Jacobsweg Journal

Hello our wonderful friends/cat sitters!!!

We made it safe and sound on Monday with an easy flight and no trouble finding our hotel. Adjusted quickly to the time change but the miles and hills are tougher than I thought! Exhausted after 2 days of walking (26 miles so far) but completely inspired and soaking up the beauty and wonder. Wish we could call you… the sim card that we got for the iPhone is only good for calls within Austria. But we can get email so please respond to this email with an update from home. How are the girls?

The below is a series of journal notes that Derek has been keeping which will give you a sense of our adventure so far. Forgive spelling & grammar errors as wine and fatigue have settled in.
Sunday July 8th – Monday July 9th Columbus to Salzburg
Left Columbus at 9:30 heading to Bowling Green to visit grandpa. He was in good spirits and overall it was a nice visit. We left for Detroit traveling about a half hour north on I-75. I never realized how close we were to Detroit when visiting Bowling Green. Got through security at the airport and had a snack at Fridays before the flight. I’m really looking forward to getting away from industrial food service.
Tuesday July 10th Salzburg to seekirchen
started the day with a great continental breakfast with wet scrambled eggs with bits of bacon and ham, multigrain bread and cheese, fresh fruit with yogurt and an apricot pastry. We left our luggage at the desk and headed for Hohensalzburg Castle. (Translates to “High Salzburg Fortress”). the weather was about perfect. The streets were ramping up for the day busy with delivery trucks and shopkeepers on their way to work. The only shops that appeared to be open were bakeries. We rode the tram up the side of the Festungsberg mounitan to Hohensalzburg castle and got in the cue for a semi guided if somewhat sterile audio tour through a history of the castles development illustrated by wooden models under glass with portraits of the arch bishops responsible for the developent. Construction of the fortress began in 1077 under Gebhard von Helfenstein. This original design was just a basic bailey with a wooden wall. In the Holy Roman Empire, the Salzburg Archbishops already were powerful political figures, and they expanded the castle to protect their interests, and their salt. Salt was incredibly valueable as is was key for preserving food. If you were going have to hole up in your castle for a long siege, you need lots of Salt!. The tour walked along one long wall of the castle and up to it’s highest tower as we listened to cell phone sized audio players. The view from the tower was amazing and Salzburg rolled off in every direction. The fortress consists of various wings and courtyard.We wound back down and walked through the castles interior courtyards that felt more like a small village than a castle. The also house a marionette museum, that was a little creepy and a weapons museum, also creepy but for very different reasons where sharp pointed spears and axes were a reminder of how gruesome war can be. We finished our tour in The Arch Bishop’s apartments that are located in the so-called “Hoher Stock” (high floor) Were the arch bishop entertained and lived.
detail infomation from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohensalzburg_Castle
Photo Caption: Golden Hall
Starting in 1498, Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach had the state apartments installed in the Hoher Stock. The rooms in which the archbishops would normally lived in were one floor below. The state apartments were primarily used for representative purposes and for festivities. The Golden Hall was richly decorated and indicates that the fortress served the archbishops not only as a refuge in times of crisis, but also frequently as a residence up to the 16th century.
The ceiling is coffered, each coffer being adorned with gold buttons symbolizing the stars in the sky.
The 17 metre long beam, supporting the ceiling, is particularly worth mentioning. The coat of arms of Leonhard von Keutschach together with those of the Holy Roman Empire, the most powerful German towns and the bishoprics that were connected to Salzburg are painted on it.
Photo Caption: War
The only time that the fortress actually came under siege was during the German Peasants’ War in 1525, when a group of miners, farmers and townspeople tried to oust Prince-Archbishop Matthäus Lang, but failed to take the castle. In 1612 the deposed Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau died here in prison. During the Thirty Years’ War, Archbishop Count Paris of Lodron strengthened the town’s defenses, including Hohensalzburg. He added various parts to the fortress, such as the gunpowder stores and additional gatehouses. The fort was surrendered without a fight to French troops under General Jean Victor Marie Moreau during the Napoleonic War of the Second Coalition in 1800 and the last Prince-Archbishop Count Hieronymus von Colloredo fled to Vienna. In the 19th century, it was used as barracks, storage depot and dungeon before being abandoned as a military outpost in 1861.

Wendsday July 11th Hst. Oberhofen to Eugendorf
Our first day on the trail! We got up early to grey skies and finished packing. We met our Euro Hike contact in the hotel restaurant, I was expecting a burly world traveler, an Austrian Crocodile Dundee. Who would share important details about out hike and offer a reassuring words letting us know that were were ready for our journey. I would have to intently scribble in my journal to keep up with the wealth of austrian travel knowledge coming across the table. Reality was a little different, we slid into a booth across from Stephanie from Euro Hike, who looked about 22.. She offered us a cheery greeting presented us with two bright green Euro Hike hats, tags for our luggage, and a folder of town maps and brochures. She also gave us our route book. More on that in a bit. “Well are you ready for some walking?” I’m sure we stared somewhat dumbly back across the booth. We did manage to ask if our walk would have a place to stop for food, or should we pack some? “Let me think, yes that would be a good idea, we will first stop at the store” My confidence slipped a bit. Like most big adventures it can be a little surreal till you get your bearings. I remember looking down at the route book as we clacked our suitcases along the dark hotel hall and into the pouring rain where we loaded our gear into the back of the Mini Van. We drove about 20 minutes into the country, stopping at our first SPAR (grocery chain) we picked up a fresh sandwich, chocolate, and a couple extra bottles of water. As the rain hammered on the sheet metal mini van we drove another 10 minutes to the start of our trail at a deserted train station. I took a closer look at the route book. the 66 page document details the Jacobsweg hike. There were 22 maps with little red lines indicating route, I was a little frightened to see that none of the maps had a scale. There were also 255 2”x1.5” color photos with tiny red arrows indicating important turns on the trail. and a short and somewhat cryptic caption below. What have we gotten ourselves into? Thankfully the rain let off as we hopped out of the van. Otherwise I’m not sure we would have gotten out of the bus. Stephanie wished us well and drove away with our luggage.

