I am way behind on my blog, for a variety of reasons, not least of which has been inability to have Wi-Fi at the appropriate times. I will try and catch up over the next 48 hours
These days have been a mixture of walking, resting, recovery and being busy! Not a lot of walking on the path for a number of reasons, which I will elaborate on shortly. I decided to save my feet and half walk, half train it to Donauwörth. My feet were feeling much better, but I felt a day of minimal walking, a rest day in the town of Donauwörth topped off with a visit to the Physio, if it could be arranged, would set me up well for the days to come.
Harburg, on the way to Donauwörth, is well known for it’s castle which definitely dominates the town, sitting on top of the hill, built on stone, and looking down on the townsfolk far below. It is a castle built in the 11th & 12th Centuries and in 1731 passed to the family who still own it today. I didn’t actually go into the castle, but wasted a lot of time taking photos. On the way out of town, where I wanted to have a rest, there were more Achtung! notices for the Eichenprozessionsspinner (see reference in previous post), and so though I was quite keen to have a rest on the seat provided, I didn’t hang around. At that stage, I had no idea what they were – it was only the next day that I found out from Ulrike.
In Donauwörth I met Ulrike who is responsible for the many paths that pass through this delightful town, some meeting and merging, others heading off in different directions. For those who haven’t twigged, Donau is the German name for what we call the Danube in English. I might add that it’s fame as the Blue Danube didn’t carry to here – it was quite brown, but a fast flowing wide river, and this is in it’s early stages. I had been following one of it’s tributaries – the Wörnitz, which joins the Donau in Donauwörth.
Not only did I meet Ulrike, who regaled me with stories of the town, past and present, but also Brigitte who collected me in the afternoon and took me to her home in Kaisheim, showing me the amazing Kloster church on the way. In the evening I attended the Jakobsweg Pilgrim meeting that is held every few months. It was lovely to meet other pilgrims and hear some of their stories, along with hearing how Brigitte runs the amigos association that she is the President of. Thank you Ulrike and Brigitte for a delightful stay.
It is really sad to learn the both Donauwörth and Augsburg, the next stop, suffered severe damage in WW 2. In Donauwörth much of the town was destroyed in April of 2018 – a month before the war ended!. Thus many of the buildings that look very old have been rebuilt, in the same style. Both these towns have very strong links to Roman times. The main road in Donauwörth crosses the Danube and heads to Rome, and in Rome there’s a statue of Augustus (Augsburg translates to Augusta, the city being named after Cesar Augustus). He is pointing south – to Rome the most important place then.
In Donauwörth I stayed in a Pension on the Island, the oldest part of the town. I am thinking that what makes it an Island is that the River Wörnitz splits, with the land between being the Island. On one side of the Island is the more modern part of the town, including the railway station and so on and on the other side is the restored / rebuilt and important Reichsstrasse. There is a Glockenspiel (Carillon) on the Rathaus, at the bend in the Reichsstrasse, and I managed to catch it playing. I read that the first song it plays is a song for peace, one I know as “Thank you for Giving me the Morning”, the next one sounded a bit like Mozart, but couldn’t be sure, and the third piece was a song from a composer born in the town – Werner Egk. The song was from one of his operas, but as I didn’t know this composer I had no hope of being able to name the song.
When In Augsburg I also caught the Glockenspiel in their town tower – usually these only play two or three times a day. The first two songs were traditional folk songs at a guess, and the last one was a well known Mozart aria, the name of which escapes me. Even though the tower is in one of the many churches, it is actually a tower that belongs to the Town Hall next door.
There was a consensus of opinion in Donauwörth that I should save my feet and catch the train to Augsburg and so I took people’s advise and did just that. Ulrike’s colleague had managed to book a bed for me in the pilgrim herbergue. This refuge is in the church tower (right next to where the bell rings) and was a delightful surprise. I had a room to myself though I was prepared for someone else to share the room with me. Though It was not due to be opened till 5.00 but the lady responsible for admitting me came early so that I could leave my bag and be free to look around the town – except I didn’t, on that day! As I was crossing the road to enter the church below where I was staying I was thinking to myself that my feet felt almost normal. But that wasn’t to be for long – I managed to do a 4 point landing on entering the church – both wrists and both knees. There was a strange semi circular step at the entrance and I can only assume that I misjudged it due to the shape. I actually entered the church the next morning, and despite reminding myself to be careful, I nearly repeated the performance, but this time in front of the entire congregation! Anyway, to get back to my feet – it turned out that I must have wrenched them in the fall. I knew I would not be able to walk the next day, and arranged with the herbergue lady to stay another night. She was very concerned, escorted me to the hospital where I eventually saw a very helpful Dr who bandaged my foot (the worst one), and prescribed a new (very expensive) bandage!
