22 April 2018

The last time we published we were finishing our visit to Israel which for us was a memorable adventure. It will stay in our hearts and minds forever.

By this time it was necessary to prepare our minds, our Pilgrim credentials and commence our Pilgrimage.
The pilgrimage dates to centuries ago and the legend says that after the death of Christ the Apostle Jakob became the leader of the Christians in Jerusalem and continued spreading the word. The legend says that later he decided to go and spread the word in Spain where he got many followers and stayed for some time spreading his teachings before returning to Jerusalem.

On his return he was beheaded and his followers placed his body in a box and took him to the coast where he was shipped in a boat which appeared and an angel took him to the coast of Spain. The box disappeared in one of the storms but the box with Jakob’s body was deposited intact by the molluscs and found and buried by Christians in the place that today is Santiago de Compostela.

The pilgrimage to the site commenced quite early through Spain and some centuries later pilgrims from various parts of the world started to visit the grave of Saint Jakob.

The route of choice for us this time is one of the German ones which covers from Würzburg to Ulm 275 km and continues to Lake Konstanz (additional 157km). Once leaving Konstanz the route takes us to  Switzerland, France and Spain. Of course we will go beyond Santiago de Compostela to reach Finistera as in the very early times 850- 900 AD pilgrims visited that place to honour Saint Jakob^** as the legend says that his bones were delivered to the coast of Galicia by these molluscs which are abundant in the region.

**Santiago (Spanish). Saint James(English)

The routes used by pilgrims to get to Santiago de Compostela follow an early Roman trade route that goes to the Atlantic Coast of Galicia ending in Finistera, Spain’s westernmost part. In the early times it was believed that the earth finished there.

Today the pilgrimage has become a well organised affair and not always for religious reasons. Catholics, protestants, tourists, Jews, Arabs and people from all parts of the world enjoy the experience. The Camino has taught us many lessons that have changed us in some ways.

On the 11th of April we left Jerusalem. It was raining and it seemed that the sky was shedding the tears that we wanted to shed, we were so sad to leave that incredible place. That day we went to stay close to the airport in a home where a couple have a big empty house as all the children have gone so they rented us a couple of rooms. We were picked up at 3:25 am the next morning and taken to the Ben Gurion airport

Richard at Ben Gurion Airport

The airport was packed as all the Jewish people who visited the Holy Land for Passover were returning to their home countries. Most of them were returning to America according to the fellow from the Service that Ayala facilitated for us. In honest truth she was marvellous we were rushed through the different service windows and desks and in less than 15 minutes we were ready waiting to board the plane which was to leave at 06:10 am, I think that without our friend we would be queueing for at least 3 hours. The only regret that we have is that David missed this visit.

The flight was pleasant and in around 4 hours we landed in Frankfurt at 10:30 am. From here we needed to catch a bus to Würzburg to commence our new adventure. We had a bit of difficulty finding the bus stop and when we had found it Richard was advised by text that our transport was half an hour late. That was an incredible arrangement the buses have almost no communication with passengers after that. At the bus area there was no office and not a soul to let you know which of the 4 or 5 buses was ours. Buses from and to everywhere arrived but not ours. It was getting a bit weird.

However there is an angel beside us all the time and we met this young lady who was just arriving from Nicaragua. She spoke English, Spanish and German so she helped us find what bus was doing what. Finally our transport arrived and we were on our way by 11:45 or so. The bus went to the centre of the city of Frankfurt and bingo at 12:45 stopped in a bus depot and advised all the passengers that by law the driver needed to rest for one hour so we could do what ever we liked in between. The area was not salubrious so we went looking for a café. We invited a young girl to join us as she looked a bit lonely. The young lady spoke very good English she just had finished her Master in history and had found a job in a public centre where she was to investigate the history of Judaism. She was very smart young lady and that day she had come to look for accommodation. Finally we returned to the bus and finally we headed off to our destination.

We arrived in Würzburg.