We talked a bit, I tried to be optimistic as said “I think the rain is done for the day, we’re going to have blue skies” I don’t think either of us believed it. Opened the book to page 1, photo 1, photo of a yellow train stop. with caption “Railway Station Oberhoff: Turn Right” Walked 10 feet,compared the view to the photo and tiny red arrow. We down the side of the railroad track to an underpass, along a broken asphalt trail up to a road and followed a side street to a gravel path leading towards a dairy farm. It took about 45 minutes to walk the ½ mile we had traveled, but at each intersection I would stare at every detail of the route book photo to make sure we were on the right path. At this point I had moved the book into a gallon ziplock bag that I had the foresight to put in my daypack. It was speckled with drops of rain. 5 pictures done, 42 left for the day, and only 14.5 more miles to go before we get to the hotel! We continued on over rolling green hills passing farms with brightly colored buildings that combined home with barn. We were passed by a couple of tractors, but other than a few dairy cattle we had the trail to ourselves. We continued uphill passing a few brightly colored homes, lemon yellow and tangerine are very popular colors. The architecture is simple stucco exterior large framed symmetrical windows, heavy roofs with large overhanging eaves and clay roof tiles. Most ornamentation is small gingerbread boards at roof peaks and amazing window boxes full of colorful flowers. We continued uphill and past a pond and through a copse of pine tree on a rock trail and through a stable, the route book lead us right trough the middle of the farm saying “Just pass strait forward between the two houses”, even though there were a couple of fencepost signs starting with the word verboden. After the farm we crested the hill and looked down on the village of Pfongau. We visited our first chapel “Hager Saint Jakobs”. We signed the log and rested in the four pew wooden structure and quietly said a prayer. We continued down into village passing our sandwich as we walked. Village roads connected with a cycling path and we walked through light forest bordered by fields of wildflowers. Rain was light and sporadic as we spent a fair amount of time playing poncho on, poncho off. The bike path ended in Sigharstein and we were back on county roads. Somewhere between Wertheim and Haslach we missed a photo and found ourselves lost. I walked in circles in the intersection of 5 country roads and looked at the map. Skies were looking ominous with big black clouds to the west and a strong wind moving our way. Reseting our course meant backtracking about 5 kilometers, but Lake Wallersee was a big target and I was ok heading there using the map. Iphone gps also saved us here and it pointed us towards 1A and the east side of the lake. About 10 minutes later we were hit with a downpour. My rain jackets seams couldn’t keep up and within 10 minutes a was completely soaked. Mona had a new poncho and faired a little better and we were able to keep the camera dry in her pack but she was catching a lot of blowing rain in the sides of the poncho and the big drops tend to bounce off the pavement and get your legs wet anyways. We crossed the 1A and took shelter on a bench at a closed gas station. We had to decide if we wanted to try to find the trail along wallersee or just follow the freeway. I noticed a sign for the Wenger Resort on Wallersee with a big arrow and deducted that the resort would probably be on the water, and they would probably know where the trail is. Thunder accompanied the symphony of rain as we walked a wood lined winding road down towards the lake. Counting the seconds between lighting flash and thunder we were pretty close to the action. We tried to walk in the middle of the road away from the trees. About 15 minutes later we were elated by a Jacobsweg blue and yellow marker on a signpost at the intersection of two roads. Still raining but smiling we continued flipping through our book trying to find where we had picked up the trail. We found the Wenger resort and stopped in the restaurant, the decor was very upscale with cream colored leather upholstery the chairs and walls with each place setting carefully laid out. We got our first snobby glance as our rain gear dripped on the entry tile. But they were open, and all of their tables were empty. We hung the ponchos on a coat rack and sat down to the best meal we had in Austria. Ordering was tricky, as we could only get the big picture of the menu. Contemporary cuisine is hard to translate. Mona ordered a risotto with mixed seafood topped with truffle foam and a cup of tea. II had Mackerel with caviar and vegetable garnish and an amazing cup of coffee. It was “small portion artsy food” that I think non-foodies have a hard time understanding. It was perfect and was the most luxurious shelter in a storm I’ve ever experienced. The wet spots from out almost soaked clothing barely showed against the cream colored upholstery. We left well fed, somewhat dry, and not lost. Life is good! The walk along Wallersee was tricky but really beautiful. We tiptoed around huge puddles and walked a foot path that ran between beautiful summer cottages and the lake. The path was periodically crossed by small rail road tracks that lead into the water from small boat sheds and walkways. The houses were old, small and very unique. The showed their age but were all very well maintained. If harry potter had a muggle lake house, this would be the area. We walked another 5 kilometers along the lake and then wound through a maze like path way that lead us away from the lake to Eugendorf. The storm cleared leaving grey overcast skies but we did manage to dry out a little more. Unfortunately this also brought out biting flies, and I got a little frustrated that mona was laughing at my “franticly swat the flies off my calves” dance that I would perform about every 30 seconds. Realized that our guide book is not door to door, must we were able to find Land Hotel Santer fairly easily. The hotel was family run, and the owner that greeted us didn’t even have to ask who we were, he simply said “yes, you are the hikers, we have your luggage!” A shower never felt so good! I did laundry in the sink and we went to the restaurant across the street for dinner. Mona ordered a traditional pork chop with kraut and I opted for the buffet. Cold selections were inside a glass front deli case and hot items were on a side board a host would plate the food and place it on a scale, as it was sold by the kilo. I chose roasted pork loin, a thin slice of ham, cucumber salad, a wedge of baked cheese, and a big roll. We wrapped up the night in the hotel sauna. Started what would become a daily ritual of stretching before going to bed.

