Camino waymarker in Breisach, Germany

[dfox]

In a recent trip along the Rhine River in Germany, I was pleasant surprised to see 1) a Camino waymarker in Breisach, Germany, as attached and 2) Camino credentials available for sale in the gift shop adjacent to the Cathedral in Speyer, Germany.

 

[Jodean]

I think most of the churches along the Rhein will have stamps as they are part of one of the Camino routes that go through Germany. Other cities may have them too. Frankfurt has at least 2 churches that are on the route as it comes from Leipzig to Fulda, to Frankfurt, to Mainz, etc. I have an extra credencial to collect these.

 

[trecile]

Here's one I saw in Miltenberg Germany while on a river cruise.

 

[good_old_shoes]

The Camino is very popular in Germany and there are many, many marked ways towards Santiago. It's almost impossible not to accidentally stumble over a waymarker. It always makes me happy to find one!

Sometimes I think the whole of Germany must be one giant Camino network .

There are even some pilgrim offices, one I know of is in a small town where you certainly wouldn't expect it, thousands of kms away from Santiago, no big cathedral ect. anywhere near, and it even has an attached donativo albergue and a small Camino related shop with guide books ect. A bit crazy when you think about it.

We really do love the Jakobsweg here!

 

[kathyandthomas]

This is a marker on a walking trail near my daughter's home in Fahrenzhausen, a small town about 20 miles north of Munich. Though I had walked that trail often, I never noticed this until my wife and I had walked the CF in 2017.

 

[hieudovan]

That is amazing. New opportunities that I had not thought of before. If I were to walk 200-400 km in Germany, which section(s) would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[lovingkindness]

In a recent trip along the Rhine River in Germany, I was pleasant surprised to see 1) a Camino waymarker in Breisach, Germany, as attached and 2) Camino credentials available for sale in the gift shop adjacent to the Cathedral in Speyer, Germany.

Guten Tag @dfox. I walked through Breisach on my way to Taizé one year. It took me three days to walk from the cathedral in Freiburg im Breisgau to Neue Breisach. Along the way I stayed with a family who had a concrete camino stele outside their house and 25 compostellas pinned to the kitchen wall. Their son was named "Jacobus"

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/resources/freiburg-im-breisgau-taize-aug-sept-2018.698/



...and did you cross over the bridge to Neuf Brisach and explore the octagonal fort by Vauban? It is superb. The Jakobsweg passes through there on it's way to Herrlisheim...


Cheers
Lovingkindness

 

[good_old_shoes]

That is amazing. New opportunities that I had not thought of before. If I were to walk 200-400 km in Germany, which section(s) would you recommend? Thanks.

The ones I have walked:

a) Berlin to Leipzig on the via Imperii.

Easy to get to and back again, Berlin has a major airport, and train connection between start and end point is very good. You also pass through Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Mostly flat. In summer very dry and a bit like the meseta! Some pilgrim hostels, cheap (for Germany) pensions also, campsites ect.. Accommodation is no problem but as on most lesser walked routes, better call a day before. A good map is available, information for accommodation can be found online. Not many pilgrims, though, and apart from Berlin, Wittenberg and Leipzig, only small villages and not many shops ect.

b) Cologne-Trier on the via Coloniensis.

This one has many nice hills, forests, very green, likely to have rain. There has been a devastating flood in the area a while ago, so I'm not sure what accommodation ect. still exists. When I walked in 2016 it had an amazing pilgrimage atmosphere considering how few pilgrims Walk that way. Not many shops/bars, you need to carry some supplies. There should be a german guide book. Cologne and Trier both have interesting cathedrals/ churches, and in Trier there's even an apostle's grave, so it is a good stopping point for a pilgrimage. You can get a credential in Cologne next to the cathedral. Major airport in Cologne/Bonn, good train connection to/from Trier.

c) Moselcamino (Koblenz to Trier)

Along the river Mosel, which is a touristic area with lots of vinyards, castles, lovely historic villages, boat cruises ect. The Camino usually goes up and down the hills and not through the valley, so a bit more difficult to walk, but nice views. Public transport is very good on this way so if you need to it is very easy to skip sections, take a boat for a day ect. If you want a mix between a hike/being a tourist/on a Camino, this is a good choice.

From Cologne there's also a Camino along the river Rhine, so walking Cologne-Koblenz-Trier is also possible (I did that last year).

If you walk one of the ways to Trier you could also add a few days and continue to France. The train and bus connections are good along the Mosel/Moselle, so even from the french side it is easy to return. Metz has a beautiful cathedral and would be a good ending point.

The via Regia is also highly recommended, but I've only walked a few days on it when I still had time after walking from Berlin (the two ways connect at some point). The via Regia probably has the best network of pilgrim accommodation in all of germany.

 

[Jodean]

Would really like to walk the Via Regia route and even have the guidebook for it. Just have to find the time.