Hello!

[Nikolaus]

I cycled the Camino Francés from Leon together with friends from school in 1989.
Some years ago, I rediscovered pilgrimage as a form of spirituality and expression of my faith after having met Christian Rutishauser, a Swiss Jesuit who walked from Switzerland to Jerusalem together with some friends as a project for Christian-Jewish-Muslim reconciliation.

Thus, I started my walk from my home near Dortmund to Trondheim, Norway (Nidaros Cathedral) spontaneously one weekend in 2019 and do this walk in sections of several days to weeks. I hope to reach Bremen this autumn.

I strongly look forward to 2021 when the next Aachen Pilgrimage will take place; I will interrupt my Trondheim project to walk from my home to Aachen in June, to arrive in time for the opening ceremonies.

 

[NualaOC]

Hi Nikolaus and welcome to the forum!

 

[Pinker to]

Hi Nikolaus.
Know little about those paths. What are facilities on both routes like? I mean accomodation, hostels… also, and at the risk of imposing on your kindness , I’d like to know how busy they are in terms of people walking them.
Your projects sound great, and wish you the best.

 

[Kanga]

Welcome @Nikolaus. We've had a few members who have walked the route to Trondheim - I think @dougfitz is one.

 

[Nikolaus]

Hi Pinker to!

Thank you very much for your good wishes!

Trondheim/Nidaros in Norway had been one of the four important European pilgrim destinations (Rome in the South, Jerusalem in the East, Santiago in the West, Nidaros in the North) until the middle ages - then, under reformation pilgrimage was forbidden in Scandinavia. The routes have been revived and are becoming increasingly popular in Northern Europe.

When you start in Oslo and take the main route (Gudbrandsdalsleden), accomodation will not be a problem at all, often on farms or at local parish houses etc. As far as I know, even the main route is not busy at all; I've heard that they have about 10-20 daily arrivals in Trondheim, but I'm not sure. The days around Olsok (St Olav's Day on Jul 29th) may be busier.

I see that there is already a thread about the St Olav Ways here in the Forum.

The Aachen Pilgrimage takes place every seven years since the middle ages; the next one ist 2021. Aachen itself is usually crowded during these 10 days (in 2014, they had about 120.000 pilgrims, but the pandemic might change that for 2021). But since many people walk only the last miles by foot, the pilgrim paths there will not be busy at all. People usually use the Caminos via Cologne or Düsseldorf, or they use them in the opposite direction when they come from the west or south.

 

[Nikolaus]

Welcome @Nikolaus. We've had a few members who have walked the route to Trondheim - I think @dougfitz is one.

Thank you very much for the hint, Kanga! Since I am new here, I do not yet oversee the wealth of information here... This forum seems to be a great place...

 

[SabsP]

The Aachen Pilgrimage takes place every seven years since the middle ages; the next one ist 2021. Aachen itself is usually crowded during these 10 days (in 2014, they had about 120.000 pilgrims, but the pandemic might change that for 2021). But since many people walk only the last miles by foot, the pilgrim paths there will not be busy at all. People usually use the Caminos via Cologne or Düsseldorf, or they use them in the opposite direction when they come from the west or south.

Thank you for this link @Nikolaus . This pilgrimage will be on my list. I already have been thinking of walking from here ( province Limburg in Belgium ) in three days to Aachen ( via Maastricht ). Excellent alternative for walking a Spanish Camino.

 

[Nikolaus]

I have added a separate thread about the Aachen Pilgrimage 2021. See you in Aachen next year!

 

[Elle Bieling]

Welcome, Nikolaus. Much success to you and your journeys!