Monthly Archives: May 2014

Language

Ich spreche kein Deutsch und Ich habe kein Geld

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“Ich spreche kein Deutsch und Ich habe kein Geld”

This was the first sentence I spoke in German while in Germany on my first visit there. After that, I spent two years doing German lessons. On my second visit there, I would try to initiate a conversation in German, and I would be greeted back in English. I guess it was easy to notice that I was still a beginner in the language, and nobody bothered trying to reply in German, they’d just switch to English. I gave up after a few tries, and hardly practiced my German since then. This time I’ll force myself to keep the conversations in German, even if that means slow and repetitive conversations.

Route

The Route pt. 1

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“Crossing Europe by foot” is quite vague. I suppose I have to choose a route. I don’t have a clear idea for my start and end points, but I’m thinking about crossing both France and Germany. That means from the Western coast of France to the Eastern border of Germany.

Initial planned route on Google Maps.
Initial planned route on Google Maps.

Google Maps says that’s about 1600 km. If I walk on average 20 km per day, that should take me 80 days. We can round that up to 3 months. June, July, August.

Obviously I’ll have to research more into the fine details of which trails to follow, but I plan on asking hikers along the way for their advice and adapting my route accordingly.

Thoughts

Enough!

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So, the time has finally come. I have decided to go out hiking for a long time.

I’ve had this idea for many years: to cross Europe by foot. Year after year there was something that would make me postpone my voyage. I had to finish graduation, I had a relationship, I had to work, I didn’t feel physically fit, I didn’t feel mentally fit… Whatever the reason, I’d just postpone it for another year.

But years go by and I am not getting any younger. I am not getting fitter, au contraire, I am getting fatter. I had some personal issues which culminated in a horrible nervous breakdown.

Enough! I’m out! I’m rage quitting my job, I’m leaving everything behind, and I’m going hiking.

I was a scout when I was young, but I can barely remember any kind of knot. I get completely lost even with a compass. For some reason I still remember the Morse Code, but I suppose that won’t serve me any purpose nowadays.

I did a long distance footpath many years ago, but I’d stay in Hostels or Bed&Breakfasts. I’ve camped a few times in the last few years, but the tent is bulky and heavy. I have a good backpack, which I bought on sale some years ago. That’s basically all the gear I have for now. Oh, and I have an USB solar charger, that should come in handy.

To be honest, I don’t feel prepared. But I might wait forever and never feel prepared, so why not just leave now?