I picked up a forgotten umbrella and slipped out to look for a croissant shop – bakerie. ‘More than usual’ bells rang a bell for me that many shops might be closed. An hour before opening time I peered through a window at a croissant person and tried to balance my ‘need for a croissant’ look so I didn’t look too threateningly desperate at one end and not too ‘smarmingly trying to be charming’ look, at the other. So I went for the old Parkinson’s look and she smiled probably a bit too sadly for my ego but it was good for my hunger. She said this was a special opening and gave me 2 hot fresh flaky croissants.
A steep hill beckoned us out of town as a great mass of water flowed then crashed beside us, its frothy surface spraying as it tumbled above and then beneath us. It was enthralling. I later asked a local about this waterfall and her reply stunned me. “We don’t have one”, she said “but there has been a lot of rain”. How lucky we were to get this special treat.
Our first orienteering test came, and I failed. The sign that never lies is the one with a large ‘4’ which we had seen once. After that it is about reliability and the most reliable is a yellow arrow with the word ‘Wanderweg’. What threw me off course though was the beetle on that same sign. In hindsight I should have twigged that adding something else would mean that the sign would also mean something else, which it did. We never saw the beetle but three puffing joggers confirmed we were simply following an insect. Two kilometres later we passed the same beetle again as we climbed once more up into the dark cloudy hills.
We saw no other pilgrims but lots of joggers and walkers. Corrie was commenting that there were no cafes as we were diverted around towns, when we saw a small shed beside a large barn. There was cake, yoghurt, drinks and fruit for fair prices and a drawer to put those used prices in. We rested and replenished before a last long gradual climb above a perfect man made lake.
An older woman guided us to hotel accommodation as this is not a popular pilgrim town. No receptionist at 2 hotels. The buzzer at the first informed it was fully booked; the second had a phone number that told us the location of a hidden key, which we used to find our resting place for tonight. Having trouble again with photos and new technology but we’ll get there soon.
