Friedrichroda – Days 21, 22, and 23, with 2 days of enforced rest, on the way.

Yes that is right – I have spent three days in the one place!  The walk from Gotha was lovely, and because I knew that the tourist office would not be open, it being Sunday I had, fortunately, booked a room at a very good price at one of the hotels in town.  This made sure that I had a bed for the night, if the unexpected occurred and I was very late into town.

My navigation was good, easily leaving the town of Gotha, ambling along quiet streets to the plains beyond.  There were a lot of peaceful spots to stop and have a breather and admire the countryside, and as I only had 15 kilometres to go I was in no hurry.  There was one spot which was along a fairly busy road and so for safety I walked in the ditch.  I was not the first to have done this, as there was a sort of path along the base of the ditch, but it was, nonetheless, a bit bumpy.  After the village of Leintal the path headed across the last of the plain, passing between a series of small dams or lakes, with a lot of bird life on them,  before heading up a hill through the start of the Thuringian Forest.

 These birds were fascinating.  I wasted quite q bit of time watching them as I walked through the village of Leintal.

 Along the path after Leintal.

I ambled through the forest enjoying the dapple light and the bird song.  The trees were still only just starting to leaf up.  With only about 4 kilometres to go I noticed that my foot was starting to feel sore.  I increased the weight on my arms (my poles), to take pressure off my feet and slowed my pace down, but by the time I arrived at the hotel I was in considerable discomfort.  Walking into town I noticed a big “eyesore” building on top of the hill – my hotel!  A visual eyesore it might be, compared to the rest of this pretty village, but it is just the right place to have a breakdown!

The start of the Thuringian Forest

The reception desk (and the restaurant) have kept me supplied with bags of ice for my foot, which, when I looked at it, was a different size altogether from when I had started the day!  I got a bargain price for the hotel, and decided that I would negotiate for a second night (and subsequently a third!) at the same price.  I have applied the standard first aid for such things – RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and it has worked a treat.  I went to the hospital yesterday to be sure, but the doctor was at pains to reassure me (both before and after x rays) that it wasn’t broken!  As I had walked into the building without too much hassle I was pretty confident that it wasn’t either!!  The doctor prescribed the same treatment that I had done and tomorrow I will walk to the station to test my foot out.

The Friedrichroda Hospital, where I whiled away a few hours.

The hotel - huge, and from the valley floor, not a pretty sight.  Those with panoramic views of the village would have been disspaointed as scaffolding covers the entire front of the building while it is being painted - but not at the rear, where my room was on the sixth floor.

As I said, this is a good place to recover.  I had good Wi-Fi, a large TV with English channels (mainly news which gets repeated – but at least it is in English!), a fantastic breakfast and a superb view from my room out over the Thuringian Forest.  Probably the best thing of all is that because it is on top of the hill with nothing nearby I wasn’t tempted to go out and explore – I was forced to rest – which is why after 3 days I am so much better.  I have spent a bit of time in the restaurant as it has a bird’s eye view of the village below – wonderful views indeed – and the staff don’t mind me sitting and gazing.   As it gets dark, the lights of the village look like fairy lights twinkling far below. I have never stayed in such a place as this – it is huge, the breakfast room alone caters for 3 – 400 and converts into a theatre at night.   I would assume that this is more for the winter time when people come here for winter sports.  I am sitting in the restaurant on the 12th floor, and have just counted the cars in the car park – 52 (plus there about 4 buses parked at the back) – and I would think it is only about a third full. 

The view from the restaurant window.  It is through the glass as being so high the windows arent allowed to be opened!

 My room with its view through the window.

 The view - night one

 Day 2.

Night three!

Tomorrow I am going back to Gotha, firstly to purchase the ankle brace that the Doctor has prescribed, and then to catch the train onto Bad Neustadt.  I am disappointed that I wont be walking through more of the Thuringian Forest, but I don’t want to push my luck and the next stage has no place to opt out – it is all the way or nothing.