On the Sunday, after attending the Church service, one of the congregation volunteered her husband to act as my guide to the city. There is always a blessing in things. If I hadn’t decided to give my feet a rest in Donauwörth I would not have been there to meet Brigitte and attend the pilgrim meeting, and in Augsburg, again because of my feet and staying an extra day, I would not have had my own personal guide for the city. Friedrich turned out to be the pastor of the church, and had a great knowledge of the city, and treated me to a delightful and informative couple of hours. As we walked around the city my feet felt much better and so I knew I would be OK to walk the next day. Like I said there is always a blessing in everything! Thank you for being so obliging Friedrich
Later that day I took myself off to tour the Fuggerei. This is the oldest and largest social housing complex in the world. It is still run by the family who set it up around 500 years ago, and people pay the equivalent of a guilder (roughly 88 euro cents) per year in rent. There are very strict criteria for being accepted into the village, things like it is only open to Catholics, proof is needed of the financial status, and so on. It was almost completely destroyed in February 1945, but the family who run the trust signed an agreement at the end of the war to rebuild the Fuggerei and it has increased in size since then, and apartments are being updated steadily.
I am now back on the road, but won’t have time to write that up here – bed calls and so you will have to wait for the next episodes!
These days have been a mixture of walking, resting, recovery and being busy! Not a lot of walking on the path for a number of reasons, which I will elaborate on shortly. I decided to save my feet and half walk, half train it to Donauwörth. My feet were feeling much better, but I felt a day of minimal walking, a rest day in the town of Donauwörth topped off with a visit to the Physio, if it could be arranged, would set me up well for the days to come.
Harburg, on the way to Donauwörth, is well known for it’s castle which definitely dominates the town, sitting on top of the hill, built on stone, and looking down on the townsfolk far below. It is a castle built in the 11th & 12th Centuries and in 1731 passed to the family who still own it today. I didn’t actually go into the castle, but wasted a lot of time taking photos. On the way out of town, where I wanted to have a rest, there were more Achtung! notices for the Eichenprozessionsspinner (see reference in previous post), and so though I was quite keen to have a rest on the seat provided, I didn’t hang around. At that stage, I had no idea what they were – it was only the next day that I found out from Ulrike.
Harburg and its castle.
Ulrike standing in Reichsstrasse (left), and with me outside the Tourist Office where she works.
My Pension on the Island
The Kloster Church in Kaisheim
With Brigitte having tapas on the terrace, and with the display that she has in the Gathaus (below)
Reichsstrasse, Donauwörth, almost completely destroyed in WW2
One side of the island - heading towards Reichsstrasse (left) and on the other side (right)
Every Friday morning at 8.00 am there is a special blessing service held in this Church, Liebfrauenmünster, in Donauwörth. The Church has a piece of the Cross in it, and this is what is used in the blessing service.
In Donauwörth I stayed in a Pension on the Island, the oldest part of the town. I am thinking that what makes it an Island is that the River Wörnitz splits, with the land between being the Island. On one side of the Island is the more modern part of the town, including the railway station and so on and on the other side is the restored / rebuilt and important Reichsstrasse. There is a Glockenspiel (Carillon) on the Rathaus, at the bend in the Reichsstrasse, and I managed to catch it playing. I read that the first song it plays is a song for peace, one I know as “Thank you for Giving me the Morning”, the next one sounded a bit like Mozart, but couldn’t be sure, and the third piece was a song from a composer born in the town – Werner Egk. The song was from one of his operas, but as I didn’t know this composer I had no hope of being able to name the song.
The Glockenspiel in Donauwörth, and the tower that houses the Glockenspiel in Augsburg.
When In Augsburg I also caught the Glockenspiel in their town tower – usually these only play two or three times a day. The first two songs were traditional folk songs at a guess, and the last one was a well known Mozart aria, the name of which escapes me. Even though the tower is in one of the many churches, it is actually a tower that belongs to the Town Hall next door.
The Augsburg Rathauc and in the square in front of it - a sea of blue becuase a football match was on later that day.
The Rathaus has a very important room in it called the Golden Salle - just some of the things to see there
Augustas pointing to Rome(left), and Friedrich my guide, and the Pastor of the Church which houses the Herbergue. The brown building in the distance is the home of the Fuggers, the family that started the Fuggerei.
The room I had in the Pilgrim herbergue, the church where it is (right), and inside the Church (where I managed to fall over!)
On the Sunday, after attending the Church service, one of the congregation volunteered her husband to act as my guide to the city. There is always a blessing in things. If I hadn’t decided to give my feet a rest in Donauwörth I would not have been there to meet Brigitte and attend the pilgrim meeting, and in Augsburg, again because of my feet and staying an extra day, I would not have had my own personal guide for the city. Friedrich turned out to be the pastor of the church, and had a great knowledge of the city, and treated me to a delightful and informative couple of hours. As we walked around the city my feet felt much better and so I knew I would be OK to walk the next day. Like I said there is always a blessing in everything! Thank you for being so obliging Friedrich
Moritzkirche - one of the most beautiful churches I have been in. Redesigned by an English architect recently is is very white, very spacious, and very simple.
Inside the Fuggerei
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