15 miles today, 7 hrs on the trail, weather was overcast with a couple showers and one big lightning storm. Got lost once, about 2 miles off coures, with map and iPhone recovered nicely. We saw 4-5 cyclists and no hikers, we had the trial to ourselves. Rolling hills, dairy farms, lots of small horses (that seemed odd, Are American horses giants?) had a baguette sandwich and a granola bar on the trail, having dinner at the hotel, no energy for site seeing. My back has been temperamental and mona carried the pack and the majority of our provisions. She is amazing. Having an incredible time, tired but smiling! I’ll post photos on my blog in a bit. Using my gmail address as it uses less data, please respond to that address for future email!
Thurdsay July 12th Eugendorf to Salzburg
9:30 – 4:15 6h 45m 25k. (16 miles) Averaged 27 min miles
Started the day with the hotel buffet. bacon cut very thin and not crispy, sunny side up egg with goat cheese spread (all eggs here are served very runny and wet, my favorite!) , multigrain bread, fresh raw veggies, and a wedge of apricot pastry. The continental buffets also usually include Soft boiled eggs, yogurt and fruit. Hiked 9:30 – 4:00, 11 miles, making several stops on a very hilly hike. Map still cryptic, iPhone not as useful on trails, but there were three times as many trail markers today vs. yesterday. Started by visiting a beautiful church in the center of Eugendorf and then hiking out of the village over rolling hills with light rain and ( 2nd photo) through more farmland and into a town cutting through a rail station where we had to weave through alleys to stay on the trail. After crossing under a large freeway we started walking up into a forest the area traveling by small lumpy farm plots that must have been tended by hand. We visited a small church at the top of the forested hill and wove our down into another village. The homes were immaculately landscaped with nothing out of place, I realized that were were only about 10k from downtown Salzburg and the homes here must be very pricey. We continued on though the village and started uphill again this time to the pilgrimage church Maria Plain that overlooked Salzburg three miles away (last photo). We spent over an hour in the church resting before the long walk down the hill to Salzburg.

Photo caption
In 17th-century Germany, during the Thirty Years War, a fire broke out in a family’s bakery. Everything was destroyed except for a painting of the Virgin Mary, which remained completely undamaged.
The painting became the subject of local devotion, and 20 years later, the nobleman Rudolf of Gaming brought the image to Maria Plain, a then-empty site on a hill overlooking Salzburg. The painting was first housed in a small chapel (1652), but a rapid influx of pilgrims soon necessitated the construction of a larger church.
The new Sanctuary of Our Lady of Maria Plain was commissioned by the archbishop in 1671 and completed in 1674. The shrine was given to Benedictine monks, who still run it today.
The miraculous image was crowned on July 14, 1751, and the anniversary of the coronation is celebrated on that day each year. Mozart composed his Coronation Mass (Krönungsmesse) for this even in 1779.
In 1952, the pope raised the shrine to the status of a Minor Basilica, and in 1983,Pope John Paul II prayed before the image of the Virgin at Maria Plain.

we hiked down the massive hill and stopped for lunch at a gasthaus (inn) We were greeted by a very friendly waitress who had excellent english, she had worked on a river cruise ship. She recommended kaasnocken calling it Austrian Cheese Thing, no meat, lots of cheese. It didn’t disappoint it was mac and cheese substituting small dumplings for the mac. With most meals the entrées are super heavy so I ordered a big salad and we shared. We walked through some of the most beautiful farms I’ve ever seen, with gigantic houses and huge flower boxes. and along the salz river into the city and dragged through the clean and well dressed residents to our hotel. Stopped at a supermarket and spent 20 minutes finding the equivalent of woolite as our dr bronners camping soap is a little outgunned by our stinky clothes. Finding wine, chocolate, bread and cheese was easy. Showered, laundry in the sink, opened the wine and chocolate. Ventured across the street to an italian restaurant, but was surprised when we were greeted by the aroma of curry. The decor was 1970 steak house, dark wood, heavy turned balusters separating the booths, high shelves held large dusty steins, lighting hung suspended inside wagon wheels. A full size suit of armor guarded the entrance to the dining room. Turns out the menu is is half italian and half Pakistani. We ordered a bit of both, having a huge caprizi salad with fresh sliced tomato, basil, and mozzarella topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We also had an excellent plate of palac paneer (spicy creamed spinach over rice, my favorite indian dish) Did some housekeeping back at the hotel. Feet mush, hips and knees good. 13 miles tomorrow, this is amazing!

Breakfast: Buffet as described above
Snack:Ham and cheese
Lunch:Austrian Mac and cheese salad
Super:Tomato salad palac paneer samosa
Snacks: Wine chocolate pastry, coffee, and lots of water.

Buffet
Chocolate honey croissant

Friday July 13th Salzburg to bad reichenhall.
19.5k 6 hours on the trail.

