I was happy to see that the path was well marked. I settled into a nice pace, relaxed in knowing I was going the right direction. I found myself outside the city and heading on to a path when I found this sign. I then remembered that Germany has many walking paths. After all they are a country of walkers. Why would i think there would be just one path to follow? So I became aware that I would have to pay close attention to the path markers. I did find that the E8 is also the JW or Camino.
I found the bridge to cross the Danube River. I told myself I would not take a break until I crossed the river. It was really nice to walk across the river. I was hoping to see more of the city looking back, but I didn't really much. Shortly after crossing the River I was in Sinzing and found a couple benches near the river and a church and found it a good place to stop and have lunch. At that time I had been walking for about 2 hours. At this point I felt good. I was 10km or so into the walk. My pack was fine, i was able to shed my coat and the sun began to peak through the clouds.
As i started back on my journey things soon turned a different direction. Through out the day, i found the path to be well marked at times. And then other times it was confusing as to which direction to do. This was especially true after lunch. Well to be honest the bulk of the walk was after lunch.
I headed out of the little village, and started down the path. Soon the signs ended and I was faced with a busy road. I check the map on the phone and it said to follow the road for a bit and then the path picks back up. So off I went, walking carefully and praying not to be run over by the cars. Soon I found what looked to be the path, up into the woods, on leave covered dirt. I did see the markings of the path number on the trees, so off into the woods I went. Up the inclines. I could still hear the traffic on the road below so I felt I was still going in the right direction. After a bit of time I found me a walking stick which helped a lot. Its funny about what you think about when walking alone. I started to think about the books I read and how one person was looking for a stick and believed the Camino would provide. However to me they seemed a bit picky on their stick finding. I felt pretty lucky that I found one with in minutes of thinking I should look for one. And mine had two prong like branches at the bottom for more stability. I was enjoying my walk the woods.
After a while though the markings became less and less. Then there were green markings and not red markings and I started getting confused. I walked on consulting the phone and hoping I was heading in the right direction. I walked out of the woods and found a sign for my path. Yeah! But then the signed showed the arrows in both directions with no other information. Which was was west? The sky had clouded over and it was hard to tell what direction was what. I told myself I really needed a compass. I walked on a bit down the dirt path, it must have been about a kilometer or so when I can upon a sign that told me I had walked the wrong direction. So back I went and headed on. At this point my phone lost power. I was walking and thinking about how when you are out here you have to trust your instincts and trust the process. Perhaps that is one of the lessons. After all had I trusted my instinct to begin with I would have turned right and not left at the last turn. But no worries, as long as I was on the right path i was ok. I still had plenty of day light.
Wandering a bit more I started to pray and ask for a sign that I was going the right direction. It had been a long time since I had seen a yellow arrow or a red 8 or a shell. Well it had been a along time since i seen any markers it seemed like. Then a few moments later I see two figures walking towards me. As we got closer I could see they were two older women. When we went to pass each other they stopped to ask me where I was from. We got to talking and they too had done Jakobsweg, but from Nuremberg. It was a nice chat and a break from the walk. And I found I was in fact going the right direction. After we departed I thanked God for sending me my answer with these ladies.
I continued on with a new sense of ease. I physically still felt good. My pack was not heavy, by back didn't hurt, my feet were fine. No hot spots anywhere. So far so good. And I was at around 20 km at this point. Then the path ended, again and I was faced with which way to go. I chose to follow the road sign to Kelhielm, which was the town just this side of the Kloster. I no longer saw the camino markings, or any walking path. I was mentally beating myself up for not having a paper map. For some reason I thought this would be easy and I didn't need a map. Silly me!
So I followed the road for awhile. Then I saw what I thought was the path and figured I should get off the road and go down the path. After a few kilometers I found I was going the wrong direction. So i turned back and heading back to the road. I figured at this point that at least the road had to get me there sometime. The road was winding and not very fun to walk on. At least it was not too busy. It rememinded me of walking in Spain, when we walked from Roncelvalles to Valcarlos. More on that another post. However it was nice to have those thoughts as I walked. The sun came out and I began to sing songs to myself and the sun. Singing helps me to take my mind off negative stuff. I often tell people I am walking with that as long as I am singing I am ok. Its when I stop singing or talking you have to worry about me.
To the left of me I could see the woods and some what looked to be paths, but at this point I just wanted to make it to the meeting point. I feared going back into the woods and getting lost there. I knew i had my sleeping bag with me, but I didn't want my family to worry about me. After all my phone was dead, I had no way of letting them know how to get me if I didn't make it to the Kloster. But the sun was out and still high in the sky and I felt I would get there, as long as i had light.