The city overview at sunset

We were too late to meet Andrea at the office of the Jacobean Society. However we had the possibility of meeting Leonie the next morning. As it was getting very late we caught a taxi to our destination which was at the top of one of the hills that guard the city of Würzburg. We were booked at the Marien Kapelle which is one of the relics of the capital of the Lower Franconia region in the state of Bavaria. The place dates to the 14th Century. This Kapelle resides above the River Main and the city of Würzburg, it was first built in the 1700s as a Chapel and pilgrimage site. Following restoration it was reopened in 1821, The style is Barocco/Rococo and was designed by “the Barocco” architect Balthasar Newman who was a favourite in Europe at the time. Inside the Kapelle the walls and ceiling feature an opulent Rococo Style, incredible beauty, the main colour is a grey blue and the images and religious topics have vivid colours plus white and gold. Even though it has the size of a Church since 1821 until today it is called Kapelle (chapel) because of its beginnings.

The Kapelle

Its location offers a magnificent view over Würzburg and the River Main and early morning and sun setting time shows an indescribable beauty.

The River Main and the city

Visitors have to negotiate 450 steps of old stones that the time has made shiny. As you move up or downstairs you can see a picturesque pathway of the 14 stations of the cross in life-size sculptured figures. Richard could not help but have a little laugh when he noticed that the Roman soldiers are dressed like German hunters. Of course we had a little argument about the subject.

Well as anyone can see we were blessed by the Jacobean society selection of accommodation for us. On arrival, Greta an administrator of the church, very kind and diligent, explained the rules and showed us to our rooms which were small and compact. In the past they were used by the Capuchin brothers as this was a monastery for that order that now has been reduced. My room did not have a wardrobe or ornaments. Richard was treated to a wardrobe and religious tapestry hanging from the walls. After we settled our luggage we went down to visit the Kapelle which was a beautiful place for prayer . After that we walked down all those steps to go to the town to grab something to eat before dark.

Then for first time we were able to see the sunset view of Würzburg from the lookout of the Kapelle. We walked to town and cross the river at the closest bridge that we found after descending the 440 steps that took us down to the road.

Crossing the Main River we realised that it was carrying lots of water. We understood that by the sound that the rushing water was making. It was running rapidly as though it was necessary to discharge before it was too late. The colour of the water was a bit grey far from being crystal clear. Perhaps there was some rain earlier in the week we thought.

The River Main

We arrived at the town and stopped in a little shop attended by just one girl and the cook. We guessed, because she put the orders for food in a very rudimentary wooden lift and pressed a button. The lift went up and a bit latter a bell sounded and the lift descended with the orders for the long expecting customers.

We read the menu, ordered one serve of penne and tomato sauce and two bottles of soda water. We shared the food as the servings are ridiculously big in this area of Germany. Why to order pasta in Germany you may ask, well that was the only thing on the German menu that we understood.

Also the rest of the people at the other tables were eating hamburgers, chips, and pork schnitzels which looked a bit too much. After finishing the dinner we went home and agreed to meet at the common room at 07:30 am next morning ready to go out.

The plan was to stay next day to visit the Jacobean association and get our credentials, organise our local phones and find a supermarket to buy sardines and some pieces and bits that we did not carry with us to avoid to be overweight for the airlines. Once that was done we would be ready to leave for our first walking day.

We left nice and early to find the address and pick up breakfast on the way. The address was 1 Otto Straße we found the direction and before arriving to the place we stopped by the bakery bought a couple of sandwiches and a big cup of coffee both of them quite delicious. We got to the office in question and Leonie was the most helpful person and gave us all kind of instructions, maps and addresses. Photos if there are some

Making time for the shops to open we did a bit of looking around and walked as far as the city centre. We did not want to look at too many details as we will be in Würzburg again in September with David plus Ian and Tricia our much loved friends from New Zealand. But as always “man plans and God disposes”. Little did we know that our plans to commence our walk the next day were going to go to “custard”.

Finally we got to the telephone shop which was recommended only to find that he did only long term plans, so we went to the address that he advised. There was so busy that we walked out and went to ask at Telecom (Deutschland phone Company) only to be advised that if we did not have a German card as residents they could not give us German phones. The reason for this was that tourists could be “ terrorists” so since last August the rules were changed in the country. Well this was a disaster as we find our walking tracks using the Google maps or GPS if it comes to that.
Also to communicate with Australia is impossible through Telstra as the prices are prohibitive.