Got an early start and headed down hotel walk in salzburg to find bug spray and more minutes for the sim card. Grey skies and steady rain for the first three hours. Ponchos rule, stayed nice and dry underneath our red capes. We walked through the suburbs of Salzburg and watched it’s density decrease and slowly transition from tightly clustered apartment buildings to horse and dairy farms. Walking is a wonderful way to experience a place, you get a sense of its rhythm in the world and see how it works. We saw big gardens full of cabbage, lettuce, onion, potato, and tons of flowers. Farms transitioned into a trail through fields of long grasses and wildflowers. We saw several deer- like animals, with orange red fur and long ears that tracked us like radar dishes as we walked by. No other hikers on the trail. We’ve seen more animals than people on this trip. We were a little down due to fatigue and steady rain but quickly cheered up as we sang sunny side of the street and “sing a song” (from the muppets?) or at least the parts we could cobble together in our rain soaked heads. We crossed the border into germany walking on a pedestrian path next to a two lane highway. We passed by small shrines on concrete posts containing a small photo and plaque most had flowers and the remains of votive candles. Rain continued as we entered Marzoll and walked through the cemetery adjacent to the church. Stopped to light a candle in a rack of votives and talked a bit about the people in our lives who’ve passed. My uncle Marvin, my grandfather Staker, my fathers parents, my aunt Vicki, Mona’s father and grandmother Eileen. I feel blessed that it’s a short list. Walked across the street to Schlossberghof Marzol Sanatorium, a fitness healing hotel complex for lunch. (http://www.schlossberghof.de/) With the help of a kind waitress we ordered zucchini piccata and a big salad with mixed greens with balsamic, sliced tomato with a ranch like dressing, and cucumber. This was topped with diced turkey and tiny crispy croutons. Just as our food arrived the only other patron of the restaurant stopped over to say hello, you could tell she had a love for travel and wanted to hear about our adventures, she appeared to be in her mid 60s and spoke excellent english. We talked for about 15 minutes sharing travel stories, she also recommended Bergerbrau for dinner in Bad Reichenhall (pronounced burger boy), at the time I thought she was suggesting fast food. It was a very nice conversation. Leaving the village we continued onto the woods descending into bad Reichenhal. Gravel paved tree covered paths popped into clearings revealing pasture and mountains. Spectacular views. Trail was hard to follow and we got lost, and very muddy. Shoes sunk in on some steps and threatened to pull off our feet, but with a big “shloooop” break free looking like a mud battered foot fillet. Stopped at a puddle to use a bandana to attempt to wipe off most of the mud as we reached the outskirts of Bad Riechenhall. Light rain as we walked into city. hotel Dora has a wonderful mountain view and we had a private balcony to enjoy it. Laundry ritual: knock off big bits of mud with tissue, run hot water in sink with a squeeze of soap, squeeze and flip x 30. Rinse cycle is my favorite part bc it justifies the Long shower. Interactive laundry! We had a little more energy to explore after the hike so we ventured to the old town for dinner. The main park is bordered on the east by the Gradierhaus, a three story structure that runs a short city block. the sides are open and the core of the building contains stacks of tree branches, ranging from ¼” – 2” diameter. The branches are packed floor to ceiling bundled in heavy wood frame and salt water is pumped to the top and drips down over branches. and collected in a resivour underneath. This continues for the length of the building. The effect is instantly calming and cool humid air radiates from the building, it’s incredible. A large fountain sits between the Gradierhaus and the gardens to the east is circled by lounge chairs and residents and tourists sit back breath the air and watch water bubble into the air at the fountains top. The effect is hypnotic, and we sat there for a long time enjoying the effect. Found Burgerbrau after walking though most of the old city. Enjoyed a meal of baked fish and meatloaf (fried baloney….), a big salad bar with incredible potato salad, and huge beers. Well fed, we wandered through the huge flower garden and back to the fountain to enjoy the fountain once more. I wish we had more time here, the city feels very genuine. Back to hotel, read two chapters in a paperback and fell asleep.

Photo Caption : KNOW THE Gradierhaus
Our Gradierhaus from 1912 is available now as then as Alpensole – in the open air saline spa garden available.
If you walk in the park grounds for Gradierhaus, you can feel the invigorating freshness from afar, it radiates. Humans and the environment to experience the beneficial effects of Gradierhauses. The water evaporation causes cooling and humidifying the air and contributes to the therapeutic effect.
Breathing is noticeably lighter on Gradierhaus is aware of and strengthens the immune forces. The Gradierhaus in this way leads also to an improved atmosphere in the spa. A beautiful building with health effects and especially in the summer, a special kind of refreshment
Saturday July 14th Bad reichenhall to unken.
25 kilometers 7 hours on the trail.
No cell service, may be hard to find so don’t worry about a day or two without communication. We are safe and sound.

Walked out of town and started our daily ritual of looking at map and photos and then staring at our surroundings. The guidebook maps are about useless as we are using mostly pedestrian paths that are VERY loosely connected together, instructions include things like “walk behind the farmers house” lol… ) we detoured when we passed predigtstuhl-bahn, and saw a lift car float into the clouds. 40 euro and 1/2 hour later we were at the top of the mountain range we have been walking below for the past few days. Sadly fogged in but the paths were very interesting and the air is indescribably clean, it feels amazing just to take a deep breath. Mona was beyond excited when we met a military family from Texas on the cable car ride, it was really nice to have effortless conversation. Our hour long detour was worth the time and rain started to pour and we walked along lake Thumsee. We walked through more farmland and rough short grass covered hills. Every kilometer was a surprise when tree canopies opened to a new perfect postcard view of forest and mountains. It rained all day, and we’ve started categorizing by type, misting, blowing, steady, heavy, spitting, and downpour. No real places to stop for Food but fortunately we bought two cheese / bread rolls On our way out of town. Majority of the day was steady rain. With very harsh winters you see wood piles everywhere, the wood is neatly split and uniformly stacked lengthwise in the center and capped at the ends with a with a book end criss cross stack. The piles are topped with square sections of mossy corrugated sheet metal and held down with several large rocks. Fancier wood piles have a wood frame and a shingles roof and stand about 4 foot wide, 6 feet tall and run various lengths. We ate our lunch standing underneath one of these deluxe wood piles with a little empty space. Shoes were completely soaked after an hour. Not so bad with wool socks, and at the end of the day feet are crazy sore, but no blisters. Passed through an deserted farm, eerie but very interesting, windows were boarded up with chicken wire and wood from the inside and random objects had been artistically placed in the window sills. We got a glimpse inside a dusty boarded up chapel between warped wooden doors. We continued along the trail, more short rolling hills a huge and along a stretch of river. We paralleled ancient looking power lines for several kilometers that looked more like short radio antennas topped with insulators and draping wire. They were made of steel dotted with rivets and sat on massive concrete bases. These lead to a stone quarry and then back along a couple miles of pasture. A long winding downhill hike was our crossing back into Austria. Our trail was closed due to grassing cattle so we had to bushwhack a route into Unken, at this point we were on empty, walking along a freeway, we had an address but no map of the city and no cell since we left Salzburg. Fortunately landhotel kiertinwert was directly across from the town church. We received a very friendly greeting by the hotel clerk, “Oh, you must be the hikers!” Our wet clothes are now in the in-house laundry and we ate a huge meal of veal and chicken schnitzel with potato, zucchini, cheese and huge salads with cucumber, shredded carrot, beets, and vinegary slaw with tons of caraway seeds. Washed down with two giant beers, and 1.5 liter bottle of “water with gas” (carbonated mineral water) ice cream Sundae for desert. Mona resting on the porch and I’m writing on the couch. Really hard day, tired but loving it!

