The church bells rang all night. Once at quarter past, twice at half past, three times at quarter to and four times on the hour. On the hour the four chimes were followed by the time of day, twice – so at 5am the bell rang 14 times. But it got worse, at 6am, beyond the 16 initial chimes, there was an additional 5 minutes of ringing, just to make sure everyone is awake. I forgot to mention that the bell tower was very close to my window and even though I was sleeping with earplugs, they were no protection against the church bells. I did manage some sleep.
Despite being woken at 6am, breakfast wasn’t before 8am, so there was nothing to do but try and go back to sleep. I partially succeeded. Breakfast was at the Italian restaurant downstairs.
I left town passing yet another brewery – I’ve seen two of the three breweries in the small village. I followed the road to Kranzegg along the cycle path, joining the many cyclist out for a ride on a Saturday morning. In Kranzegg I started the first of todays two major climbs, initially along a road and then on a narrow path through the woods. I passed a sign and ticket dispenser calling for car drivers to pay a 5€ surcharge to drive in the area. The roads were very narrow and at one point a tractor passed me and then had to reverse to let another tractor pass.
It was a fairly steep climb, but with fantastic views of the mountains above and the valleys below. At one point cows were blocking the path, so a long arc around them was called for.
As usual a climb is followed by a descent, this time along a road. There were quiet a few walkers on their way up, possibly on their way to a cafe with great views. It didn’t open until 11am, and I was too early. There weren’t many cars, perhaps because of the surcharge.
A mixture of road and forest took me back to the road I had started the day on, but only for a couple of minutes. Another climb, this time on a barely visible track, where I eventually got lost and had to back track.
At the top of the climb I reached a dirt track, passing farms and meadows before reaching the village of Bichel, yet again with spectacular views. Every corner a new view. I have become a little blind to all the spectacular views – there are so many.
I had decided to take a rest on the first bench I came across after 12 o’clock. There had been many benches along the path, the last being at 11.55. But didn’t find the next one for more than an hour – in Austria.
It was downhill from Bichel to a larger main road with quite some traffic. There was a small path next to the road, so there wasn’t any danger from the cars – more from the cyclists. As the path was very narrow in places and some cyclists don’t ring and try to force themselves past, it is dangerous for them and me if I don’t hear them coming.
After little more than a kilometer, I left the main road for a smaller road, and left Germany and entered Austria, for a 4km stretch, 4km climbing ca. 300m to today’s highest point at 1135m.
On the way up I found a bench and stopped to eat my light lunch, egg and bread. I continued up. The climb was a mixture of road and path through a forest with massive pine trees. I was feeling three weeks walking. Near the top of the climb, I stopped again for the three “C’s” – cake (an excellent fruit cake), coffee and cola. Refreshed, I continued the climb passing the picturesque villages of Jungholz.
The climb was followed by a steep decline, 20% according to the sign, on a path of small stones. A couple of cyclists passed me, gingerly negotiating the decline, not wanting to race down, but not wanting to break in case the back wheel slid on the stony surface. I was also concerned about slipping, so it was hard on both the feet and knees.
At the bottom of the descent and into the valley, I was back in Germany, although I didn’t see any signs indicating that that was the case. The descent ended at the river Vils, and a backroad next to the river. There were quite a few cyclists and cars and even the odd walker following the river.
I followed the valley into Pfronten, following a path into the small town and finally up a small hill to Meilingen, where I am staying the night.
A mixed day with beautiful views, pleasant forest walks, but a lot of time on roads. My shoes have gradually been worn down, with plenty of thread on the heal but little or nothing on the front part of the shoe, and my feet are beginning to feel it. But still no blisters!
There was a fixed menu for dinner, soup, salad, cheese and desert were taken from a buffet, the main course the waiter brought. It was a fine final meal to round off this years walk, and there was a beautiful sunset to end the day.