It sounds like they have a way of marking trails by difficulty only. That's a nice feature, but what happens when two trails of the same color cross? Are they still named? How does this get you from A to B without a map?
I think red is generally used for long distance trails and other colours are used for auxiliary routes. Because of that, colour clashes are rare. Because all major intersections have arrows you just really need to remember your destination.
Often you even have the information about public transport at the destination.
I guess I don't see how this is such a remarkable system. Everywhere I've hiked there has been some sort of blaze system to keep you on the trail you want. This looks pretty much identical, only with the added bonus of ambiguity throughout the country.
I just don't see the utility that makes this such a great idea.
Ambiguity is the key here. The system is set in a way that no matter where you are there are lines going just anywhere and once you are into it you will never miss any interesting spot. Also all the lines connect to each other, so I can start walking in one place and circle whole country.
Bonus point: whole system depends on volunteers who keep markings on all lines.
Fine. Distance/type then, though those terms aren't very helpful it seems. Looking at the map provided in a different comment, I just don't get it. I guess what I'm saying is that the colors don't line up with anything obviously useful. I still have to know which links I need unless I'm just doing a single segment. And If I need to know which links I need, the colors don't add any useful information.
When two trails cross, there usually is a signpost listing some popular destinations in the region, which is enough to get you to B unless you don't know any popular destination close to B. At least that's the way it works in Germany.
It's not perfect, though. Sometimes you'll see a sign pointing diagonally past an electric fence and think that maybe the sign is slightly off and you're supposed to walk along the fence. But actually the path goes across the meadow and the farmer who uses it later decided to erect a fence. Other times the sign is really just slightly off.
