… some even on foot. My journey from Stade near Hamburg to Rome begins on Pentecost Sunday. On foot. 2,200 kilometers in 111 days. In the footsteps of Abbot Albert, who walked this path as early as 1236 to reach the center of Christianity. 105 hiking days, 6 rest days, 105 different overnight stays. The route is the goal.

Unfortunately, my favorite captain can only accompany me for the first three stages and then the stages from Schongau to Forlí near Ravenna, at least 5 weeks. His ship is waiting… But I’m not alone: two fellow hikers we met on the Moselsteig are taking the same route. We haven’t always planned our route in parallel and only spend the night in the same accommodation every now and then, but we will probably meet somewhere along the route almost every day – and set off together from Stade and – God willing – arrive in Rome together.

Someone asked me if I was starting this project to find myself. My answer: No, I found myself many years ago. But of course such a path is also somehow spiritual: getting up, having breakfast, walking, arriving, eating, sleeping – and the same ritual again and again the next days. There is something. And I enjoy being in nature, noticing the little wonders along the way and moving through various regions on foot, almost at a snail’s pace. Walking is the most natural, human form of transportation. Everything else, even moving around by bike, is actually too fast for our senses.

I am looking forward to being “on the road” and crossing Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. I will experience Austria and South Tyrol in this way and in Italy I will hike through Veneto, the Emilia-Romana, Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio until I arrive in Rome after about 2,200 kilometers.

A project that is grounding.

I reserved all accommodations in advance. I will stay overnight in pilgrim hostels, a trailer, in youth hostels, with private individuals who kindly offer pilgrims accommodation for one night. I will spend a night in the bell tower of St. Jacob’s Church in Augsburg, as well as in a small railway, various monasteries, guesthouses, B & B and Italian agriturismi. I am excited.

I will regularly upload photos and stories from my journey on Instagram and Facebook. Just take a look! For more information about the German part of the path please click here – the Austrian and Italian way is described here.

“I’m off.”