see so many typical hedges and trees in such a small area.

At the end of Weiherstraße, we turn left and follow Mühlenknippstraße, past the street "Im Schöllchen", to the end of the village. After the last houses, we turn right onto a farm track. It leads us through the hedgerows and meadows on the southern slope of the Tiefenbach valley and offers a beautiful view of Simmerath and Kesternich. Before we turn left after about 300 meters, we pass broom bushes, which live up to their name "Eifelgold" during the flowering season in spring. The valley floor of the Tiefenbach valley, which we reach after a forest passage, could hardly be more romantic. The aromatic scent of the plants, the murmur of the stream and the unspoiled nature are an experience for all the senses. Today, nothing reminds us that the Huppenbroich mill, which fell victim to a fire in 1914, once stood to the left of the path. The only remnant from the old days is the course of the little stream, which flows into the Tiefenbach here and is partially bordered with quarry stones. The "moelen inder Deyffenbaech" was first mentioned in 1508. It was one of four so-called "Bannmühlen" mills in the Monschau region. Until the end of the 18th century, the inhabitants of Kesternich, Huppenbroich and Rurberg were obliged to have their grain milled here. Our path now climbs uphill, past ancient, gnarled hedgerow trees. After around 140 meters, we take a sharp left. Accompanied by the murmur of the Tiefenbach stream, we continue through a hillside forest with different characters. Sometimes spruce, sometimes beech, sometimes oak trees line our path. We are a little surprised by the cave several meters deep into the rock, which we come across after a while right next to the path. It can't be of natural origin. You're about to find out what it's all about!

Shortly before the end of the forest path, there is a youth campsite on the other side of the stream. At weekends and during the vacations, you can hear the happy voices of children running around from afar. Completely different noises dominated the village in the second half of the 19th century. In 1847, a mine was founded here, the "Maria-Grube". Just like the cave we have just passed, it was used to mine roofing slate. The mine buildings stood where the youth campsite is today. Today, only the slag heap to the right of the path and several tunnels in the steep slope are reminders of that time. In 1923, the mine, which had already fallen into disuse, was to be revived. But this never happened. However, the remains of the old slate mine have another story to tell.

At the edge of the path, a simple wooden cross asks us to remember in silence the 22 American soldiers who died here during the battles for the Monschau region on January 30, 1945. We take another look down into the valley and then immerse ourselves in the romantic hedgerow landscape.

The village welcomes us exactly as we left it: pretty houses and lots of nature. We pass tastefully restored historic half-timbered houses and an old house cross before reaching a wide square via Mühlenknippstraße and Tiefenbachstraße. In other villages, only street names remind us of village ponds that have long since been filled in. Here it has been preserved. It is surrounded by a small park with benches and an ivy-covered natural chapel.

It is only another hundred meters along the road to the starting point. But we follow a narrow lane with the beech hedges so typical of Huppenbroich, as we did at the beginning of our tour. And once again we encounter the harmonious coexistence of past and present. While a restored half-timbered house hides behind a high hedge on the left, a modern residential building stands opposite it, its driveway lined with artistically decorated wooden sculptures. Back at the starting point, the small, newly created park next to the parking spaces and behind the young beech hedge invites you to linger.