Via Romea Germanica Day 8: Becklingen - Sülze

Roads are a record of those who have gone before.

- Rebecca Solnit 

The bus that took me 2 kilometres off the Via Romea Germanica to my lodgings in the evening was not available to take me back to the trail in the morning, so I set off on foot through the hamlet of Becklingen and along the road to the railway line,  where I rejoined the trail and followed a dirt road through Becklinger Moor.

I passed a cluster of beautiful old farm buildings in the usual red brick style, with more roof than house and an inscription in Gothic letters over the door.

Then the trail went out into the open fields, where a potato farmer and his two young assistants stopped their tractor to say hello! 

Other than potato fields, I saw dairy farms (though the cows seemed to be staying in the barn out of the cold, lucky them) and one sheep farm. I passed an organic herb farm with a self-service shop selling ginger and turmeric. In the town of Bergen, I stopped at the tourist information office to get a stamp and to use the loo. The young lady on duty was, this time, very courteous and helpful, realised right away that I was a foreigner and spoke to me in perfect English. 

I didn't need anything else from Bergen, and as there didn't seem to be much to see, I continued on my way. The road out of town was a narrow paved lane recently planted with fruit trees, all in blossom. Children had tied colourful bits of paper to these Friedenbaume or "trees for peace", on which they had written messages of hope for peace in the world. The coloured bits of paper fluttered in the wind on the blossom-laden branches.

I then followed a forest trail punctuated with educational signs about the local birds and wildlife. In the middle of the forest was a Waldklassenzimmer, a forest classroom, with open-air "desks" and benches made from logs, all rather damp and mossy, but I had my waterproof trousers on. And there was another covered "classroom" nearby where I could go for shelter if it began to rain. It didn't, so I took my time eating all the food I had bought in Wietzendorf yesterday and not eaten because I had dinner in the hotel restaurant: bulgar salad, cucumber, tomatoes, some Baby Bell cheeses I had been carrying around for a couple of days, an apple and some chocolate!

Waldklassenzimmer 

Once I was up and walking again, however, it did start to rain, mixed with hail! And I was out in the open fields. I passed through a small village, but it afforded no shelter, unless I went right up to a house and stood under its eaves. But the rain soon eased off and so I carried on. The rainshowers returned on and off for the rest of the way into Sülze, about an hour and a half. But I was well-waterproofed and arrived only slightly damp around the edges. 

I reached the Lutheran church of the village of Sülze, a day's walk north of Celle. The church was open and I took a look inside.

My accommodation for the evening was in the church community centre next door. As instructed, I let myself in and then called the sexton (or sacrestan, the man who takes care of church buildings). He came over right away and showed me the facilities. Next to the meeting room there is, as usual, a big kitchen with cupboards containing hundreds of cups, glasses and plates for community gatherings, with plenty of coffee and tea, kettles and coffeemakers. There are toilets (no shower). Best of all, this community centre has an upstairs sitting room, just like a home living room, with sofas, coffee tables, a TV, board games and a table. This is where I am hanging out - and sleeping - tonight!

Cream of asparagus cup-a-soup, smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks & yogurt, herbal tea

Becklingen - Sülze 24 km

Via Romea Germanica Day 7: Soltau - Becklingen

If you only walk on sunny days you’ll never reach your destination. 

– Paulo Coelho

Woke up to the sound of birds singing in the dawn outside the windows of the Lutheran church community centre in Soltau. I made myself a large cup of tea and wrote up the previous day's blog entry. Then I breakfasted and dressed in pretty much everything I have with me, the forecast being mixed rain and snow with a low of 2 degrees! Well, that was actually during the night, but it was cool and drizzling even in the morning. 

I wasn't sad to leave Soltau behind; other than Pastor Eisbein, its people didn't seem particularly pilgrim-friendly. The town boasts of a much-touted "Pilgerhaus", but when I filled in the contact form to reserve it last week, as instructed by the web site, I got no reply. I sent an email; again no reply. Not feeling up to making a phone call in German, I asked my host on the previous evening to call the appropriate number for me and and check up on the situation; he was told that the Pilgerhaus was all booked up. I had assumed it was for pilgrims only, but I guess it is also available to tourists, as I haven't seen or heard about any other pilgrims on the way, travelling on the same day as me!

