Day 15 Monzel to Klüsserath, 20 km

Speedy day. Trying to beat the rain. The weather app said it was supposed to rain all day, but when I walked out the door this morning, the sky was blue!

Breakfast was laid out on a very pretty table this morning in “Zimmer am Weg” - room on the way. A candle! Homemade jam. Pear, apple, grapes, raspberries! It was maybe the best place so far. And a large part of the reason for that was the kettle!

I have totally not been thinking about money. But this morning I realized I was very short on cash and would probably need to pay cash for tonight. I was more than lucky that there was a bank machine in Monzel, which is very tiny. Always have cash!

The defining feature of today was the wind. The huge wind. It a little bit scary to be in the woods!The walk was also punctuated by the noise of what I assume were military jets.

No coffee places en route but a super cute community shop where I got some cookies. They had coffee, but the sky was just starting to turn dark. So I kept moving. But I love those little shops. We have seen a few in the UK. And I remember a terrific one in Spain where I did get a coffee one morning.

Partway up the day’s second and final big hill there was a tree down across the track. About ten seconds after I crawled under it, there was a huge noise behind me - a massive truck coming at speed up the hill. On the track. I assume it was there to cut and remove the fallen tree off the path. But it was a bit freaky. About 20 minutes later the path came out of the woods into some fields and the high point. I had thought I would sit down for a while, have my lunch, enjoy the view. But there wasn’t actually much of a view and the wind was wild. So I just ate as I walked. Sandwich made from breakfast things.

After that m ore woods. And a gentle descent to a huge “grill hut”. A big covered hut with one open side and a huge grill and chimney in the middle. Bench that circled around the wall probably would have fit 40
people. By that time it was spitting so I stopped to put on my rain pants. Then more downhill. Out of the woods onto big wet fields with better views. And around the edge of a wood where I really feared some trees would come down , the wind was so strong and so loud. There was a very short stretch of path through that wood that I raced down to get out from under the trees.

The path comes out at a hang gliding launch place with a wind sock and further, along a weather station. Up until this point the scenery today was fine but nothing super special. This was definitely the spectacular part! A long wide view over an oxbow in the river. The coloured vines under the busy dramatic clouds. And a string of little villages.

The path skirts the top of the top of the huge vineyards and zig zags down into Klüsserath. By the time I got to the bottom it was pouring. Quick stop at the church for a stamp. Then to the “vacation winery” where I am staying. It was just a little after 2:30 and so a bit early for a normal check in time. I had my fingers crossed for the 10 or 15 minutes it took to get to where I’m staying. Luckily the man was in!

The bottom floor of the building has wine stuff - huge racks of empty bottles, and other paraphernalia - and maybe the family’s kitchen? And then there are more private rooms on the next floor and also a number of guest rooms. It’s not fancy but perfectly fine. I have a downstairs with a couch and a TV and the bathroom and then upstairs with the bed. It has good rads and heat so a lot of laundry was done. I have been trying to watch a little bit of German TV to see what I can understand. Took me about 20 minutes to get this one to work.

Dinner at one of the only two options in the village, pizza place or restaurant, both about ten minutes walk away. I chose the restaurant. The village is so quiet!!!!

I’m hoping the rain stops by morning. Tomorrow is really short - 14 km. I guess I could have combined Friday and Saturday’s walks but I am just following the etapes in the guide book. Shweich - the place I will end up tomorrow - is a bit bigger than some of the places on this route. So maybe there will be a proper lunch? And then Saturday is Trier and that’s the end of the Mosel-Camino!Читать далее