Rheinsteig Finale

We finished hiking the entire Rheinsteig, from Bonn to Wiesbaden, this past Friday. It was an incredible hike and quite challenging. The weather was mostly accommodating with only a few days of rain; for most downpours we were safely nestled in a hotel or restaurant. The seemingly unending ascents were difficult but manageable, with the steep descents being much more difficult because of the old knees we carry. We walked 320 kilometres and 79 hours. 

As we walked, I could not help comparing the Rheinsteig to the Camino, of which, we have only covered one week (from Paloma to Burgos). Our companions on the Rheinsteig have walked the Camino many times. Overall, the Rheinsteig has a lot more steep and demanding climbs than the Camino, unless you start the Camino in France where you have a mountain range you must negotiate before you get to rolling hills. The Camino is better supported for the long-distance hiker, with plenty of water fountains, snack stops along the way, as well as cheap accommodations scattered throughout the trail. The Rheinsteig has no water breaks, spotty refreshments, and expensive and sub-par accommodations. In Germany, there are also closed days for the restaurants, so coming into a town you cannot know what will be open, if anything at all. These Rheinsteig complaints, however, did not reduce the amount of joy and excitement we received from hiking the trail. It is a remarkable trail, with breath-taking vistas, and beautiful landscapes. I would definitely do it again and recommend it to anyone interested in long-distance hiking.

Typical Rheinsteig scenery.

Typical Camino scenery.

Rheinsteig Hund

Fourteen year old Ruby has been quite the trooper on our hike, climbing the big hills and scurrying down the slopes faster than the both of us. Nothing slows her down. In the evening she sleeps deeply with a bit of snoring and in the morning reluctantly allows the harness to be put on. She quickly, however, gets into the spirit of the hike and almost always leads the way.

Rheinsteig Way

One of the great things about the Rheinsteig trail is the diversity of the paths we are walking on, from cobblestoned streets to pine needle covered dirt trails, steep rocky ascents and descents to calm easy field trails. Below is a sampling of some trail surfaces we have walked on the past two weeks. I will add more as we encounter them.

Rheinsteig Structures

The Rheinsteig is scattered with old structures, castles, and other ruins. Tomorrow's hike includes plenty of UNESCO recognized castles and castle ruins and I look forward to seeing them and posting about them. Until then, here are some photos of structures we have seen over the past week and a half.

That's us of course, and in the background is Marksburg, above Braubach.

Sayn Schloss and fort above.

Schloss Arenfels with a modern freeway behind it.

Drachenfels.

Railroad bridge.

Rheinsteig Quixote

The past few mornings have greeted us with dense fog hiding the Rhein and most of the town we find ourselves in. In the woods, the fog creates a surreal, somewhat spooky, if not beautiful, vision. Walking on the path through the fog is a great experience, with the fog blanket disguising normal objects and limiting our view to our immediate surroundings.

Rheinbrohl and the Rhein River.

We found Don Quixote on a ridge overlooking the fogged in Rhein. Also a bridge leading the way to Rengsdorf. Lots of ruins, towers, castles, and mansions along the way.

Rheinsteig Hiking

We are three days into our Rheinsteig hike, with a total of three days, or 15 hours of hiking. Today is a rest day in Unkel, just south of Bonn. The hikes are wonderful walks through green, mossy forests, blazing green fields, with a bit of city and village walking thrown in. There are many views of the Rhein River along the way. As usual, the beginning and endings of each hike take a bit of work locating, but overall the hiking and the trails have been fantastic.

The hills bordering the Rhine are covered with vineyards. It is mostly white wines that are produced, so we have not been doing too much sampling. We have, however, been drinking plenty of beer and red wine from Spain. 

What a disaster!

America has a racist and a man without moral conscience as president. As I watch from Europe, it is hard to believe where this man is taking the country. He is so full of hatred and vitriolic messages and I cannot believe people still stand behind him. I'm not one for hope, but in this case, I hope people will stand up against his hateful and degrading message.

Hispabooks

I am constantly impressed by the books Hispabooks Publishing releases. Last year I posted about three of their books which made it to my 2016 Favorite Reads list. This year, I have already read several that I recommend. Antón Mallick Wants to be Happy, Martutene, Landing, and The Birthday Buyer stand out as favorites this year. Hispabooks has been publishing out of Madrid since 2011. They publish only writers based in Spain and have quite a collection of worthwhile titles. 

My Hispabooks collection so far. Still a few in the catalog I need to buy.

The Reader Berlin

I just had to write a bit about The Reader Berlin headed up by Victoria Gosling. I have taken a class from them, participated in their first ever writing retreat in Greece, and have been lucky enough to be mentioned by them for Eye to Eye which was recently published by The Ravens Perch. Victoria does great work and I am sure is not fairly compensated. She has a writing competition which ends July 31 with the theme of Home Is Elsewhere. How about writing and submitting? See you at the awards ceremony.

Eye to Eye

Appearing online at theravensperch.com is my third published story, "Eye to Eye." I am so pleased that the team at The Ravens Perch appreciated my story enough to publish it. Please log on to their website and read my story as well as the many other stories they have on offer.