Cash notes: Were running low on cash, I think Visa and MC charge a hefy transaction fee here, and most places dont accept it.

How do Austrian cows say hello? Mooooooten tag!
Sent from my iPhone

Sunday July 15th Unken to Waidring 25k
Woke rested and enjoyed eggs bacon yogurt fruit granola and coffee for breakfast. Visited the church and started the day with a prayer. We will see people tending the graves each day, and many graves will have burning votive candles. Shoes dried nicely with the help of the hotel tumbler, and the woman at the front desk helped me unlock my sim card!
Getting back on the trail was a little tricky we had a rough idea of direction and the river, but there were lots of little interesting trails. Found a jacobsweg marker about 15 minutes later and we were walking with more confidence. We hiked along a river on gravel paths and long stretches wooden paths with split rail fences where the banks of the river were steep. The light rain was familiar at the point and and the forest was very pretty. We saw packs of wetsuit clad rafters walking the trail to their put in points. We saw kayakers in sport boats, rubber rafts, and odd platform rafts made out of a grid of 9 50 gallon blue food barrels. Three wood planks sat on top and rafters straddled them.. It looked like the river was going to be a good ride with all the rain we’ve had. We hiked along the river for several hours and The river made sharp turn and we watched the spiraling eddies in the stone corners chew on branches and logs. We continued along a forest trail and another smaller stream. No other hikers today, understandable as the rain has been fairly consistent. A gate along our trail lead to a wooden walkway and staircase that went into a tight canyon with rushing water below, it was an awesome trail, and ours to discover with no one else around. We descended into a mossy forest path with bark trails and more rain and into the village of Au, we visited its small church and reflected on the word sanctuary. More walking, more rain, amazing views. We had lunch at Gasthaus Antonia and ate bratwurst (mix between breakfast sausage and brat, the filling was very fine and not nearly as greasy as the us version) kraut (very sour and almost creamy in texture) with boiled potato, and a perfect cup of strong coffee with cream. Mona had chicken piccata with a thin breading, red sauce and pasta and a coke lite (diet coke) communication is tough, not many English speakers in the rural areas. It’s amazing how much you can communicate only knowing about 10 German phrases. People here are very kind and willing to take time to help, a smile goes a long way! We continued on through rolling hills in small pastures dotted with small barns full of hay. We crossed the Saalach river again into the village Loffer and walked past quaint shops. Our guidebook lead us on a tough path cutting between buildings and homes. We followed more mountain trails and passed by a border fortress, and a small emergency camping shelter, exhausted we stopped at a small park just outside of Waidring. We rested on reclining chairs and gathered energy for the last few kilometers. It was a long haul on dull roads that lead into Waidring. Its a very small town and we saw most of it walking to the hotel. Our only dining choice was the restaurant next door. Great dinner of venison with cranberry and pear. Mona had a large salad with shrimp. We had a great bottle of Austrian wine and two bottles of mineral water. Hotel is tiny, family run, and very dark with wood paneling on the walls and dark green shag carpet. It’s clean and well maintained. Our room is barely large enough to hold the double bed and a small table but the balcony has an amazing view and lots of space to relax, currently watching sunset fall behind the mountains – its incredible.

Tomorrow is our last hike, I feel happy and sad at the same time. The distances are a lot longer than we expected, no less than 10 miles per day, we will have 30 miles between today and tomorrow. Add to that a little walking around town each night and I’m almost in marathon shape again. Hiked 8.5 hrs today, amazing day but completely worn out. Fortunately no blisters but I’m no longer on speaking terms with my feet. Hips have a consistent ache, but the wine helps quite a bit. looking forward to being a tourist and not a pilgrim for the last few days of the trip! This is amazing! Love, D.
9:26pm Steady rain for most of the hike.
Monday July 16th Wadring to St. Johan
15k

Woke up tired today, grey skies and light rain. No hair dryer so shoes are still wet from yesterday. Soft boiled egg, multigrain roll with liver spread, yogurt and muesli, great coffee. Briefly discussed a bus, but you don’t start a marathon to stop at mile 23. We were confused about the trail head, we had missed it the night before. Navigation has been a balance of watching for photos, jacobsweg markers that range from nicely printed yellow and blue signs, wood blocks with a carved shell, and stickers about 1″x2″ ,the stickers are the hardest to find. Maps in the book are ok but are very small and hard to read. Gps and iPhone map are unreliable with odd coverage in rural areas and most of the trials were on are not on the map. I did bring a compass and it’s been very helpful at times. Jacobsweg (yack obs wig) is incredibly varied, your on a big paved path for a mile and then your poking trough people’s back yards on a 3″ gravel trail. Today’s navigation was tough, fatigued from the start we follow a faded plastic sign and just kept walking after about 5k we figured out we were heading due west not south. The guide book had 25k planned and backtracking was not something we were looking forward to, long story short we took a modified route and made it to st Johan on our own, by foot. about 9 miles for the day. We even saw sun by mid afternoon. Hotel was easy to find. Ate a simple lunch t a beer garden of salad and a sausage appetizer. Mona was energized with her transformation from pilgrim to tourist, dropped her pack and headed out for provisions while I took a 20 minute shower. Mona returned with necessities: wine, chocolate, water with gas. For variety she picked up a large soft pretzel with coarse salt. Coaxed me into a walk around town, we sat in the church for a while and then strolled The streets as shop keepers
closed up (6ish). Not exactly hungry we kept strolling and saw a deck on the top of a brewery that overlooked the city. Enjoyed two giant beers brewed four stories below and a huge plate of pork (chop, ham, and tenderloin) kraut, and a big (softball sized) ball of dough that tastes like dense stuffing. The view was amazing. Walked, rather cautiously back to the hotel (BIG beers) and got rough ideas of what we will need to get to Berchtesgaden tomorrow. We have a slip of paper that says “bus lafer -> BGL st.3. Bg 9:00” and we know the general direction of the bus station, and our bus leaves at 9:00. We will ask for a transfer when we get to lafer…. Each day is a challenge. Tapping these notes on my amazing iPhone while watching German dubbed movie to tv. Mona listening to an audio book on the porch. Temp is in the mid 60 like its been all week, but no rain this evening! Missing cats and relaxing at home.
Sent from my iPhone

