Day 17 Schweich to Trier, 22 km

Very nice last day of walking. The weather could have been better, but it was good to be out on a Saturday and see other people about. And where I did not see them, I saw their cars. Lots of busy small parking lots at several trailheads (for lack of a better word).

The Camino stays on the north side of the river all the way to Trier. It gets a little bit of elevation - there are a few VERY steep bits surprisingly close to the end - but just enough for good views as you get closer to the city.

Two stops today, both in Ehrang. A quick stop in St Peter’s church, which had some very cool modern sculptures and ceramic work on the floor. Yet, suspended from the ceiling, right over top of a very joyful and colourful mosaic on the floor, was Jesus on the cross. Somehow the pieces did not fit together for me.

Second stop - to get out of the rain - was at the only place to get coffee in the village, a cafe inside a gas station/car wash. It was pretty nice. I did not expect to see candles on the tables!

There was another Kreuzweg today, the stations of the cross path. So many crosses everywhere! There are so many other parts of the Christian story you could focus on.

A few days ago someone said this stage wasn’t worth doing. But one of the great things about walking in Europe is that you get to walk into and out of cities. I really love that, even when the outskirts are boring or ugly or endless. But the route into Trier is exceptional. You are in the woods with excellent views over the city. And then you come maybe 200 metres down a hill, cross a bridge, and you are walking into the city centre. From the forest to streets with stores and cafes takes about 10 minutes. And then from there it was about another 15 minutes to get to the cathedral and the smaller (but not small) Lieblingsfraukirche next door, which was spectacular. There are windows all the way round that are on par with the ones in Leon. Really really beautiful.

The Dom info centre had the pilgernstempel. And that’s this camino over!

Apparently the official end of the Mosel Camino is at St Mathias church about 30 minutes walk south from here. I’m not sure why. I’ll go there tomorrow. Today I went to my hotel room instead! I’m staying at a hotel with no on site staff. The “front desk” is a check-in station on the wall beside the front door. But the room is fine. I’ll be staying here for 3 nights. When I booked it I thought I might just keep walking towards France along the river, but I’m thinking I might actually do tourist things here instead!

I’ll try to make some notes on both these Jakobswegs to post in the forum. I’d definitely recommend them both, but I think the first one felt more Camino-y than this one. Maybe because this one is going through the wine region. And it’s very touristy. A gazillion people come here in the summer and so there is less interaction with people and also fewer things like supermarkets or bakeries. The first route was less spectacular in terms of scenery, but it goes through a region that feels, well, more normal. It was also easier in terms of elevation. I live in a flat place; I never remember to look at elevation charts. Just yesterday I noticed that there is one for the whole of this route inside the flap of the front cover of the guidebook. The walking felt like the chart looks!

In any case I would definitely walk in Germany again. From where I am sitting now you could go on to Metz in France and to Vezelay or go more south and go to Le Puy. And where I stopped on the other route there are a couple of ways to continue into France or you could go down into Switzerland. All the options are appealing to me!

Very grateful to have been able to do this. And happy that it all worked out!Читать далее