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How much interest is there in the Via Regia/Ecumenical Pilgrims Way in Germany?

SYates

Camino Fossil AD 1999, now living in Santiago de C
Time of past OR future Camino
First: Camino Francés 1999
...
Last: Santiago - Muxia 2019

Now: http://egeria.house/
The heading says it all ;-) I walked this route the first time in 2015 and found it pretty close to perfect - good way marking, accommodation, lots of history/nature etc. It is part of the wider historic network of European pilgrimage routes to Santiago and is still, sadly?, undiscovered outside Germany. Albergues are, f.e., in haunted castles, alms houses that have been frozen in time since 1850, the odd floor in a parish hall, the room a kind neighbor offers to pilgrims ...

So here my plan and my question:

I plan to walk this way, again, in June this year. I will post 'live updates' here on the forum and update my rudimentary website http://viaregia.guide

The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?

SY
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Why not? I had a very good experience walking in Germany. Should I find the CF unbearable this Summer, I might just try and walk the Via Regia you mention, next year...:)

Bother, I 'd have to brush-up on my German, again! :rolleyes::D
 
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I would be very interested to hear from people that do NOT speak German how they got along on the Via Regia or on other German pilgrim routes! Buen Camino, SY
 
I would be very interested to hear from people that do NOT speak German how they got along on the Via Regia or on other German pilgrim routes! Buen Camino, SY

My German is sadly very basic, I can order things, book a room, read signs, ask for simple things etc
My main problem was booking by telephone as often the other person would start speaking very fast (well not really, but it seemed that way...) and I was lost. I resorted to starting every conversation - after greetings - with : I only speak a little German.... All was well after that :)
 
The heading says it all ;-) I walked this route the first time in 2015 and found it pretty close to perfect - good way marking, accommodation, lots of history/nature etc. It is part of the wider historic network of European pilgrimage routes to Santiago and is still, sadly?, undiscovered outside Germany. Albergues are, f.e., in haunted castles, alms houses that have been frozen in time since 1850, the odd floor in a parish hall, the room a kind neighbor offers to pilgrims ...

So here my plan and my question:

I plan to walk this way, again, in June this year. I will post 'live updates' here on the forum and update my rudimentary website http://viaregia.guide

The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?

SY
Yes - I believe this route is one of the great pilgrim routes of Germany and it would be good to have an English guide book
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Yes, speaking on a phone, for example to get somebody to open the albergue for you, I can imagine that this is a major issue. Note to self: Include minimum German-English pilgrim speak dictionary ... SY
 
I managed to ask for old newspapers to put in my -very - wet boots. Not sure they understood my explanations but they were provided...:)
(Note to prospective pilgrims: it rains a lot in Germany :p - or it did anyway the year I walked)!
On a plus note: the food is excellent!
 
Yes - I believe this route is one of the great pilgrim routes of Germany and it would be good to have an English guide book

It really is! The history on this route is simply mind boggling - just a few examples:

Kamenz - Birthplace of G.E.Lessing
Leipzig - one of the major points of the German revolution which led to the reunification of Germany
Sorbia-a region where a slavic language is actually the dominant language and culture - but in Germany
Wartburg - where Luther translated part of the Bible into German
Being an Ecumenical way - in the end, St.James was just a Christian
lots of art also around - one albergue I stayed in was actually in an glass artist gallery - beautiful

and so much more ...
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
It really is! The history on this route is simply mind boggling - just a few examples:

Kamenz - Birthplace of G.E.Lessing
Leipzig - one of the major points of the German revolution which led to the reunification of Germany
Sorbia-a region where a slavic language is actually the dominant language and culture - but in Germany
Wartburg - where Luther translated part of the Bible into German
Being an Ecumenical way - in the end, St.James was just a Christian
lots of art also around - one albergue I stayed in was actually in an glass artist gallery - beautiful

and so much more ...
I agree 100%

This route as you can tell by my avatar, is on my list of routes still to do
 
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Wanna come in June with me @jirit but warning! I am a slow walker! SY

