Start: Bamberg
Finish: Bad Staffelstein
Distance: 17
Total: 1422
Guten tag from the beautiful little town of Bad Staffelstein, Bavaria. Today I had a great 17 mile walk north from Bamberg through several small villages and am beginning to get back into the hills after several days of relatively flat terrain.
I got started at 8:15 this morning after a good night’s sleep and a very light breakfast. The hotel I stayed in last night was just a small step above a hostel. The entire facility was self-serve. When I made the reservation a few days back, the owner sent me a text with the code for the front door. Once inside the lobby, my room key was hanging on a bulletin board. I got my key, found my room, and that was it for checkin. In the room were instructions for breakfast which was included in the cost of the room. It simply said enjoy breakfast and don’t eat more than your share of someone else will not get any. So breakfast today consisted of one roll with some jam, a small yogurt, and water because I don’t drink coffee. I can’t gripe; you get what you pay for.
I was on and off bike trails all day. It didn’t matter very much when I was on the highway because the traffic was very light. I went through a little town about noon and after that scrumptious breakfast, I was getting pretty hungry. There was only one street through this little town, so if I was going to find a place to eat, it was going to be on that street. I went in the first place I came to, but all they had was pastries. I needed something more substantial than that. The next place was an Italian restaurant that looked closed so I kept walking. Finally I got to the end of town and that was it. No more options. So I turned around and walked back a quarter mile and tried to open the door of the Italian place. What do you know; they were open. It looked closed because there were no cars out front and I was their only customer. I chowed down on some very good tortellini and salad and a huge coke. After that lunch I was full of energy like you wouldn’t believe.
Tonight I’m in the town of Bad Staffelstein. In the next few weeks, until I leave Germany, I’m staying in several “Bad” towns. You probably are wondering why a town has the word Bad as part of its name. I wondered the same thing so I looked it up. In German, the word “Bad” means bath. But not the kind of bath you take in a tub. “Bath” as in “natural spa, or spring fed water.” So they use the word Bad in the names of some of their towns like we use the word “Springs” in some of our American towns; like Hot Springs, Ark., or Sulphur Springs, Tx..
Tomorrow I have a relatively short 13 mile walk to Coburg, home of one of Germany’s largest castles, Veste Coburg. The weather is forecast to be nice for one more day, then three days of rain and thunderstorms. I’ll plan for the worst and hope for the best. Thanks for following along. JB.
