Day 15: Rocky mountains

It rained slightly at night. It was foggy and cold when I started, but the day turned out to be very sunny and warm later on.

Today was the last day of shopping for about 200 km, so my backpack is rather on the heavy side. Sadly, the store didn't even have good cereals and bread, but at least I found lots of cheap chocolate :)

Then I walked in Austria today for about 6 km, enjoying my lunch in the sun in Austria - felt like holidays ;)

I came within 0.8 km of the point where Czech Republic, Austria and Germany meet. But the highlight of the day was the 'Steinerne Meer' (stony sea) and the 1333 m high 'Hochstein'. So much fun hopping over stones in beautiful weather. Just the views weren't amazing, cause it was kind of hazy.

The first look out of my tent in the morning

Passing into Austria

Höchstein (1333 m) 

Day 14: Animals

Last night was beautiful, with the moon nearly being full and orange. I enjoyed sleeping only with the mosquitonet-tent (that is actually not mosquito proof at all anymore!) 

I had a slow morning and it just started to drizzle, when I started walking. However, it didn't last long and the entire day was nice but strangely humid hot.

Following down the Ilz, I had my animal highlight. I just read some information about the dam where I was standing, when I saw something coming from behind. I thought it would be another one of these small dogs. But then I saw, what it was, waddling totally relaxed past me: a beaver!!!! As if it would be normal for it to pass the dam, pass a person and go back into the water. So amazing!!! When I realized it, I took out my camera as fast as possible, but of course I managed only to get a bad shot of its tail.

Then later on, I had a tick crawling up my pant leg and I saw a snake. Quite an animal-day :)

Interesting was the tunnel at the Ilz I walked through, which was made to drift wood more quickly to Passau, avoiding a long leg of the river that is making kind of a loop there.

I passed Passau, which looked nice but didn't go into the old town, only wandered a bit around the castle Oberhaus. 

Then there was a lot of nice hiking along streams and at the end of the day, I walked up a viewing tower near Oberfrauenwald, bevor setting up my tent.

Am I lucky to be able to do this! 

Beaver

Tunnel to drift wood through

Funny tower in Hauzenberg

Day 13: T-shirt weather

It was a beautiful warm day. I even walked in a T-shirt!!!! And decided to have my first night without the rainfly on my tent tonight. 

In the morning, I tackled the 1010m high Brotjacklriegel. Sadly, the viewing tower was closed, so I didn't get a good view. 

Then I passed little villages and farms, before I came to the river Ilz, which I followed downstream and which will lead me all the way to Passau tomorrow. What a nice afternoon stroll :)

Looking back on Mt. Brotjacklriegel

Lunch break at a little stream with a short foot wash

Every tiny village seems to have a baking house

T-Shirt weather! 

Day 12: Water

Another day like out of a fairy-tale! The sunny morning started with some views, before I had a relative relaxed hiking day, going down a lot, being below 500 m now. So I hope tonight's going to be kind of 'warmish'. 

Already yesterday, I noticed that there is much more water around than before. That's nice, so I don't have to worry about it and always find a stream to fill up my bottle or wash my socks. 

The water might also be the reason, why the forests here still look so good. Compared to other areas in Germany, for example the Harz, where huge areas of spruce died due to bark beetles, here the needle forest is still green. 

When you think of the Bavarian Forest, you think of needle trees. But there is more. Today I walked through several beech forests. Some were even natural forest reserves. This means they aren't used by men anymore and can develop into virgin forests. Really nice! 

Plus I passed an upland bog, which was drained in between but is renaturated and still had some remaining snow. 

Predigtstuhl (1024 m) 

View from Hirschenstein (1095 m) 

Bubbling streams

Remaining snow

Day 11: Goldsteig

This morning I came to the Goldsteig, Germany's longest high quality hiking trail. I will follow it from now on for most of the time hiking through Germany.

Today was a day how I like it: the sun was shining, no people, some views and the trail was an actual hiking trail, not a forest road or a bicycle path. In addition there were tons of good spots to take a break :) And I needed those breaks. Because suddenly there are mountains with ups and downs. I know they are just hills, but it feels like mountains, walking up ;) 

I hiked up a rocky path to the 'Käsplatte' (cheese platter) - yes, it's really called like that and no, despite my hopes, there was no cheese up there! 