July 17th St Johan to Berchtesgaden on a bus

Got up early and felt a little hurried as we prepared for our first day of independent travel. Multigrain roll with braunschweiger, and blue cheese (had to brush my teeth twice) scrambled eggs, yogurt, fruit, granola. Coffee and fresh oj. Walked back to the center of town to stretch our legs and spent a few minutes in the church. It’s a very peaceful way to spend the morning. No tourist out except for us. Had to hustle back and finish packing quickly to get I the bus station by 9:00. Ticket was no problem, we rode to Lofer watching three days of walking roll by in a surreal fast rewind, we would pick out spots were jacobsweg would weave along the river. I felt really sad having to say goodbye to the trail, it was the hardest hike I’ve ever done, but the sense of discovery and connection with nature and faith was truly amazing. There was a jacobsweg tyrol arrow pointing south (the next leg of the pilgrim trail) near our hotel and it felt like a magnet, I wish we could continue walking. We connected to bad reichenhal and onto Berchtesgaden with the help a little pointing and smiles. Bus fair was about 40 euro. Hopped off the bus about 100 meters from our hotel. we arrived around noon and left our bags at the desk, walked the city and then headed about 5k north to the salt mine for the tour. Donned grey coveralls and hopped on a mine cart where you sat on motorcycle seat bench that held 12 riders. We rode into the mountain side 600 meters (about 300m underground) large holes are drilled down and water pumped in, the deposits are about 50% salt and the water dissolves the salt and a cavern is slowly created. The brine is pumped north to bad reichenhal were the water is removed. They’ve been doing this for a quite a while! The mine is still in use and we were presented new and old technology. Rode down a banister style slide as we ascended into the mine. Lots of fun, a little cheesy. Mediocre dinner at a tourist hotel, salad and a mixed meat plate (go figure!) It was the first sub par meal we’ve experienced. Back to the hotel where realized my first real trip planning failure. Eunice has emailed us the booking confirmation number ,I booked the room think I was paying $250 for two days, it was actually per night. Currently sitting on our private balcony in the penthouse suite of hotel whittlesback overlooking brechtesgarden. I’ve made worse mistakes in my life 😉 Slept like a rock.
Wensday July 18th Berchtesgarden day 2
Got up early and enjoyed the buffet. Off to the train station to lake konigze, crammed on a bust with tourists, backpacks, and walking sticks. A little bit of America is sneaking in here, the only fast food restaurant we’ve seen on the trip is a Mcdonalds about 15 minutes from Konigze, its definitely a tourist attraction. Ich liebe es. Riding the electric boat across the lake brought back old memories, the crowds on the bus quickly dissipated on trails and the small village on finally the boat ride. Unfortunately we didn’t get the English tour, German only. One of the toughest parts of the trip has been the absence of communication or understanding of language. We hopped of the boat at st. Batholamue. The sun was out and it got hot quickly. I had layered nicely and I was able to stay cool throughout the day. The mountains are still amazing and the water is still a beautiful green blue. I remember 12 years ago seeing trails heading out of the little village and wishing we could explore them. Today we had the time and we reminisced as we walked the gravel path into the woods. As we left the main path we were by ourselves in a hardwood forest, the trees has a white grey bark reminiscent of birch, the canopy was 50′ above our heads . Olive to light green moss and lichens covered most of the detritus on the forest floor, it was very different that the coniferous area we hiked in the valleys. The path was laced with intricate tree roots woven around stone and. Coated with a carpet of moss. Wet brown leaves painted in the corners and walking was slow. We enjoyed the quiet of the forest for a while and then turned back hoping to catch a tour to eagles nest later in the day. We had time to stop for lunch on konigze and have an excellent smoked trout. They hang the fish in a 10×10′ smoker gutted with head and skin still on and when removed on long racks the skin is a golden brown with black stripes. they are served on wax paper lined cutting boards with a slice of bread and a pat of butter. Consumption is simple. Slide a knife under the belly cut where it’s been cleaned prior to smoking. Gently fold the skin away and use the fork to slide the meat down and away the the latticework of tiny bones. Done correctly you’ll pull tasty pink smoked trout cleanly away. The fish was amazing caught in lake, the shop owner has a special permit to fish at Konigze. Perfect balance of smoke and brine and the texture was perfect. We were sitting at a wooden table with the smell of woodsmoke and smoked fish in the air looking out at the lake on a perfect day. Couple bites of fish a sip of beer, look at the lake. Life is good. Mona enjoyed the lake and a beer, but sadly opted for a hot pretzel instead of fish. Hopped a bus back into the city and hustled to the tour office to see if we could get a seat, luckily for us there is construction on the autobahn and a party of five didn’t show. We were on the bus! First stop was the education center, basically telling the history of hitlers rise to power and the tragedy of the war. It’s inconceivable how a lunatic could rise to the level he did. A bunker tour followed, i think the history is fascinating. The tour guide pointed out how the war machine populated the area during the war as we rode the bus to eagles nest. The view was just as amazing as I had remembered. We’ve heard nothing but German since we arrived but English was definitely the primary language at eagles nest. I can understand the natives might skip the attraction. It was erie to ride the elevator knowing it was a space where hitler had stood, I’m glad I don’t believe in ghosts. Back in Berchtesgaden I suggested a meal at a chinese restaurant, and the meal was great but hard to order. German with a Chinese accent is tough to follow. We had crispy duck and vegetables and chicken with bamboo. Best part was a complimentary warm plum wine. The shot glasses had an odd base with a convex glass dome. The surprise came when the wine was poured and the dome became a lens revealing a racy picture in the bottom of the glass. we had to switch glasses to get the gender correct. Mona burst into a loud laugh when she finally got it. “why did you switch glasses, what do you mean just look, ….lol” back to the hotel early evening, journaling on the deck, ate chinese leftovers gently using can Pringles (pringoolas) chips as a utensil. Washed it down with a cold beer. Mona enjoying our luxury bath, and it’s big deep tub full of hot water and bath salts. Missing home and cats a little.