When I arrived in Soltau yesterday afternoon I stopped by the tourist information office and asked for a stamp on my credential. They gave me one and then went back to working on their computers, without asking me whether I needed anything else or whether I had a place to stay, without asking where I was from or making any attempt at conversation, as the staff of a tourist information office in Italy or France would certainly do! On my way out I attempted to access the loo, but it cost one euro. I didn't have to go that badly! So I left to wander aimlessly about the town centre, buy groceries and then sit on a bench outside the closed church until the pastor came to let me into the community centre. Finally, a friendly face!!

Coming back to today: after leaving Soltau behind, I spent most of the morning in the forest, sometimes on a paved road and other times on dirt or gravel. 

Once again my route today coincides with the way to Santiago, and yellow shell waymarkers are frequent. I'm not sure what the H stands for!

I crossed the Autobahn on an overpass, and a passing truck driver flashed his lights in greeting and made a funny whistling sound with his horn. 😁 

A long stretch by the side of a highway (a small local one, not the Autobahn!) took me past a NATO firing range with scary warning signs.

But then, any warning sign can look scary, when it's in German! 😂

Selective logging operations seemed to be under way in the forest - not clear-cutting, but thinning out the trees. Perhaps the Canadian forestry industry could learn a thing or two from the Germans!

Coming into the town of Wietzendorf, I found an old farmstead that, like the one containing the tourist information office in Neuenkirchen, had been converted into a museum and a public place, Peetshof. The museum was closed - many small town museums in Germany don't open until May - but there was a covered pinic table outside, and I had a cheese and avocado sandwich... perfect!

The view from my picnic table

Of course the rain stopped as soon as I sat down in the sheltered picnic area in frnit of the barn! 😆 No doubt with the intention of catching up with me later!

Wietzendorf made a much better impression on me than Soltau. The church was open, had not only one pilgrim stamp but two, and was named after St. James himself! 

Jakobskirche, Wietzendorf 

St. James brought me luck: as I entered the church, I received confirmation of a Couchsurfing request for the weekend in Celle. 🥰

The children of the parish had made miniature Easter scenes illustrating the Passion of Christ, analogous to the nativity scenes people make in Italy.

The village's other attractions included a vending machine selling farm-fresh eggs, honey and vegetables, a house with a door decorated for Easter, and a statue of a honey-maker.

The supermarket in Wietzendorf, like many in Germany, has washrooms, an in-store café/pastry shop, wifi, and even a place to plug in your phone! I took advantage of all these facilities, as I was in no hurry to go back out into the rain! I sat drinking tea and eating a Kirsche-dänisch, listening to a group of pensioners speaking in the local dialect. Here we are in Lower Saxony, which is where the Saxon part of Anglo-Saxon comes from, so it should come as no surpise that the local dialect sounds a lot like English... except that none of it makes any sense! It was amusing to try and imagine what the men were saying  😆

The rain stopped and I headed out of town along a cycling route which corresponds to the pilgrimage routes to Rome and Santiago. In the distance I could hear the NATO artillery really going at it on the firing range! And disturbingly, the sound of gunfire and explosions seemed to come from the general direction of the hotel I was headed for!

Trusting that NATO wouldn't accidentally blow up my hotel, I continued on my way across the Wietzendorfer Moor. It didn't look like what I think of as a moor, as in the Yorkshire moors; I will leave it up to the geography experts out there to determine what exactly constitutes a moor, and how it differs from a heath (heide in German; yesterday I was walking in the Lüneburger Heide, the Lüneburg Heath).

Heath or moor, it was definitely and muddy. The little road I walked along was mostly clear of mud - until the turnoff to a farm, where passing tractors had brought the mud from the fields out onto the road. Along with a good deal of natural fertiliser, of the type produced by cattle, judging from the smell!

The road was soon clear of mud again, and well marked, up to Becklingen Bahnhof, where I turned off the Via Romea Germanica and hopped onto a bus which conveniently happened to be passing by at exactly the right time to take me two kilometres off my route to my hotel. 

Bus stop with cherry blossoms!

I only had to travel one stop on the bus, but during that interval of time, I wanted to ask the driver a question. I couldn't quite make myself understood but was assisted by the only other passenger on the bus - a man from Manchester! What are the chances? 😆

After getting off the bus I had another 600 metres to walk to my hotel, Zum Becklinger Holz. I highly recommend it as it is very comfortable (especially compared to the floor of a Lutheran church community centre), and very reasonably priced - and only one bus stop away from the Via Romea Germanica!

Einzelzimmer 

Soltau - Becklingen 25 km 

(not including the bus ride!)