Daily Distance – 24km + 2km from hotel
Daily Ascent – 1014m
Daily Descent – 566m
Total Distance – 24km
Distance Remaining – 1024km
Fortunately, owing to my flexible walking morals, I didn’t ruin the walk before it even started. Given my unerring skill of getting lost in towns, I may well have missed the official start point of this walk. To a more diligent person, this missing 100m would forever taint the achievement of walking the route, but just in case I turn into someone like that, I am now numbing my moral compass with a beer. Hopefully the compass needs more numbing later.
Today I haven’t really stopped to smell the roses or buy iced cream as much as usual. Having not walking such a long stretch with this much elevation gain for quite some time I don’t know my pace and endurance anymore. While typing that last sentence a gust of wind stole my hat. Apparently after today’s walk I chase errant headgear with the athleticism of a septegenarian.
Notable incidents from today:
– I received my first greeting of “gruß Gott” (greet God). While it may translate in a slightly threatening manner I am fairly certain it’s meant nicely. I now wonder if my response of “hallo” may have been inappropriately informal. On the subject of greetings, I was under the impression that an alternative south German and Austrian greeting of “Servus” was pronounced as it is spelled. Apparently Austrians didn’t get this memo and say it more like “Servas”. The first “Servas” I received from a passing cyclist I am afraid I rudely ignored because I had no idea what he was saying. A little remeniscant of my inappropriate response to the night porter of the train. He knocked on the door looking for “Linz”, to which I calmly explained that I was “Cooper”. It was only rather later that I realised Linz is actually a town in north Austria that the train was stopping at.
– when trying to use powdered peanut butter in wind, it will blow away from your lunch and adhere to your sweaty clothing. I looked like a reverse Dalmatian for some hours afterwards.
The walking itself today was nice, but relatively unremarkable. A mix of forest sections and small villages, with temperatures which weren’t too high, but rather humid. The number of small, religious pictures and shrines was a surprise to me though. Rather nice and definitely a difference from England or Bremen.
Sounds like the first day went well. I always like shortcuts. Well done for finding one. Surely you mean octaganarians.
I didn’t know powdered peanut butter was even a thing. After that distance it would have taken me a long time to decide if it was worth chasing a hat, full marks for your capture
Powdered peanut butter?!!