What to do, we went back to the first place which was so busy and we received some kind of help. So now we can access email, our page and our phone In emergencies, unfortunately the latter still does not work properly. It has been a nightmare we could not publish or contact any one only I was using the Aussie system to let David know our whereabouts.

All of this changed our plans and we decided that we would not start the walk until Saturday because a new visit to the company that fixed the connection was necessary. Until now we don’t know if what they did with our phones was legal.
Around two in the afternoon we had lunch in a little shop.We chose lentils and rice and we shared, it was sufficient for two, so we did not need to look for a dinner place in the evening.

Well with all the walking trying to find solution to our problems we ended up walking most of the city. We went back home through the Old Arch Bridge , Alte Mainsbruecke built in 1120 over the body of water of the Main River. It was the only bridge in the city until1886 when others were built. This is one other relic of the city it is guarded by different statues of saints in each side. It appears that they are protecting the city with their presence. Photo Today this bridge is open as a promenade and people visit specially in the evenings to have a glass of wine and admire the beautiful surroundings whilst they unwind after a day at the office.

It was agreed by us that Würzburg is a very charming place to visit, with rich cultural and rich historical heritage. Here is the starting point of the Jakobsweg (the way of Saint James) to Ulm and also the Romantic Road which is a separate route. They only coincide in one point Rothenburg on the Tauber which the Pilgrims visit for the blessings in the Cathedral which is dedicated to Saint Jacob.

The history of the capital of Lower Franconia, goes back to the year 1000BC when a Celtic strong hold was build at the top of the Marienburg mountain. In 704 AD it was built as a fort and saint Boniface founded the house of Bishops. Today it is there overlooking the city with majestic presence. In 2004 they celebrated 1300 years of its existence. There are many more monuments that I will introduce in September when we return with David, Tricia and Ian.

Well now is the time to say good by to this lovely city, and start on the way.

Well here commences our long walk, 3100 km approximately it will have several stages

 

Würzburg to Uffenheim

Finally, we are in our way. The final point in our route is Finisterre in Spain. We plan to be in Finisterre by mid-August that will give us a couple of days to recover and board our flight to the Netherlands to meet David.
Today 14th of April at 07:00 AM we left the Kapelle, and for the last time we descended the 450 plus steps to walk to the Old Arch Bridge. On the way, we stopped to have breakfast at the bakery and by 08:00 we were on our way. The Old Arch Bridge was crossed for the last time and we descended steps to the walking path which was taking us to Ochsenfurt which is the first town that we will visit. The expected distance to walk was 22 km assuming that we would not get lost on the way. The place selected to stay was a guest house Gasthof Zum Anker, in the major street which received pilgrims. At this stage, we did not have any reference, therefore, we did not know what to expect.

Well, the walk to final destination was incredibly pleasant and beautiful we were walking all the way by the Main River which goes through Würzburg. Unfortunately, the pictures are not good so there will be only a few.

The walking track goes through parks that were carefully designed to entice people to exercise. You see people of all ages walking, jogging or using the different pieces of equipment which have been positioned strategically. Also, the bicycle tracks are superb and you can see the full families, children, parents and some grandparents cycle together. The skateboards and roller blades are also some of the favourites. Believe it or not, there is a serious culture of healthy living.
This was a gorgeous sunny Saturday morning and most people say hello or good morning when passing, they showed to be friendly.

The walking and bicycle track from Würzburg

We believe that we are some of the first pilgrims of the season, so the public still is calm and content with their presence.
As the day progressed we passed several vineyards beautifully kept, most of them exhibited big old mansions and were open to the public for tasting and purchasing the boutique varieties. For us it was not an option to visit any of the vineyards this time, therefore, we did not book a tour. In September we will make sure to visit at least one vineyard on our way to the Romantic Road.

We stopped at Eilbestadt a very small and cute village we had some coffee and a little rest before continuing the Jakobsweg.

The temperature was rising and by midday, the heat was getting us a bit. However, we continued the way as we still had some kilometres to do regardless. By then we were about half way as we had passed several villages Bedingfield, Randersacker and Summernhousen; all of them small villages very picturesque, with some lovely gardens. However, there was not a place to get water let alone to have a coffee so it was a challenge.

