#2 A day’s rest and continue

Since I wasn’t physically fit, I spent a whole day relaxing in the beautiful Sauerland village. Great air and beautiful views, plus sunshine and the knowledge that the weather is finally getting better.

Knees smeared with tiger balm, later a little walk to keep moving. Really good for me.

Off we went in the company of an acquaintance in a bright blue sky and the sun in the face partly still uphill and down. But more down, which of course I preferred. I have resolved this time to drive about 60 km so that my knee can recover a bit.
Unfortunately, that didn’t work out as well as I had hoped: My Warm Showers host lives uphill again, so it was back to fighting. But I listened to music while doing it, took a few photos, was well-rested, and had the sun on my face.

 

Finally arrived, I was warmly welcomed.

We sat in the garden until after 10 p.m. and talked, it was really nice. Before I went to sleep I felt my knee quite a bit. I also noticed my little sunburn 🙂

Good news the next morning: My knee hurts less! But a bad one: my other one hurts like hell now.
Nevertheless, with great weather, wonderful views in Siegerland (PLEASE ALL go there), and nice music, I drove towards Gießen. There, my Warmshowers hosts made their garden available to me for camping. It doesn’t get any better than that! I don’t know what to say.
Unfortunately, the ride was exhausting despite a lot of descent (FINALLY DESCENT) because my knees are just not used to it. But again and again, small conversations on the way and breaks always give you new joy/strength. In the meantime, my motivation is slowly coming, very sluggishly because of. the pain, but she comes. I just hope that my body will get used to the strain over the next few days. Unfortunately, I can only do distances of approx. 50 – 70 km. But I know it will get better, just hopefully soon.
I was driving through a beautiful little town called Dillburg. I felt like I was in the Middle Ages with all the little houses and the winding narrow streets. It’s rare that I’m excited about a place, but this is definitely one of my favorites. In addition, the castle on the mountain, is wonderful. The houses are typical for the age: often white with wooden beams. But everything fitted perfectly.

Unfortunately, pictures cannot reflect what you really saw and, above all, felt.

 

The goal was getting closer and my hunger was getting bigger. When we finally arrived, work came first, as always, then pleasure: building the house, making the bed, preparing the kitchen, cooking and switching off.
Now I was sitting in the garden with the tent behind me, eating warm (and disgusting) canned soup and resting.

I could hardly get out of bed in the morning and I slept badly. I fell asleep in the morning and woke up around 9am. Very slowly I got ready confused. I didn’t know where to start with. I didn’t feel very hungry either. My knees just hurt and I could barely walk. But anyway, slowly I just got ready and drove off at around 12 o’clock.
It often went down, but every now and then I pushed a little. Except for the beautiful villages, where you feel like you are in the Middle Ages, the route was rather boring. Lots of fields, but you got ahead somehow. My knees hurt less as the day went on, but I didn’t want to overdo it. I told myself that around 5 p.m. I would find a place to sleep. On the way I bought water, something to eat (although not a big appetite) and took small breaks. From time to time I waved at a VW Beetle driver (I have a VW T2 myself, boxers just have to stick together).
I met a pensioner who drove a few kilometers with me. He thought my trip was great. He said he has grandchildren and still got a bicycle and a tent and went to the Baltic Sea with them. It just wanted to live its life. His family could manage without him. Great attitude, just taking a break at that age, nice!

I can’t say how many kilometers I did that day, but I estimate it was about 50 (no GPS data available because I have to save electricity).
I found a horse ranch where I was allowed to pitch my tent. I set everything up, ate something warm and enjoyed the last 1-2 hours resting and reading. I usually went to sleep when the sun went down.

It was really cold and damp in the morning. I didn’t feel like getting up and was really freezing. I ate the last of the Kabanosy and students’ food (I wasn’t hungry), washed my hair in cold water, and slowly got ready. When others manage to keep going with a tent at -30 degrees, I still live in luxury. Luckily it was mostly downhill and slowly I got warmer.
The route mostly took me along the Main, where everything was nice and flat and paved. In between also through beautiful villages (I repeat myself, but it’s just the truth). I got more and more strength and motivation, despite knee pain. Unfortunately, I’m still not at 100% as far as motivation is concerned, unfortunately, that can take a while. The break from travel (vacation) was too long, sometimes I even have to force myself.

Around 4 p.m. (almost 7 hours drive) I said to myself, ok, don’t do that to your knees anymore. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a place to sleep and had to go to a campsite. But where are all the beautiful farms with their 10 dairy cows and the chickens on the house? I think I still live in a dream world. It doesn’t matter, I’ve saved enough in the last few days and was able to spend EUR 8.50 (with a shower). I made myself spaghetti with a sauce (1st attempt and worked straight away with the burner) and enjoyed the moment right on the Main with a beautiful view of a vineyard.

I closed the evening with a few guests at the table. I drank my first beer in a long time.