Once again I hadn't seen a sign in a long time and I stared asking again for a sign. I was starting to doubt myself yet again. Then a black car speed by me and then abruptly stopped, and reversed back to me, and stopped. I was a little scared I must admit. The man asked where I was headed and I told him. He spoke little English and I spoke little German. But we were able to communicate that Kehlhiem was about 5 km away. He said it was far and I though, hey 5km i can do that, no problem. So I thanked him and declined the ride. After all the point is to walk this right? Not to give up on it at the first offer of a ride. He went his way and I continued on my way. At least I was once again sent my answer to if I was going the right way. My faith was revived. After what seemed like forever, found a bench and had a break. I looked down at my fitbit and it said that I had walked 27 km at that point. I knew I had to be close to the town and the sun was still in the sky. However I knew I had to get moving on. So on I went. I finally arrived in Kehliehm, and I saw a big store. I thought perhaps I should go get a charger and charge my phone. But then I say the path again and felt I still had time to make it. After all it had to be just a few more kilometers. I walked on. Then I lost the route signs again. And the sun started to set. I knew I had a least another hour before me to get to the Kloster. I also knew it was going on 6pm and didnt want my family to worry about me. I decided to walk back to the middle of the town and see about getting a phone charger.
When i made the decision it was still sort of light. I don't know what happened but it seemed like it took me a long time to walk back to the area where the stores were. Looking back, I probably should have just gone forward. But, instead I walked back. It was at this point too that my body had decided it had had enough. My feet began to hurt and I started to feel as if I couldn't walk another step. Lucky for me I found an Edecka open, barely, everything was closing down. I did find a charger, and were to purchase it. However my debit card didn't work. So I had to leave. Feeling defeated I walked away. Then I saw an ATM and was able to withdraw money out. I went back to the store and the nice lady in line let me go in front of her. Now i just had to find a plug. I found a gelato restaurant that was open and asked for their help. They were very helpful. I plugged in and all seemed to be working fine. My phone came to life and I began trying to text Jessie. Then the phone died again, the charger wasn't working. oh, no. I was close to my wits end. I was tired and worried more about my family than about me. More about Jaden being worried, and John being upset at having to find me. Worried about Jessie being worried and having to deal with the guys and all. I asked the lady at the counter for another plug. She asked some guys sitting at one of the tables and one of them happened to have an apple charger in his car. He asked if I would be ok with going to charge it there. I agreed. After all I only needed enough to contact Jess. As we walked to the car the phone came to life and I had a call from Jaden. I told them where I was and said I had to charge the phone a bit more. They hung up and stared on their way from the Kloster. Which by the way was 7 km away.
I got my phone charged enough to use it, and thanked the nice guys. I went back into the restaurant. It had gotten dark and was cold and I needed to put my fleece back on. After all I had been walking in just my long sleeve shirt for the last few hours or so. After all got redressed Jaden called again to ask where I was. They couldn't find the place. I walked back outside to try to give them better directions. After a few minutes we found each other. I was so happy to see them. I did begin to cry and Jaden told me it was ok and not to worry.
John was not in the car and I asked where he was. He was walking by the river to try to find me. Jess then took us to a near by italian restaurant and we went in to get us a seat. Jess went to find John and we were all reunited. We then had a nice dinner. A well deserved beer and I shared a pizza with Jaden.
When I looked at my fitbit when it was all done, it said I had walked 36 km. I know i felt it. However, i can now say that even at the end of it i only had a couple hot spots on my feet. I had two blisters, very small ones, and they only started to happen the last hour. My pack worked out well. I did have it at about 16lbs and had basically what I will carry for the Camino. I had food and water as well. I do feel more confident that I can do the stages of the Camino with no issues. This walk gave me a bit of everything. Every type of surface I walked on, cobble stones, asphalt, grass, mushy grass, leaves over dirt, dirt, gravel, loose stones, you name it. I found I could walk with my coat and gloves on and then how to regulate my temperature and know when to change the layers of the clothes. I learned I need a paper map as well as gps. Oh, and don't take too many pictures with your phone since you need your phone to connect people. So all in all I see it as a success. I may not have made it to the Kloster, but I did do over 30km in now day. Plus Jess is willing to walk with me next time to get from Kehlhiem to the Kloster and beyond.
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| Elevation Chart of my walk. There were some ups and downs. |
