07:45. I hear my alarm. I’m so deep in my dreams that this is where I hear it. I snooze. 07:53. Second alarm. Okay, well, I can’t snooze again. But this bed is so warm and cozy… what do people do who really camp in a tent for days? I admire them so much more now in perspective.

Okay, up now. New day, new impressions, new adventures awaiting me! I am amused over the fact that I am so tired, yet so excited to go on today’s trip.

I had a really good sleep at least. It was a good decision to close down the blackouts. Body’s quite stiff though, and the knee doesn’t wanna play along. Maybe some yoga stretches will help. I do that for a few minutes, and manage to prepare a hot tap water Tchibo coffee. It actually works! It’s good, does the purpose and feels good to smell while doing yoga. And the yoga actually helps immensely. I feel so much better now. At least regarding the stiffness.

My nose is unhappy though. I take my prescribed Cortisone spray (ugh!) and accept the price of not tasting 60% of the food I’m eating during breakfast. I hoped the daily fresh air would help me, but it doesn’t seem to do much. I’m a bit sad about that. Since my knee is also not in its best mood and still hurts, I decide to take my first painkiller on this trip. So far, I’ve been very patient and careful with my body, and I think one painkiller won’t be such a bad idea.

Breakfast is sweet and simple. Black coffee, bread, butter, cheese and jam. The room is just big enough to fit about 10-15 people. It’s got a very reddish palette and the style gives a funny impression. I enjoy it very much, as it’s calm and I’m the last one to come, and the last one to leave. A woman with Asian features sweetly tells me that I can also sit outside if I wish, and on any other day I probably would’ve went for that. But it’s interesting how much you appreciate being inside, when you have to be outdoors all day long.

Back to my room I end up packing in a hurry, realizing checkout is at 11:00 and it’s actually almost 11:00. Where did all the time go? In the end I rush unnecessarily, as nobody is downstairs anyway, and I can just leave the keys in the mailbox.

Off we go. I walk very slowly, enjoying the grey weather that is doing me well. I see the tiny city in a new light, both literally and mentally. As I had arrived quite dead the day before, I couldn’t take in so much, but now I can.

I walk down the Hanseatenweg hiking path, a really well paved one, half bike path, half hiking path. It is windy, it is beautiful. It is entirely empty. Cars pass by, but the path is empty. I only see two cyclists who are taking a break at some resting spot.

Somehow I am in love with the surrounding, in love with the way the tree leaves and the grass move in the wind. I immerse myself in the surrounding entirely. The only really big downside, repeating over the whole trip, is the sound of passing cars, when you are walking parallel to the street. It’s a sound that feels incredibly violent and shocking next to the very fine calmness of the setting that is mostly natural.

I can only stand the car sounds for a few minutes. I put on one track to start the day, fitting to the dreamy, but dark vibe of the weather. A very beautiful instrumental post-rock kind of remix of Bint Al Khandaq by Lost Souls of Saturn. It makes me close my eyes and feel the wind and the surrounding become one with me. It’s only me and them and the music.

I walk and walk, feeling very meditative. I focus on every footstep, trying to be mindful in order not to hurt my knee. I try to walk in a certain rhythm so my energy doesn’t scatter. I realize with happiness that on this trip I have surely become more “sure-footed” – I feel more confident with every step I make.

I am led through a beautiful forest, with high trees, calm and all to myself. I don’t see a single person. At some point a car, and then a few minutes later a minivan need to pass me. Other than that it’s just me and the birds.

It’s funny – the trees make a certain sound sometimes, when the wind moves them. It sounds like a creaking chair or a door that needs to be oiled. Like a sound you’d hear in a thriller movie. They give you the feeling that a branch might suddenly break or so, but it never does. After a couple of days, I got used to the sound entirely and just note it every time I hear it.

Today my mind is calmer than the last days. I am more at peace and more immersed in my surrounding than the last days. Maybe because I’m tired? I don’t know, but it’s a feeling that relieves me.

I feel like I could use some specific music I had downloaded, despite loving the calmness. It’s the soundtrack of Into the Wild by Eddie Vedder, once again speaking to my deepest soul.
It embraces my heart and my wandering soul with the lyrics of the music, and the music itself.