Perfect travel outfit

Weather has ranged from high 50s to low 80s, heavy rain to full sun, never very windy though.

Pants – north face convertible in olive green. Zips on legs are color coded and sides zip to easily pull over size 13 shoe. Good passport sized pocket on side not hip and cargo pockets good for maps. Elastic waist and built in nylon belt are good for buckling backpack over and expanding after a big meal. Dries overnight after washing in sink. Dark color hides stains.

Smart wool hiker socks, great padding and kept feet warm and dry in the rain.

Rebook running shoes, pro: super light weight and very comfortable on pavement. No blisters! Cons: not enough support on rocky trails, not water resistant enough. White color showed dirt. had a perfect pair of light hikers at home but didn’t have enough time to break them in. 2nd pair of shoes were crocks, nice and light but limited range and speed.

Go Lite traveler shirt. Amazing, light, breathed well, snaps better than buttons looked appropriate on trail and in city. Comfy under pack straps. Perfect pocket for cash and could hold passport, but it looked a little odd. Dried super fast, only con is solid color shows stains.

Go Lite t – nice zip pocket on side seam for emergency cash. Perfect for layering.

Exofficio boxer briefs. Cool dry and sink washable, dried fast. Super comfy for walking and hiking.

Northland poncho – perfect rain gear for a rainy trip. Adjustable hood with visor and clear sides for increased visibility. Dried quickly and packed away small. Very safe in bright red.

Camelback daypack. Good size for the trip, could accommodate poncho jacket first aid h2o and a candy bar and a camera. Not much room for anything else. But what else do you need?

I found I could start the day with jacket, short sleeve shirt, t shirt and pants. As the day warmed up zip to shorts, pack the jacket and if it got really warm pack the short sleeve and wear the t. Reverse the process as necessary.

Traveled with a carry on sized suitcase and backpack. With Woolite and a sink we always had fresh dry and clean clothes. I packed 20′ feet of para chord to use as a clothes line but hotel hangers hooked over open windows did the trick.
Hwffawisen dunked – wheat beer dark.

Thursday July 19th Berchtesgaden back to Salzburg by bus

Enjoyed the morning is our suite, turns out i was correct on the rate was and we paid $125 per night, $250 for the stay… Whew… Eggs, cold cuts with herbed cheese on a roll with cucumber and tomato, coffee and oj. Mona ventured out and did some shopping and I stayed back and relaxed in the room enjoying the balcony view. Nice to inventory suitcase and repack a bit, makes the case easier to close. Front desk manager was awesome and helped us get a short cab ride down a very steep hill to the bus station, the ride to Salzburg was nice and took about 1/2 hr. arrived in the middle of town and navigated like old pros back to hotel Ganzelhof. The owner was at the desk and kindly greeted us back and let us check in 2 hrs early, “ah welcome back Fitzers you are in room 2.”. No paperwork or passport, just a curt German nod and a three pound hotel key, all the hotel keys are attached to a boat anchor brass fob. Dropped off luggage and back on the town, Salzburg feels familiar, this is the third time were entered the town, by cab, by foot, and by bus! Headed for the information window in the “old city” to get tickets for an English city bus tour, the driver was an annoying Bostonian living in Austria for the last 16 yrs, but the Australian couple we were riding with we’re fantastic. Its wonderful to have a regular english conversation! We shared travel tidbits, almost asked them to dinner. Everyone has a surprise reaction when they realize the we walked from Salzburg to St. Johan, “by car?, no by bus?, no?, walking! Very nice, long walk….” insert odd stare… Ducked into a coffee shop to avoid rain, had a slice of cake and mineral water. Made an effort to listen to music today. I recorded street several street musicians, can wait to get the details from M! Saw Mozart’s birthplace and the university and the birthplace of Christian Doppler. It was raining intermittently after the tour so we decided to get out of the rain and have some dinner, We got lucky, and ate at Alter Fuchs on LinzergasseStrabe. It was very hip and kitschy. The walk to the WC lead you by the kitchen and an odd aquarium like box in the floor holding what looked like two stuffed skunks on a tree branch, odd. An adjacent private dining room had a similar scene behind glass. Very odd. A 12’x12’ two story atrium was lined with empty bird cages right outside the restroom. We split a big garden salad with fried cheese and a pot of three boiled white veal sausages. Had the best beer of the trip – an unfiltered dark wheat beer. Spicy and complex, absolutely amazing. Stopped at a grocery to pick up some treats for folks back home. Back to the hotel tired out and went to bed early.

Things I’ve learned in Austria

A scrap of foil makes a great iPod stand.

You can eat leftovers without utensils if you have Pringles (Pringooolas)

It feels good to focus and experience life in the moment.

What appears as a negative can often be shifted to something wonderful with a flexible attitude.

Strabe means street

Gasthaus = inn

Zimmer = room

Most places will act like they don’t accept visa but probably will, ask up front.

A little wet is better than too hot.

If something feels damaged stretch it before sleeping and it might go away

Do the alphabet with you feet after a long hike

Put as much energy into relaxing as you do being prepared and diligent

Be thankful for what you have

Starting the day with a prayer is powerful.

Friday July 20th Last day in Salzburg

Just had breakfast, our last one 🙁
Egg sunny side up, smoked salmon, cheese, yogurt and fresh fruit, oj, coffee. Back in the room resting before everything opens at 9:00.

