Well if the weather holds true to form, this will be a fantastically memorable walk! In true Germanic style it is an outstandingly organised hiking trail, which any human with a modicum of orientation could navigate. My sense of orientation was instilled from birth.
A little like the Camino Trail in Spain where one simply follows the yellow Nautilus, here one follows a red diamond and the Sign of the Red Deer – the only hiccup being the Deer is in fact green! As there is a significantly high proportion of German men who are colour blind, I guess it’s not so much of an issue, to Germans or one was still walking at night. Here I must confess that I did become mildly lost ( if there are indeed degrees of “lostness” ) and faced the prospect of finishing in the dark.
The other totally unanticipated bonus was my accommodation! Again if the first two hotels are to be the standard for the week, then I could spend months in the Schwarzwald living like a decadent movie star. The Germans call them “wellness centres”.
hotel langenwaldsee at Freudenstadt
my room hotel oberwiessenhof at Besenfeld
One was greeted at reception by a buxom wench dressed in German national costume who would have passed muster for a Bavarian Beer Hall and made Vivienne jealous. Sadly I have yet to be welcomed by Kurt in leadenhose.
At the hotel in Besenfeld at reception I was asked if I would be in for dinner and breakfast, of course I replied. Here is my reserved table for dinner and breakfast!
the dining room
my reservation at dinner.
breakfast again with quaint place name
The wellnes centres of both hotels were dazzlingly decadent and could have been lifted out of an ancient Roman bathhouse or the public baths at Budapest! Spas, saunas, steam rooms and swimming pool with showes that shot water out of multiple orifices at every few centimeters around the wall! Marble, slate and terrazzo added a final Greek touch!
So here are a few pictures of the first day -24 km easy! The rest of the week is truely a walk in the woods only about 15 km a day! Even Pamela could cope whilst Michelle would surely approve of the accommodation!
the start!
graham3693 