Day 127: Back To School

Celle to Leine River

Distance: 50km

With no predetermined plance to camp for the night, I'm not in rush to hit the trail.

When I eventually do, it's a 3 or so kilometers walk out of town. I cross the railway tracks, where I was on my way up north two weeks ago. Up there on the bridge, marks probably the highest point of today's walk as well. Yes, the terrain is flat as a pancake in this part of Germany.

Walking goes as smoothly as it has never done since Flensburg. The beautiful spring weather certainly helps. So does the super marking of the trail, which improved drastically since the Hannoveraner Wander - und Gebirgsverein (Hiking Club) too over from ther colleagues from Hamburg. 

Scenery wise it's nothing too spectacular. Plenty of forest, plenty of farmland with a few small towns in between. Mostly the walk is on forrest roads with the odd single trail. Where I pick up plenty of ticks and also get lost at one point. I bash my way through the forest. On the way back to the track, I pick my first blueberries of the season. The hours are passing and so do the kilometers. Progress is much better than expected and at around 18:00 I check the map for possible places to pitch my tent. Before doing so, I pass through the town of Otternhagen. As I am running low on water and don't feel like dry camping tonight without warm food, I ask a friendly looking woman for some water. She quickly hands me a whole bottle and also offers to prepare some sandwiches for me. Hungry as I am, I happily agree. Thank you very much :) After a nice talk with her and her hubby and with three lunch bags in my pack, I tackle the last 5 kilometers of today. They too are done without much effort. By 20:00 I reach the campspot that I've seen on the map. It's a bit sandy but otherwise looks decent with a nice view over the Leine River. I haven't pitched my tent yet but am eating sandwiches and the other sweeties, which I find in my "lunch bag": Smarties and Haribo.  Stuff I haven't eaten since I was a school kid. They bring back good memories. They make me feel like I'm back at school on a school trip, especially since I am eating and writing these lines on bench, way too big for me.