I would love to join you but it would have to be next June - I am not sure if i can get away this summer
 
Wow, I'd join you if I weren't already doing the Peace Walk in June. I love Germany and what a way to get a lot of history
 
Great idea, I have been looking at Germany but my German sucks. Having said that, I was in Germany a couple of years ago with friends and loved it. Nether one of us spoke the language but we did not have any problems getting along. Love to do that trail.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
The heading says it all ;-) I walked this route the first time in 2015 and found it pretty close to perfect - good way marking, accommodation, lots of history/nature etc. It is part of the wider historic network of European pilgrimage routes to Santiago and is still, sadly?, undiscovered outside Germany. Albergues are, f.e., in haunted castles, alms houses that have been frozen in time since 1850, the odd floor in a parish hall, the room a kind neighbor offers to pilgrims ...

So here my plan and my question:

I plan to walk this way, again, in June this year. I will post 'live updates' here on the forum and update my rudimentary website http://viaregia.guide

The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?

SY
I would very much be interested in this, as I have never traveled in Germany. If you don't put it in English I would just try to paste it into a translator. What is the distance to Santiago if a person were to walk it? Are there maps?
Thank you very much!
Keith
 
I had a great experience walking the Münchner jakobsweg, a couple of years ago. Planning was not easy, because I had to "google-translate" some German-speaking guides, with imprecise results, sometimes.
I walked with a person that had a basic knowledge of German, so this was not a major problem. Everybody was kind, patient and helpful with us.
A brief explanation of usual non-graphic signposts would help, especially the omnipresent "verboten" thing. Yes, I know that it means "forbidden"...but some times what was exactly forbidden was not clear to me.
 
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SYates, you walk at a very comfortable pace! Just in case, roughly where will you be June 15th to 22nd? I have NO work meetings that week...
 
No idea yet, I haven't even set an exact departure date yet. SY
 
WARNING to any prospective Pilger! There is an addictive substance innocuously called Pflaumenkuchen-plum cake-that can seriously impact your ability to move not to mind complete your Jakobsweg. German ladies hand this out like a snuff at a wake and the less fit you are/look the more cake they give you…..I got an awful lot:(. The first slice is just the start of a slippery slope and within days you'll find yourself loitering, at approx 3pm , outside any respectable looking domestic establishment with a 'I need plumb cake' look on your face:oops:. Very often not only was I given cake and a cup of coffee but a little foil wrapped 'treat' for later in the day.

The German pilgrim routes (well the ones I've walked) are beautiful and the food and drink dangerously good.

My spoken German, though actually pretty awful, was spoken with determination, enthusiasm and an Irish accent which seemed to be an effective combination. I can make an ok hand at reading German and so didn't have too much of a problem with signage apart that is from the generally very 'discrete' nature of German route signs-well discrete compared to big yellow arrows daubed on any available surface! (I do love those arrows though)
 
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The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Yes, beware German house wives ;-) OK, I just spend a couple of happy hours re-structuring the FAQ page for easier navigation and adding more content to it. It would be really great if those of you interested in this way could have a look here http://viaregia.guide/faq/ and tell me what questions you still have and that are not covered at all. The idea is to link each of the FAQ to longer, more detailed article (yes, with photos!). So at the moment I am really only looking for points/topics etc that are not covered at all and not for 'please at a photo of a typical way marker' :cool:
The best for me would be if you leave your suggestions in the comment field at the bottom of the page http://viaregia.guide/faq/ as I can then simply work my way through them and don't have to jump back and fro from the forum BUT if for any reason you prefer to comment here in this forum thread, that is ok also.

Thanks for your input, SY
 
This has been on my list - I think because of some of your earlier posts about it.
I'm two days from Santiago and home next week. Happy to send comments then.
 
Happy to read them then! Buen Camino and Buen Camino de la vida, SY
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?
SY

I think this would be really interesting. I came across a short section of the Jakobsweg in souther Germany / northern Austria running south and west from Mittenwald, and it really started to pique my interest - only to find, when checking later, that there was very little information available at all about this route, let alone info in English.