As we were going away from the big city the people were becoming more friendly and if we stopped to rest or to look at directions they would approach us to ask where we came from, and what was our final destination. On approaching Klinochsentfurt a youngish couple stopped us to find out our destination and also the reasons why have we chosen this route. They were very interested to know why people from Australia would choose to come to Germany to walk when we had such a big and beautiful country.

Later around 2km away from Ochsenfurt we noticed a couple walking in the opposite direction, they smiled at us in the way that we do smile when we find an old friend. They walked toward us ready to shake hands, I was taken aback a bit. They wanted to know all about our origin and destination, among other things, if we were Catholics or just Wanderers as walkers are called here plus many other questions. Finally, we realised that the lady who showed such emotion when we mentioned Australia, was born in Melbourne all those many years ago. Daughter to a German family that arrived in Australia in a special program after the Second World War and later in life she left Australia and married a Lutheran Pastor now retired. Obviously, she stills feel attached to her country of birth and wishes that one day she will return for a visit. The tears that welled up in her eyes and that she tried to hide said a lot about some kind of sadness or regret.

There it is, on the Camino, we meet people that we empathise with and perhaps in other circumstances, we could befriend; however, we are ships passing in the night and perhaps we will never see or hear each other again.

This couple advised us that we needed to turn right in 800 m or so, cross the bridge and walk ahead until we find the place where we were booked which was in the street that was at the end of the bridge. That was music to our ears as we thought we still needed to do another 2 km, within the next 15 minutes we found the place Gasthof Zum Anker.

The Main Street of Ochsenfurt

At first look, it appeared not very salubrious. The Gasthof was part of a Pub which included a beer garden, and appeared dark like the sun would never visit the building at all. The hostess/owner was friendly and showed us into our rooms that obviously were at the top of the stairs. The pilgrim accommodation was in the very top kind of attic obviously, however, all rooms were freshly painted clean, and surprise surprise obviously was visited by the sun.

In the German villages, you don’t find many hospitality houses run by the Jakobus Association, therefore, they come to an agreement with the local business or private homes to receive the Pilgrims. Therefore as part of a plan encourage tourist the guest houses, and 2-3 stars hotels accept Pilgrims and they provide discounted rates to them. Switzerland, France and Spain, offer more hostel accommodation. Germany has not a high number of Pilgrims in the season so they can afford the cost of specialising.

Really the place was good at least my room did not smell of beer and was very clean. Later I found that Richard’s also was good.

Curiosity point: Richard noticed a notice board in the main street that recommended the MacDonald customers to “book tables” otherwise they would miss the opportunity to dine that nite as it was getting full. What the world has come to! Well, we don’t usually eat “Maccas” anyway.

We went for a walk in the village and took a few pictures but again we had difficulty because the light was unfavourable. One was of the Rathaus. This is the German name for the Council Chambers. Sometimes it is appropriate in Australia.
Obviously Ochsenfurt is a centre that lives mainly from agriculture and some local businesses, however, there is not many young people working here most of them go to the big Centres. We understood that the population here was 2300 people. The economy is based on agriculture, sugar manufacturing, breweries and malting. Their dominance in the wine industry dates back to 1911 but nowadays it has diminished.

Dinner was a challenge, as we don’t speak or read German, however, the young waitress was multilingual so with that luck we were able to order a fresh salad and some protein. Of course, we ordered one small beer that we shared just to taste the local brew. Very good and appears to be lower in alcohol content than the Aussie ones.

Next morning we left immediately after breakfast and walked to Aub; we needed to cover approximately 18.0 km. To leave the village in the southerly direction we passed an old tower crossed under the bridge and after turning right we commenced to climb a very steep hill, just for a change the signs of Jakobsweg were controversial and deceiving. The open space was waiting at the top and we negotiated some very rough tracks which had long grass and were still muddy after the rain. Still, not many people had walked the tracks, so, some of the areas looked a bit wild; as soon as the traffic increases the tracks will be a blessing.

We could see that the soils had been ploughed and some of them already being sowed and the little green plants of oats are enjoying the warmth of the sun. I believe that agriculture is the main source of income in the area.

