change is indubitable
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This post is about a 20km walk from Freiningau to Ybbs an der Donau. I run into someone who has read my books, then I run into the rain.
I woke up at 4:30 in the morning because it was light. The sun was coming out, and I was stretched out next to a utility building on the right bank of the Danube. I turned around and tried to go back to sleep.
dynamics
It was nine when I finally got going. The sunshine was warm, and I felt optimistic. One time I stopped at a roadside food stand, filled up my water bottles, and sat down for some fries with ketchup.
Then I ran into a young man who seemed excited to see me. His name was Fabian, and he was a student in the area. He had spent some time in China, learned Chinese, and read my books both in German and Chinese. We sat and chatted for a while, and his enthusiasm for his experiences in China reminded me of my own.
“Life over there feels so much more dynamic,” he said, “so many things are always changing.”
If only all change meant progress.
rain
I got soaked after this. My weather app kept telling me that there was no rain, even as it was coming down all around me. First, it was just a few drops, and I didn’t think much of it. Then it intensified, and I saw cyclists huddling under trees for cover. I, too, found a tree, but it was too late at this point. I was already soaked.
Oh well, at least there will be a rainbow, I thought when the rain abrubtly stopped and the sun came back out again.
There was no rainbow. I walked the rest of the way to Ybbs an der Donau with a wet butt.
pictures
the walk from Freiningau to Ybbs an der Donau:
bivouac on the Danube
dawn
drying my stuff
the way to Ybbs
some stuff about the Nibelungen
Fabian
lots of cyclists today
view across the Danube
old ferry station
Roman ruins near Ybbs
this was all part of the Limes
village church
shelter under a tree
I sit under a rain cloud.
after the rain
church across the river
the Danube near Ybbs
car wreck
the way through the trees near Ybbs
Caboose in the evening light
Ybbs an der Donau
foot bath