Anyway, this has awakened a thought about exploring this and other possible routes right across Europe, so Yes! This would definitely be of interest.

Good luck with your walk and your guide (if you decide to go for it)!
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
Hi SY, I would be grateful if you could reccomend a 12-14 day section which kept me off asphalt as much as possible.


Isca
 
Hi SY, I would be grateful if you could reccomend a 12-14 day section which kept me off asphalt as much as possible.


Isca

Then I would suggest starting in Leipzig. Added bonuses: Easy to reach, the tourist office should have the German guide, map and credencial. Depending how fast you walk you could aim at Erfurt, Gotha or Eisenach as end point, all reasonably big towns/cities. Buen Camino, SY
 
The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?
Hi SY, just back from a trip to Iona which is my pilgrimage for this year, so I apologize for my tardy response.

Yes, the Via Regia is on my list, after I finish the Genf-Le Puy section in 2017. My German is quite limited, but seems to be enough to get me rooms in Gasthause and meals at restaurants. Like @domigee, this is a good news/bad news thing: my German is good enough that people now answer in German, at a rapid-fire rate. I miss about 80% of what is said - but this perpetual state of fog adds to my pilgrim experience by forcing humility and vulnerability.

Some things I would find helpful to address in your detailed blog/guide:
- Quality of the waymarking. Are there sections that are poorly marked? Are there places where it is easy to be confused or misdirected?
- Variants. Are there recommended alternative routes in some sections? How are these marked?
- Lodgings. Two or three in every town, at various price points and directly on or very near the marked route, would be lovely. Willing to undertake rooms in private homes if the host is willing to undertake English-speakers with minimal German. (I'm never sure of this when the list of home-stays is targeted at local-language speakers.)
- Food/supplies. Near the route, with closing days. Any market days?
- Local history. What is the story behind this point of interest? Most Americans know very little German history; the Lutherans get some Reformation history in confirmation class, and the WWII buffs know a little bit, but mostly the American campaign in France. Is this an area affected by the Swedish campaign? Thirty Years War? Soviet occupation? What's the relationship with Poland currently?
- Regional notes. Local dishes and other specialties. What's unique about this area - what do the other Germans think about it and why? Festival dates and their significance (I saw Maibaum all over Bavaria when I walked in June.) Local culture (I noticed the difference between Bavaria and Baden).

Thank you for undertaking this project!
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
The heading says it all ;-) I walked this route the first time in 2015 and found it pretty close to perfect - good way marking, accommodation, lots of history/nature etc. It is part of the wider historic network of European pilgrimage routes to Santiago and is still, sadly?, undiscovered outside Germany. Albergues are, f.e., in haunted castles, alms houses that have been frozen in time since 1850, the odd floor in a parish hall, the room a kind neighbor offers to pilgrims ...

So here my plan and my question:

I plan to walk this way, again, in June this year. I will post 'live updates' here on the forum and update my rudimentary website http://viaregia.guide

The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?

SY
I would be interested in reading a guide. The distances between stopping places sometimes look quite long. I walk comfortably between 20-25 km per day.
 
The heading says it all ;-) I walked this route the first time in 2015 and found it pretty close to perfect - good way marking, accommodation, lots of history/nature etc. It is part of the wider historic network of European pilgrimage routes to Santiago and is still, sadly?, undiscovered outside Germany. Albergues are, f.e., in haunted castles, alms houses that have been frozen in time since 1850, the odd floor in a parish hall, the room a kind neighbor offers to pilgrims ...

So here my plan and my question:

I plan to walk this way, again, in June this year. I will post 'live updates' here on the forum and update my rudimentary website http://viaregia.guide

The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?

SY
I am on the start of the Primitivo now (from Irun) and don't have reliable wifi, not even in my hotel, but I would love to know about a long walk in Germany. I am looking forward to seeing what there is on your website. Thanks!
 
