|||
€13:30 for the night’s camping. It’s 09:19 and I’m ready to go. Wonderful chats with Martin and Peter, who are doing the round Schwarzwald cycle trip, about travel to Manali, Iran, Morocco… Martin is planning to cycle to Asia. Peter has cycled the length of the Danube from Donaueschingen to the Black Sea.
I need to buy factor 50.
09:35: Walking away from the campsite. What a gorgeous, memorable spot. Remember all the conversations, chuckling and farting from the huddle of tents yesterday as night fell.
09:52:46
09:53:38
10:30:39
11:08: Entering Bräunlingen.
The sun is beating down out of a blue sky.
12:29: Checking in with Karin, my host, then I’ll disappear into town for the afternoon.
12:53: In the main street, about to have a falafel and salad.
13:03: I’ve been served a chili pepper in my food for the first time since leaving Ireland.
14:19: Had a cup of black tea too. I feel like I’m on holidays for the first time on the trip. Certainly when I arrived at the camping site at the edge of Kirnbergsee, with its informal restaurant and pleasant terrace, I got the sensation. It’s not just the summer weather — it’s the relaxed, outdoor lifestyle of the Germans themselves. I just don’t think I’m going to need to hoard food in my bag “just in case” for the next few weeks. Even small towns have restaurants and cafés which are open all the time. Having said that, tomorrow is a Sunday, so we’ll see how that goes.
As part of my AirBnB (and youth hostel) reservation, I got a KONUS card, which entitles me to travel for free all around the Black Forest on public transport. I’m going to pay for my food now and take the bus to Donaueschingen.
I’ve been really enjoying my last book A Few Good Men from UNIVAC by David F. Lundstrom.
Now I’m reading A Personal View of the Personal Workstation - Some Firsts in the Fifties by Doug Ross.
14:46: Found the train station — Hüfingen Mitte — from where I can take the train to Donaueschingen. It takes 3 minutes!
15:22:02
15:24:46
17:41:05
17:41:14
17:48:18
17:50:43
17:50:54
17:53:04
17:54:36
17:55:51
17:58:22
17:58:55
18:02:47
18:04:01
18:05:05
18:05:59
18:12:44
18:32:28
20:23: (Next train Platform 5, 20:43) Just spent a very relaxing several hours hanging out in Donaueschingen. Most shops were closed today but there were plenty of cafés, bars, restaurants and ice-cream parlours open. I arrived in the town, enjoyed a chocolate, yoghurt and lemon ice-cream, then explored further, parking myself for a few hours on a terrace where I had a coffee and an Apfelschorle.
After that I explored the sights of the town — the elaborate church, the town hall, the Jugenstil architecture, the Fürstenberg palace with the reputed source of the Danube bubbling up in a romantically-styled pond.
After that, I strolled to the confluence of the Brigach and Breg rivers to see the flyover and electricity pylons straddling the point at which these two rivers officially become the Danube.
Now the sun is dropping low in the sky and I’m waiting for my train to take me the handful of kilometres to my AirBnB in Hüfingen.
It’s just 2.7 km away as the crow flies!
Interestingly, even though I’ve only done one 30 km day in the past several days, my feet are very slow to get started[^slow] every time I get up from an extended break. Either getting up first thing in the morning, or getting up after a few hours on a terrace, my soles and the bones in my feet ache. The sensation wears off quickly though. I’m going to enjoy relaxing for the rest of the evening, making use of the Wi-Fi in the accommodation (finally!) and tomorrow I’ll plan my route to Ulm and stops along the way. It’s 150 km or so, I think. That’s five 30 km days.
My hostess Karin is going to do a wash for me tomorrow, which is great. I’ll shower tonight before I get into bed. I haven’t showered since leaving Freiburg.
[^slow:] This is a euphemism for “very painful”.
