Via Romea Germanica Day 44: Mönchsdeggingen - Donauwörth

Somewhere between the start of the trail and the end is the mystery of why we choose to walk.

The weather forecast for Day 44, my last day on the Via Romea Germanica for now, was echt schlecht - a very satisfying German expression meaning "really awful". But I wanted to walk to Donauwörth and then take a direct train to Munich. So I disregarded the Via Romea Germanica route entirely, and instead of heading east to Harburg and then south to Donauwörth, I asked mapy.cz to devise the shortest walkable route, avoiding the detour to Harburg and heading directly southeast to Donauwörth. 

The route it came up with began with five kilometres along the road through the forest from Mönchsdeggingen to the next village. But there was no traffic, on a rainy long weekend morning, so the road was no trouble. My route turned off the road and crossed the fields on small farm roads, then went back into the forest, zigzagging this time through a grid of dirt logging roads. Luckily my gps signal never abandoned me, or I would have had no idea which way to go through the forest, in that maze of unmarked roads; on a cloudy and rainy day when the sun is not visible, it's easy to lose your sense of direction! But a gps signal can be picked up just about anywhere these days, so it was no problem to navigate my way through. I tried to memorise the next few turns, just in case the signal was momentarily lost, and marched through the forest to the beat: second right, right, left! Second right, right left! Which then became, right, left! Right, left! And finally, left, left, turn left! Before consulting the map again and memorising the next few turns.

It took about an hour and a half to come through the forest. When I emerged at the edge of the village of Wörnitzstein, I found a bench that was sheltered from the rain and sat down for ten minutes - the only break I took in 20 kilometres! Everywhere else, it was too wet!

In Huttenbach, the dirt road came out onto Riedlinger Strasse, a road with some traffic, which I followed until I came to a sort of miniature zoo, or house with a lot of pets! The sound of cockatoos and tropical birds singing in the cold and the rain was incongruous. But then I came to a cherry tree laden with fruit, with plenty of branches hanging out over the fence, and ripe for the taking!

Just after the cherry tree, the gps track mapy.cz had devised for me left the road to take a dirt track through the trees, which was much nicer to walk on, even though wetter underfoot. Only I missed a turn-off, and carried on straight ahead, which looked on the satellite view map as though it ought to work equally well - until I came to a locked gate and a DO NOT ENTER sign! I turned back for a few hundred metres, then took a footpath through long, wet grass - I was wearing waterproof trousers so it didn't matter - hoping it wouldn't just end in the woods; it looked well-trodden, so I assumed it would lead somewhere. And it did, bringing me out onto a cycling path that crossed over the railroad tracks. I didn't need to cross the tracks, however, but follow them on the closest road, to get to the railway station!

Soon I was on a road running parallel to the tracks, among the houses on the outskirts of Donauwörth. The road took me into a district of discount stores and supermarkets, past a shopping mall and a multi-level car park... to Donauwörth railway station! 

Mönchsdeggingen - Donauwörth 20km

A train was due to leave for Munich in just a few minutes, and I still had a valid Deutschland Ticket. So I hopped right on, and found myself in the car with space for wheelchair users. There weren't any, in fact the train was quite empty, so I was able to spread my things out and hang the wettest items over the railing to dry a little, in the hour and twenty minutes that I was on the train. I took off my hiking boots and peeled off my waterproof over-trousers; I was right next to a spacious wheelchair-accessible toilet, where I was able to change out of my wet T-shirt and into a dry one. I hadn't bothered to put my poncho on, and the rain had managed to sneak in at the wrists, neckline and zipper of my waterproof jacket 😅 

Arriving at München Hauptbahnhof was a bit of a shock after so much time on the trail, overnighting in tiny villages and small towns... the sheer variety of people was overwhelming! Including a man in lederhosen, nylons and high heels... (sorry, no picture! 😄) But I made my way through the station and the crowded concourse to the U-Bahn station, managed to find the right track, got off and transferred to a streetcar... all following the precise instructions sent to me by Emma, my friend and hostess for the evening, now 39 weeks pregnant!! 😮

And so here I am, after one final, wet day on the Via Romea Germanica, ready to spend an evening with my friends, and most of tomorrow too, before catching the direct overnight train home. It's been an amazing 44 days and 930 kilometres! I've walked from the mouth of the Elbe to the Danube, from a land where passers-by greet you with Moin to the land where they say Grüss Gott. The cherry trees were in blossom when I set out; today, I ate ripe cherries off the tree. 

Time to go home and take a break! 

Bis bald, Via Romea Germanica!!