Day 11 – Oberrimsingen to Mühlheim (34,4km)
I started the day freshly rested this morning. After handing over the key to my small room, I walked along the street towards Bad Krozingen. There I bought my breakfast in a supermarket and sat on a bench where I ate what I bought. Since I was very hungry, I simply had a small loaf of bread with a package of turkey breast and some fruit.
After I had eaten everything, I continued my hike full. The path led beautifully along a river to Staufen. Since there was neither a road nor many people in this area, you could always relax and listen to the splashing of the water along the entire route.
After Staufen the paths quickly became hillier before I went back up and down through vineyards. A little later I arrived in the small town of Sulzburg, where the beautiful church of St. Curiak from 993 could be visited. There I got another stamp for my notebook before I left the place again and had to keep going uphill.
In the meantime, I had been traveling for quite a while. But since I needed accommodation due to the reported storms in the evening, I got off the Way of St. James shortly before Brintzingen and looked for accommodation there. Since there was only one accommodation in this place without dinner and there was nothing else to eat today, I spontaneously decided to walk on to Müllheim.
By the time I arrived in Müllheim, I had already walked over 34km in temperatures that were now 35 degrees. So I quickly found accommodation there. After taking a cold shower, I sat down on the terrace of the inn and ordered something to eat. A little later the sky started to get darker and the wind slowly got stronger. The thunderstorm lasted almost all night, so I was happy to be staying in an inn and not having to sleep outside in my tent with thunder and lightning.
Day 12 – Müllheim to Blansingen (24,7)
After the stormy night, I quickly set off after breakfast because unfortunately thunderstorms were reported again for this evening. First we went further up through small gardens before I was able to take a look at the Rhine plain on the other side. The path then led along the top through wine-growing areas, where you could always enjoy a beautiful view.
On this section I met a pilgrim for the first time who was also on the Way of St. James. The older woman walked from Freiburg to Wheil am Rhein, where she was invited to her nephew’s wedding. After a little conversation with her, I moved on again.
This was followed by a descent to Schliengen. There I visited a moated castle, where I took a longer break and had a snack. For tonight I had chosen a pilgrim accommodation with a family who would accept pilgrims. So I called there at lunchtime and asked for a place to sleep. A woman actually got in touch and said that I would be welcome to come over. But they wouldn’t get home from work until 7 p.m. so I had to wait until then. She also asked me what I wouldn’t eat because I was welcome to eat with them.
Since I now knew that I had a suitable place to stay overnight and even got something to eat, I was able to take my time for the remaining kilometers. I kept taking breaks to enjoy the view or drink a coffee.
When I arrived in Blansingn, I got a stamp in the church and then, on the advice of a local resident I met there, I went to a small farm where I looked at alpacas, emus and other animals.
Since it was now 7 p.m., I went to the Teichmanis family, where I was immediately warmly welcomed by Horst and later by Susanne. While we ate the grilled food and drank a beer, we talked about the Way of St. James and other things. Later I went to bed.
Day 13 – Blansingen to Basel (28,1km)
I got up at 6:30am to pack my things and be ready at 7am. When I got up, Susanne was already preparing breakfast and since Horst had to leave early, he said goodbye to me. Then I ate my breakfast with Susanne before setting off myself and saying goodbye. On foot again, I was very grateful for how hospitably the Teichmanis family had welcomed me.
In wonderful weather I start today’s route with the destination Basel (Switzerland). But first I looked at peacocks. Then today things went straight up again. I was soon able to take a first look at the three-country corner, where I could already clearly see Basel. I went through the beautifully landscaped Wheinreben until just before Wheil am Rhein. From there it went downhill again.
I grabbed something to eat at a snack bar between garden centers. After Wheil am Rhein we went briefly through the forest again before I finally crossed the border into Switzerland at the “Wiese” river. So in less than 2 weeks I managed to leave Germany behind me and am now continuing my journey in Switzerland.
After a few minutes I reached Basel. First I walked to the train station and then I crossed the Rhine to look for a place to sleep in a youth hostel on the other side. After I had put my things there and washed myself briefly, I went back to the Rhine with fresh clothes. There I wanted to get something to eat in a bistro right on the Rhine.
Unfortunately all the seats were already taken, so I bought a beer and sat down further down by the Rhine to write my diary and enjoy my beer. Meanwhile, I watched as people kept going swimming in the Rhine and letting themselves be carried along by the current. A little later a few men came along and apparently met at this point to swim in the Rhine. Somehow I started talking to them and then we talked for about an hour about various hikes and mountain tours. Since they often go on tours themselves, they always wanted to know something about my hikes. At around 9:30 I said goodbye to them and returned to the youth hostel. I left it a little longer and then went to bed early.
Day 14 – Basel to Mariastein (23,4km)
After I left the youth hostel after breakfast, I first walked for a while through the old town of Basel. I looked at the cathedral, which was unfortunately closed. So I could only look at it from the outside. Since this place was higher up, I had a nice view of the city on the Rhine.
After a while I set out to leave the city again. The paths led me through various parks out of the city. Shortly after leaving the city, things started to go uphill again. The surroundings reminded me more of the hills I was used to at home than of Switzerland as you imagine it.
Today I took it easy again and took a lot of breaks. At lunchtime I even lay down on a meadow for a short afternoon to take a nap. I then followed the path again to Flüh. Overall it was very pleasant to run and the weather was ideal for it. In Flüh the path quickly branched off and went ever steeper up the mountain. By now I was really starting to sweat again, although this time the temperatures were comfortable. When I then took a look back, I could see that Basel was significantly further down and that I had now climbed quite a bit in altitude.
At some point I reached the Mariastein monastery, which was on the mountain. I first walked to a small chapel on the edge, from which you had a beautiful view of the monastery. Afterwards I went to see the church. It was magnificently decorated and there was another chapel, which was located below the monastery. I walked down the many steps to look at the chapel. Afterwards, of course, I had to go back up everything with a fully packed backpack.
At the gate of the monastery I asked whether there was a guest room for pilgrims in addition to the expensive hotel. A little later a nice brother showed me my cheap room and gave me a stamp for my notebook. Afterwards I ended the evening relaxing in my monastery room with a good book and already thought about what the next few days would be like.
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