Thank you for starting this thread. The Via Regia had been on the back of my mind for some time, but it made me decide to walk it in the near future, anywhere between June and September. I have just received the German guidebook and I am actually amazed by the infrastructure (and number of albergues) - I did not know this. (Oddly the guidebook gives no clue about the length of stages, but I will figure this out somehow). Very excited to walk it ! PS I speak good German so need to update your website in English for me, but maybe I will have suggestions once I have completed the walk.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Hi @Marc S. that means we might meet on the way as I am planning to set out 'somewhen' in June. Regarding the stages, have a look at the inside of the back cover, there is a list of the main places and distances. As a rule of thumb there is some sort of pilgrims accommodation every 15-25km or so. The most important tip I can give you is to take shoes with shock absorbing (in)soles as there is quite a bit hard surface walking, especially in the first half from Goerlitz to Leipzig. Guten Weg, SY
 
Ok, departure date is tentatively set for the 31st May, depending of weather forecasts. The joy of living relatively locally ;-) Will keep you posted, SY
 
Thank you for starting this thread. The Via Regia had been on the back of my mind for some time, but it made me decide to walk it in the near future, anywhere between June and September. I have just received the German guidebook and I am actually amazed by the infrastructure (and number of albergues) - I did not know this. (Oddly the guidebook gives no clue about the length of stages, but I will figure this out somehow). Very excited to walk it ! PS I speak good German so need to update your website in English for me, but maybe I will have suggestions once I have completed the walk.

Marc, I think all Dutch people speak very good German whereas my German as a Dutch speaking Belgian sounds more like French :)

And yes Sybill : would love an English version.
 
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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Ok, departure date is tentatively set for the 31st May, depending of weather forecasts. The joy of living relatively locally ;-) Will keep you posted, SY

Look forward to reading your posts Guten Weg!
 
Is this for real? I'm tempted to jump off the Via de la Plata!!! Or how about we test your guide when it comes out? Please make it available as an ebook!!
 
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Is this for real? I'm tempted to jump off the Via de la Plata!!! Or how about we test your guide when it comes out? Please make it available as an ebook!!

As lovely as it would be walking with you and yours, I would be bad company running to and fro collecting information. Plan 1 is starting a live thread here on the forum, plan 2 is to populate my website viaregia.guide with useful information, plan 3 is to write and publish a guide book in English - Wish me luck and St.James Blessing. Buen Camino, SY
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
"Thanks" to the bad weather in German I will start a day later as planned. Pilgerherberge (pilgrims hostel) in Görlitz is booked from tomorrow for two nights and if all goes well, I should be there by tomorrow afternoon. Now, if only the thunderstorms would lighten up a bit ;-) SY
 
So looking forward to it! It is such a lovely, hugely under-crowded way. Less then 24 hours to arrive and less then 48h to start walking - Yippeh! SY
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
The heading says it all ;-) I walked this route the first time in 2015 and found it pretty close to perfect - good way marking, accommodation, lots of history/nature etc. It is part of the wider historic network of European pilgrimage routes to Santiago and is still, sadly?, undiscovered outside Germany. Albergues are, f.e., in haunted castles, alms houses that have been frozen in time since 1850, the odd floor in a parish hall, the room a kind neighbor offers to pilgrims ...

So here my plan and my question:

I plan to walk this way, again, in June this year. I will post 'live updates' here on the forum and update my rudimentary website http://viaregia.guide

The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?

SY
YES
 
The heading says it all ;-) I walked this route the first time in 2015 and found it pretty close to perfect - good way marking, accommodation, lots of history/nature etc. It is part of the wider historic network of European pilgrimage routes to Santiago and is still, sadly?, undiscovered outside Germany. Albergues are, f.e., in haunted castles, alms houses that have been frozen in time since 1850, the odd floor in a parish hall, the room a kind neighbor offers to pilgrims ...

So here my plan and my question:

I plan to walk this way, again, in June this year. I will post 'live updates' here on the forum and update my rudimentary website http://viaregia.guide

The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?