Today, I can also really feel into the movie that the music is made for. I remember Christopher McCandless and his dream to reach Alaska. I remember his desire for a self-chosen exploratory isolation from society, and I remember the feeling it awoke in my soul back then. That movie felt like an escape for me, like a comfort that such a reality is possible, despite its tragic ending. I remember the hope it gave me. And so I say: Christopher McCandless / Alexander Supertramp, I carry you in my heart as I walk the steps of this journey. I carry you, as I walk through this forest. I am eternally grateful to you for what you could awaken within me, just through your journey.

“Society, you’re a crazy breed… I hope you’re not lonely… without me…”

Okay, enough. My journey is not even slightly comparable to his, but the fire that’s inside me comes from a very similar source.

Alt Bukow is my first break point. I have a good feeling about it. It’s a small village, and I find a nice little green area under a tree to sit on. I don’t see anyone – only cars pass by every couple of minutes, but it’s clear they’re only passing through.

The city itself is entirely empty. It’s an interesting observation when entering cities or villages in the countryside of Germany. They often have a certain abandonment vibe to them, although the gardens are always taken such good care of and there’s a car outside of each house. You just… barely see any people.

After my break, I am led to walk parallel to many fields. I pass by wheat fields, which are beautiful. I have to stop a lot to make photos or videos. Sometimes the motion of certain elements needs to be caught, too, so I capture it on video.

The only thing that becomes a little tough about walking next to the fields is the smell of cow poop, used as fertilizer. In a way it’s not a bad smell but… after a while it’s somehow harder to bear.

My second longer break comes in a city called Friedrichsdorf. I sit on a bench in front of a pond, rest my tired legs and close my eyes.

I realize that I’m quite sleepy, despite sleeping long and well that night. I enjoy the surrounding so much, so I do my grounding exercise, mentally noting things I hear.

The wind… the rustling tree leaves… a cock crowing in the distance, cows mooing, cars in the distance… a barking dog…

The sun warms me, while the wind chills me in a perfect combination. It feels like a sunny Winter day in Egypt. I’m really thankful for the weather.

I mentally note some visuals, like a white mushroom, bubbles in the pond, shadows on a house wall, and crying trees, before I have a couple of snacks – like a stolen packaged sunflower seed bread from the breakfast buffet :D – and my espresso chocolate shot. And I make a mess. The liquid inside it flows down my hands and gets sticky. Faaaail.

It’s time to keep walking. The path goes mainly alongside beautiful fields…

Eventually I am led to another hikers’ path parallel to the street, and after a while, I see the water in the distance. My heart warms up. It reminds me of the times I used to travel with my parents by car to the sea, and we’d all happily spot the sea on the horizon, pointing it out and knowing that we are almost there.

I am approaching the island. Finally. But somehow these last 4 km take ages to pass. I am overwhelmed by the views around me, but I am tired and annoyed by the cars passing by. They are so loud and it’s impossible to tune them out. And at this point I am so tired I don’t even want to listen to any music anymore. So I just walk and take it, trying to focus on the mind blowing surrounding I am getting the chance to witness.

As soon as I reach the 1,5 km mark to my destination, I keep staring at my phone every few seconds, as if that will make time and distance pass faster. It doesn’t. But I am so tired! And then I realize that I hadn’t updated the destination to guide me to the guesthouse… again. So I do. And it adds another 1 km to it. So I still have to walk 2,5 km. Okay… no choice but to stick to it now.

Finally I reach the guesthouse in Niendorf, a tiny village on the island. I let myself in (the hostess left me the key in an envelope in the mailbox – I catch it by chance, right before I am about to ring the bell). I get in, and nobody’s there. Yay! Sincerely, yay, as all I want to do is just fall into my room and bed and talk to nobody.

It’s a very stylish house, put together with a lot of love. I love my room with a view right away.

I have a warm shower and a comfortable evening, writing down notes and letting the day pass revue. It’s so beautifully quiet, but an annoying guest talks on the phone till about 11 PM, and it sounds like she’s sitting with me in the same room.

Ugh. well, nonetheless I am eagerly waiting for tomorrow. I am excited to see more of the island and then finally to head to Wismar, in disbelief over the fact that I have actually almost made it.

And now… recharge, girl.

(I finally put that plastic cup to use and made hot tap water cocoa-flavored porridge for the first time in it – yay!)

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Trip stats:
21,9 km – 4 hrs 44 minutes (in motion) – 4,6 km (average speed) – 100 m (elevation)

If you’d like to see my full route on komoot, follow this link:
https://www.komoot.de/tour/264582032/zoom