Leaving Ochsenfurt

Ploughed fields and young crops

The walk continued making sure that we kept going due South most of the time and after 5km we saw the first village Kleinochsenfurt that was relatively small we did not call in. This time the track was a bit of a challenge as a great part of the way was too close to the highway, nevertheless, still it was beautiful and interesting countryside.

After another 11km we reached Oellingen which was a bigger place with a lovely church that unfortunately was closed like most of the churches on the way so far. At the end of this town, we deviated to a variant which took us to our destination. Once we got to the skirts of this village, we stopped as we needed to check how to get to the guest house.

It was relatively easy to find the way and we started our way up to get to the local church which was on top of the hill. Just when Richard and I were negotiating if to take the stairs or turn right a young woman approached Richard. Greeted him with a big smile and hello and proceeded to say that she remembered him from last Saturday when we were walking to Ochsenfurt. She remembered him because she was wondering why he was carrying a long carton tube in his backpack. Richard explained that that was a box to carry walking sticks in the plane. They had a short chat and she indicated that we needed to take the stairs. So we started to walk up the stairs and suddenly I notice the cutest snails taking the sun on the wall, I could not help to wish that Ariela, Selwyn and Taliesin were with us it was such a beautiful little creature.

Sammy the Snail

The guest house was very close to the church and we were able to rest eat and drink some water as we were tired, hungry and very thirsty on arrival.

The Guesthouse in Aub

The place was full of people as a family was celebrating the Catholic confirmation of their child and that was a big event. Even the grandmothers had come from Italy to be there for the occasion.

We sat to a very lovely lunch which exceeded our expectations. The portions were small and the salad was fresh and crispy – our first good meal in days.

We had our lunch/dinner outside on the patio which was at the front of the Gasthof facing what they call the Market Platz of Aub. In this Platz also were several businesses: another Guesthouse an Apotek (chemist)and a Drogerie plus 2 shoe shops and a couple of dress shops where they exhibited some quality items. And of course in a prominent position was the church.

When sitting there we could listen to people trying to communicate in different languages the Italian visitors wanted to communicate with the locals plus some Greek speakers. It was fun to listen, soon I understood who was whom and details of their activities. Later when the sun went down we went inside and the father of the confirmed child approached me and talked in English he wanted to know about us and he started to speak in English but we finished up talking in Spanish and Italian what a circus. Richard joined the chat with his bit of understanding of Spanish and Italian joined the conversation somewhat.

During the conversation, I learned a lot about the economy and lives of foreigners in Germany and how they are accepted nowadays after few years of earning their stripes. I guess that is everywhere as many people are doubtful about the unknown. Perhaps there is a bit of xenophobia in us all.

It was getting late and it was necessary to say goodbye but not without having a piece of Tiramisu offered to us by the Italian family that had at least 12 big cakes of all kinds on a table for their guests.

Next morning we met for breakfast, it was basic but better than expected. We chatted to the host and collected some more information on the town. Before the Reformation Aub used to be an extension of Würzburg however after the Reformation in 1545 when Würzburg became Protestant the Catholic Aub people become a separated group and formed their own community. During the WW2 the village was badly affected their church and majority of mansions were destroyed but a reconstruction took place. However, some of the current properties date to 200 years ago.

Today the village has only 1200 inhabitants plus some other 300 or so in the farms and surroundings. They have two guest houses that mean lots of visitors and tourists visit during the year, also that they have a small industry of energy generation and some manufacturing. Indeed it was clear that manual and trade work was the kingdoms of the immigrants.

The church in Aub

Monday afternoon we went to the church to collect the stamps for our pilgrim passport and on the way back we noticed that in one of the houses was a sign for a Coffee shop quite extraordinary as towns bigger than this one do not have anything of the kind. We went to check it and found that it was an extension of the local bakery that obviously is in the hands of very enterprising people. When we entered the Bakery it was such a surprise to see all the number of products that were on display

The most exotic range of cakes, patisserie, varieties of bread etc I couldn’t believe my eyes. This is the only bakery in a huge area and obviously, they supply other villages cater for parties and events that make clear that if you catch a niche market and get hold of it you get results.

Well, the day disappeared I finished the write up on Israel, and clothes were washed, walking plans were prepared and we were ready to go.