SY
Yes, I'm very interested. Thank you for working on this project!
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
Late addition to this thread: I am very interested in German pilgrimage routes and would love to see a guide in English for any of them.
 
Yes, there are some great routes in Germany that aren't well-known in the English-speaking world. There are a couple of people walking the Via Regia this summer that have both told me they will send me GPS tracks and reference info on the route. I think one of them is finishing soon, actually.

If I get enough information from them I will create a mini-guide myself. Hopefully, though, @SYates will be able to continue her excellent work on this soon (and if I recall correctly, she is planning on a full guide book on this route eventually, in addition to the journal maintained in the forums). So many great Camino routes, so little time! :)
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
The best for me would be if you leave your suggestions in the comment field at the bottom of the page http://viaregia.guide/faq/ as I can then simply work my way through them and don't have to jump back and fro from the forum BUT if for any reason you prefer to comment here in this forum thread, that is ok also.

Thanks for your input, SY

We can't thank you enough for this! I have just visited your fantastic website and left a comment. Not sure if you are still intending to publish a full guide, but your live updates thread (once saved as a PDF file) pretty much serves as an e-book already - unless you have told us not to do that...? :p
 
We can't thank you enough for this! I have just visited your fantastic website and left a comment. Not sure if you are still intending to publish a full guide, but your live updates thread (once saved as a PDF file) pretty much serves as an e-book already - unless you have told us not to do that...? :p

At the moment not, I might add some content to the website further down the timeline, but at the moment I am quite busy getting settled here in Santiago. Buen Camino, SY
 
Late addition to this thread: I am very interested in German pilgrimage routes and would love to see a guide in English for any of them.
There are dozens of guidebooks in German available: https://www.conrad-stein-verlag.de/buecher-shop/ and also Amazon.de . The maps and stage info is quite useful even if you don't speak German. Of course, if you're really interested in the many pilgrim routes through the German-language area (which includes Austria and the eastern half (or so) of Switzerland), you'll take advantage of the online language-learning tools to learn some German (Duolingo, Babbel, Michel Thomas have all been useful to me).
 
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The association that maintains this way has actually its own guide book out that gets up dated regularly and is far more complete than any of the other Via Regia guides I know ;-) See http://www.oekumenischer-pilgerweg.de/unterwegs/pilgerfuehrer.html and yes, they do ship worldwide. Buen Camino/Guten Weg, SY

Hello Sybille:

Your promotion of the Via Regia has worked, as it now has me intrigued. This would not be something for the near future, but I am adding it to my "Dream Team" of routes that I can attempt once I have a bit more time in a couple of years. I do not speak any German (so I will need to work on that), but from what I can tell, it looks great. A couple of quick questions: Did you use the guide from the website you refer to above, and are there any other accommodation lists that you are aware of?

Thanks for your help with this and with the Forum!
Colin
 
... Did you use the guide from the website you refer to above, and are there any other accommodation lists that you are aware of? ...

The guide I referenced above is the most complete, so I used that one. Buen Camino, SY
 
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The point is: Is there enough interest in/curiosity about this route to make me go the extra mile and actually write a proper guide about it in English? Yes or No?
I've only recently heard about this route but I would love to do it. If I can finish the VF and the Levante it will be about top of my list.
Why are there so many wonderful Caminos/chemins/vias/ wegs??? Why have I started so late?
 
The guide I referenced above is the most complete, so I used that one. Buen Camino, SY
Hi there
I linked to the referenced website, and got as far as the ordering page. Has anyone else hit a strange 'babybabybabyoooh' diversion with no seeming way to actually contact the official site? It would be good to get a pilgerpass etc beforehand, but the site looks like it's diverting somewhere strange. It is possible to purchase the pilgerpass and maps from somewhere physical in Gorlitz?
Thanks
Mary
 
I linked to the referenced website, and got as far as the ordering page.
I used the Google translate function to access the linked page, clicked through to the Ordering page (still in Translate mode), and completed an order transaction. Everything seemed to function per normal.
 
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