After the last preparations had taken a little longer than expected, today was finally the day. The plan was to run a short loop from home (Jöhlingen) to just before Ettlingen.
I got up at 7 a.m. on the dot to do the final preparations. The dishwasher was emptied for the last time and the last things were done. I packed my rucksack and had breakfast. Then I took one last hot shower.
Jöhlingen – Ettlingen (19,6km)
Around half past ten, I set off with all my things. As my sister accompanied me for the first few meters, there is even a farewell picture of me as I left my hometown.
After about an hour we reached Wöschbach, where my sister left me and I was left to my own devices.
But it didn’t take five minutes before the first gentleman approached me about my scallop shell and wanted to know where I’d come from, how long I’d been walking, what I had with me, etc. When I told him that I came from Jöhlingen and had just set off today, he had to smile for a moment. However, he also told me that he had been planning to do the same thing himself for years, but could never really bring himself to go on such a long journey alone and he couldn’t find anyone in his circle of friends who wanted to go with him. But he wished me a lot of fun on my tour.
After a few minutes, I continued on to Söllingen. There I had a little snack before I reached Grünwettersbach via Hohenwettersbach.
In Grünwettersbach, my mom spontaneously came by to visit me after her late shift from Ettlingen. We had another meal together and then she drove home again.
After that, I didn’t have much more distance to cover, so I took it slowly and took a few breaks.
As I hadn’t booked any accommodation, the last task of the day was to find a suitable place to sleep and set up the tent.
Once the tent was pitched in a hopefully suitable spot, I had a bite to eat and something to read. After that, these last few lines were written and now it’s time to go to bed and into my sleeping bag.
Although it was a rather short tour today, I was able to see a lot and didn’t overexert myself on the first day. All in all, it was a great first day on the Way of St. James. I’m already looking forward to seeing what the next few days will bring.
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