It seems that sundays, the german day of the week with the least possibilities, because all supermarkets are closed along with a lot of other businesses, are actually the best day to make new friends.
I walked a few miles and had the two stale pain au chocs from yesterday for bfast. I continued. The mapa.me recommended route bypassed Laufach but i thought I’d give it a look, just in case there was an open eatery not mentioned by maps.me.
People seemed to be preparing for something and then i was approached by 80 yr old Ludwig. His accent was impenetrable but its all we had. He said how lucky i was to arrive today and how lucky he was to meet me. He mentioned apple wine, which immediately grabbed my attention. I followed him to a restaurant, just about to open. He told me to sit and order something and he’d be back in a bit.
I ordered an apple wine with lemonade and a plate of various pork cold cuts, all homemade, including liver sausage and brawn. The wine made me immediately woozy and so i ordered another. Ludwig returned, order a wine and a plate of quark cheese and onions. Both our meals were served with a very dense homemade bread. The owner told me it was his grandfather’s recipe. Very tasty.
Ludwig had a manner about that could seem like he was arguing aggressively but it was just finger wagging. Still, the other locals said hi to him but none chose to sit them him. We got speaking to a couple who sat next to us. He finger wagged them too, quark building up in the sides of his mouth. They bought half a loaf and let me feel how heavy it was. Several kilos. Half had cost ten quid.
Ludwig kept coming out with aphorisms i was failing to grasp. To experience is to be healthy. They all seemed to do with being healthy. Maybe he was waiting for someone to collect them into a little book. He told me how the local water was the best in the world. Yeah, alright.
The restaurant owner told me how the old tunnel, that used to be the steepest in the world has not been filled in for “fleder, er, Batman” he said, searching for the right word. “Bats!” Yes. The new tunnel is 3 km long.
The bar filled up around us. Everyone who rolled up had a happy smile on their faces. It seemed a happy town.
When it was time to keave the owner said ludwig insisted on paying for my meal. He had been so happy to meet me. The owner filled up my water bottle and his wife, whose accent wasnt local, gave me two big apples as a going away present.
After we left we walked past Ludwig’s big house, which he pointed out to me.
I continued walking, mostly through woods and around 5pm arrived at tonight’s campsite, except that no one was there and there.were no toilets or running water. Still, it’d do.
Maps.me said there was no supermarket here but a pub might be open. I found it and had a pint. I got speaking to mattheus, late 50s, here to repeat a 5 wk bike tour he first did in 1982. He was the boss of a firm and there with dorothy, his lover or girlfriend. They’d smooched too much before we talked for them to be married. As we spoke about walking and cycling she shot daggers at me, wanting to ensnare her man and get half of his huge wealth. Well not tonight, bebby!
Distance today (km) 18, total 1607