Day 9 Tübingen to Rottenburg, 13 km

Thirteen kilometers from Tübingen to Rottenburg to finish this small piece of the huge network of German Jakobswegs. Going further you’d have a choice between turning more west to Strasbourg and then probably on to the Vezelay route in France. Or you could go more south and enter France further down and make your way to Le Puy.

I got up early to avoid the many many children at breakfast in the youth hostel. Turns out one of the biggest groups was Italian kids there to study German.

I left around 7:45. A triumph! Though it is not really light until 7:30.

Every morning walking through these hilly towns I think of the Blue Zones series on Netflix, about particular groups of people with a higher than expected number of people older than 100. The first thing the host talks about is hills! Some of the groups he’s talking about live in hilly places where people walk to get around. Going uphill is good for us. But likely way better if you do it everyday and not just a few times a year.

This morning didn’t have quite the shocking steepness of the last couple of days but there were stairs. The path leaves the city through a schloss that sits above Tübingen with views over all the surroundings. The Jakobsweg goes right through the building- through a kind of long archway and then down some stairs and through a tunnel. When I was looking for the way markings, a woman walked by and said, “do you want a noble apple? They come from up there (some higher level of the castle).” I did.

After the castle the Camino shells follow the route —and poetry — of Ludwig Uhland. A 19thc poet, whose work was put to music. He was apparently a champion of liberal causes and was also involved in politics.

Another nice walk through a forest until the Camino goes sharply up to visit a small chapel that wasn’t open. Spectacular views in all directions. And a very odd super heavy duty unstealable stamp. From there it was just an hour to Rottenburg where I got a stamp from the tourist office (in exchange for answering questions about, for lack of better words, consumer satisfaction of pilgrims. What would you like to see changed? What was missing? Well, nothing, really!

Coffee in Rottenburg and then an interesting afternoon with Deutsche Bahn. I’ve spent the evening in Koblenz. I’m staying at a very recently renovated hotel
Right by the train station that still smells a bit of paint. So the windows are open and a fan is going, and it’s ok and just for one night. I managed to get the guidebook for the Mosel-Camino (another copy of which has been en route to my house since the beginning of September), and I will start it tomorrow. The elevation profiles are sobering!Read more