My last 'mountain' for today was the Pröller (1048 m). There were little bits of snow left in the forest and I had a view on the Arber mountains, which I will pass on my way North. 

In addition to having a good day, I found gloves! A bit bulky and who knows how old, but so much better than none. As I always say: the trail takes away and the trail provides ;)

Goldsteig 

View hiking up mount Gallner

Cheese platter - basically a huge rock pile

My 'new' gloves 

Day 10: Tarmac

Todays hiking was dominated by tarmac. At first I had to walk through Regensburg. It turned out to be quieter and better than expected! It seems like a nice town, and people were sitting relaxed outside in the sun in front of coffee shops with their coffee. 

However, it got busier later on. Close to the Donau on a sunny Sunday, it's busy with people hiking and especially biking. It reached its climax on the Walhalla, a famous monument near Regensburg. People walked up there with food, drinks, dogs and kids. Having a picnic up there, looking on to the Donau is obviously THE thing to do on a Sunday! It was too much for me, so I quickly walked down again, passed a chaotic car park and got back on tarmac to continue the flat hike in the Donau Valley. 

Late in the afternoon, I left the tarmac, when I passed Wörth and walked up into the forest. What a pleasure to walk up the little Wellerbach on a quiet, shaded forest trail. 

I didn't walk much further, but camped directly past Hub in the forest, since the trail was going down in a valley again and I was afraid that it might be a cold night there. 

Walhalla

Lunch spot

Castle of Wörth

Day 9: A short day

Another one of these days, that start with a little disaster. The bag of my cereals ripped, so I spilled 1 kg of cereals all over my backpack, sleeping bag and tent. At least it was dry!

It was a sunny day again and turned out to be very divers. At first I walked along the ancient Limes, which separated romanic and germanic areas. There was a reconstruction of a watch tower in Hienheim with lots of interesting information. 

Then I hiked to the Donau, had a good view on the cloister of Weltenburg, and sat in the sun for a long time, watching 2 kids having fun with nets and all kinds of insects :) But it was too busy for me, so I was happy when I entered the quiet forest again. 

I had a pretty relaxed  and short hiking day, because Regensburg is next and there is no forest to camp for over 15 km within town. So I camped early in the sun, at the edge of a forest, charging my phone and listening to the radio. 

As nice as the sun is (also to charge my phone), my hands don't like it. I think it's kind of a sun allergy, with blisters and swelling :/

Hop field

Watch tower Hienheim

Donau

Cloister of Weltenburg

I will continue on the European long distance trail E8 

Day 8: Sun

I hate when the last graveyard before camping doesn't have water... 

Today's impressions from a sunny but unexciting day:

Day 7: I lost my gloves

The day didn't start very good. I discovered, that I lost my gloves. Not good, since I'm prone to chilblanes and the mornings are still freezing. So I used my socks. It comes in handy, that one has a hole ;)

Since I'm on a pilgrimage trail, I passed lots of crosses and churches today. I think it's funny, that the first cloister I passed, is a prison today.

Hiking wasn't very exciting, mostly on forest roads or between agricultural fields. With the sun shining, I didn't mind it too much. It's also good for a start. 

A highlight were the caves near Mauren. Actually not the caves themselves, since you can't even enter them, but there is a small protected area of juniper meadows, which was very nice.

Sunset the night before

My new 'glove' 

Cloister Kaishem, a prison today

Caves near Mauern

Pasque flower 

Day 6: Donauwörth

Today I managed to hike to Donauwörth with the goal to return my new cell phone! It was a cold morning but super nice sunny afternoon. The first time wearing only a T-Shirt for a short while. I spent an annoyingly long time on trying to transfer things from the new to the old phone. Of course I had to get some ice-cream as a reward ;)

Sunrise on a cold morning

A spring grotto (Quellgrotte) 

I'm in catholic Bavaria, 

as the onion tower indicates

Very efficient: 

a house in an old train tunnel

Spending an annoyingly 

long time on this bench

Donauwörth has a very pretty 

old town

That was may trail until 

Donauwörth

Now I will follow the East Bavarian Jakobstrail