Walked down into town and popped in a few shops and just wandered. Your never more than about 100 meters from a cafe, so when you get tired just have a seat and order a water or coffee, we got a apricot crepe to go along with it. Found a few more gifts and headed back to the hotel to drop off stuff before our ice cave tour at 1:00. Most tourist excursions involving a tour bus are pretty light weight in comparison to the experiences we’ve had on the trip. Ice cave looks awesome, let go! We didn’t read the fine print. We hopped on a tour bus and rode south for 1/2 hr. wound our way up a mountain side, the bus dropped us off and we continued another 20 minutes by foot up the mountain and waited in line for the tram for about an hour. We had another harsh 20 minute uphill hike to the cave opening after tram. We entered the 50’ dome in the mountain side and stood in a large group, the cave entrance was roughly framed with 20’ x 10’ wood structure with a large wooden door in its center. The air here was noticeably colder and we cooled rapidly being sweaty from the hike up the mountain. We started pulling on jackets in preparation for the freezing temperatures inside. We divided into groups of 25 and lined up outside the wooden door, every forth person was handed a carbide lamp. The technology is ancient, but still useful. It’s still popular with cavers. Calcium Carbide and water mix inside the lamp housing react and produce a acetylene gas. The gas burns inside a small reflector housing on top of the lamp.
MAX
History
In 1892, Thomas Willson discovered an economically efficient process for creating calcium carbide, which is used in the production of acetylene gas. In 1895, he sold his patent to Union Carbide. Domestic lighting with acetylene gas was introduced circa 1894 and bicycle lamps from 1896.
The first carbide mining lamp developed in the United States was patented in New York on August 28, 1900 by Frederick Baldwin.[3] Another early lamp design is shown in a patent from Duluth, Minnesota on October 21, 1902.[4] In the early 1900s, Gustaf Dalén invented the Dalén light. This combined two of Dalén’s previous inventions: the substrate Agamassan and the Sun valve. Inventions and improvements to carbide lamps continued for decades. On March 10, 1925 Andrew Prader of Spokane, Washington was granted a United States Patent, number 1,528,848 for certain new and useful improvements for Acetylene Lamps.[5]
After carbide lamps were implicated in an Illinois coal-seam methane gas explosion that killed 54 miners, the 1932 Moweaqua Coal Mine disaster, carbide lamps were less used in United States coal mines. They continued in use in the coal pits of other countries, notably Russia andUkraine.

Our German Guide wore heavy boots and a red parka and started out tour just outside the rough wooden door. With a booming voice and a heavy german accent, he warned us that the cave entrance has a very strong wind and to watch our step. The doors were opened and we headed into a hurricane like whipping wind that created a deafening high pitch wine that wildly oscillated frequency on top of a low frequency rush of wind. 50 feet later the wind fell off to echoes of foot falls on the wooden boards and we entered a gigantic cavern containing an eight story waterfall and a rushing river frozen in place. Our guide walked through our group bumping the face of his lamp against others that had blown out in the cave entrance. A winding staircase floated just above the ice and lead into darkness above. The main trunk of the cave systems extends over 40 kilometers into the mountain and we spent 70 minutes walking 1400 steps and traveling 1 kilometer into the mountain. I don’t think either of us had anticipated how hard the tour would be. Mona had saved me, I wanted to throw out my rain jacket earlier in the week, it wasn’t waterproof any more but it insulated well and kept me warm. The stairs were tight and narrow and rise and run was calculated based on the cave and not ADA regulations. Our group of walked into darkness and started our ascent of 700 wooden steps. We would see other groups walking down steps on their return journey every few minutes as the paths cris crossed one another. Our guide would stop the group and light a long spool of magnesium wire that burned very brightly and tell us information about the cave. The well lit photos on the brochure steal the mystery of this place, we experienced the walk in darkness with little pools of light from the lamps, and billowing clouds of breath from strained breathing hiking the steps, and the punctuated voice of our guide. The ice structures were amazing and at its deepest point in a large cavern we stood on ice 80 meters deep and up to 5000 years old. I had to duck and dodge as the cave expanded and contracted around our path. The return trip was equally interesting, but I found that you really had to watch your footing going down. Steady rain was falling as we exited the cave, I donned my poncho and started the walk down the mountain. We got in line for the tram and spent 20 minutes in a winding line. We had just walked onto the platform and started boarding the 15 person cable car, when we saw a lightning strike and heard loud thunder. The operator told us to get out of the car, he quickly repeated as a couple of people didn’t understand what was happening. The next time it was a yelled order “Out of the car NOW” the group quickly reacted, and I could see concern on the operators face. The tram is well grounded, but we learned that a lighting strike can have strange effects on the electronics that control the tram. We waited for over an hour for the storm to clear enough to satisfy the tram boss who stood on the outer rail of the lift platform with his arms crossed.

I spent the time talking with a young economics professor from india who we had met in line for the tram on the way up the mountain. Vignesh was traveling through europe by himself. We had a great conversation, and talked about differences in culture and education. It was a great conversation. We listened to Mozart as we rode back to Salzburg, ate a late dinner of pasta with black muscles and shrimp. Walked back to the hotel in the rain, no problem, we’ve learned never to travel in Austria without rain gear. Bottle of wine and water and packing. We have 5 hours till we leave. Have to get up at 3:00am for a 6:00 flight.
Sitting on the patio, light rain. Amazing trip Things here are wonderful but I’m ready for home

Saturday July 21 Back to the us

Up at 2:45 and double, triple checked luggage. Had to flag down a taxi who was a little reluctant to pick me up standing on a dark corner in the rain. Mona was waiting in the hotel entry that was around a dark corner. once he saw mona and luggage things relaxed. The taxi was a nice Mercedes and he was driving very aggressively but seemed in control. Lufthansa very curious and helpful. 21 hours of travel, sitting in a best western, window looks at parking lot, no wine, or sparkling water. But glad to be home!

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