1-8-0-0-0

Posted on

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Google Maps. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information

This post is about a 27km walk from Bursfelde to Würgassen. I reach the 18000km point on The Longest Way, and I dance in the snow.

There was a monastery in Bursfelde, but it had no place for me to sleep. It was late when I arrived, and the night was dark and cold. Luckily I found a hotel.

When I got up in the morning, I noticed that they had one of my favorite books on display in the corridor: “Mein Leben” by Marcel Reich-Ranicki.

The only celebrity I had ever written a letter to.

the snow and the ice

When I stepped out onto the road I noticed two things: 1) there was a bit of ice in some places, and 2) I had reached the river Weser. This was the last river I was going to walk along on The Longest Way. The last one. I felt a bit… nostalgic.

At first I walked on the road for a while because there was less snow and ice on it, and because there was almost no traffic. Then the bike lane and the road got separated, and I chose the bike lane. It led along the river, and it reminded me of the different sections of the EuroVelo I had been on for such a long time.

the downhill

There was a steep downhill after this. It was so steep in fact that there was a sign before it ordering cyclists to dismount. There was ice and snow on it. The Caboose didn’t have any brakes. I went down step by step, slamming the rods under the handlebars into the road surface whenever we started to slip. It took us a while to get down.

the dance

And then, at about four in the afternoon, I stopped walking. I set the Caboose down and unfolded my camping chair. We were in the snow between the river and the road, but luckily there was a guardrail protecting us from traffic.

I set up the camera to film myself dancing. I had never anticipated that there would be 18 dances on The Longest Way (20 if you’re pedantic). And especially when I was doing the 17000km dance as the unicorn, I was sure it was going to be my last.

And yet here we were.

I screamed some words into the camera while the cars and the trucks were thundering by. Then I cut the rug.

pictures

the walk from Bursfelde to Würgassen:



  • Hilde

    18.000! – Herzlichen Glückwunsch, wer hätte das 1000 Kilometer zuvor gedacht 🙂
    MRRs “Mein Leben” ist auch eins meiner Lebensbücher. In seiner Schnörkellosigkeit erschütternd und bewegend … Danke übrigens auch für Deine vielen Hinweise auf die Spuren der Shoa. Sie sind und bleiben unser mahnendes Erbe.
    Ich wünsche Dir frohe Weihnachten in vertrauter Umgebung!
    Hilde

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *