Via Romea Germanica Day 49: Scheuring - Landsberg am Lech

Was zählt, ist unser Mut zu leben

(What counts is our courage to live)

– Luise Rinser (1911 - 2002)

I was awakened during the night by the alarming sounds of wind and rain. I was also slightly chilly, and regretted having assented when my landlady ask me whether one blanket would be enough; so I pulled my foil emergency blanket out of my pack and laid it over the top of the blanket she had provided, as extra insulation; and so I managed to sleep the rest of the night. At my request the landlady had also provided me with an electric kettle, but when I plugged it in the next morning I realised it didn't work. I dressed in practically all the clothes I had, including waterproof socks and trousers as well as a rain jacket, and ventured out of my attic room above the garage and into the rain to reach the luxurious spa-style bathroom around the other side of the house. It was much warmer in there, so I sat on the bench in the changing area to eat my breakfast. Which consisted of a two-day old breadbun with jam and cheese and a cup of instant coffee - made with hot tap water! 😅 Fortunately the Germans heat their tap water extremely hot - to prevent Legionnaire's disease, I've been told - and so the coffee turned out fine.... as fine as instant coffee can be!!

I put on my backpack with the waterproof cover and tossed my big bright orange poncho over top of everything. Then I set off back down the road through Scheuring to the path beside the river Lech, looking like a bright orange tent! - Not that there were many people about to see me, early on a Sunday morning. 

I had hoped to stop at the Naturfreundehaus café in the woods for a cup of real coffee and a slice of cake, but when I came to the turn-off it was only 8:30, and according to the internet the café didn't open until ten! So I carried on through a beautiful mature forest of mixed coniferous and deciduous trees, with occasional glimpses of the river, broad and slow, almost like a lake at the spots where it has been dammed.

Again today I did not follow the official Via Romea Germanica route, and I don't think I was exactly on the Jakobus Pilgerweg route either, but I did keep seeing waymarkers for the Romantische Straße cycling and hiking route, which mostly parallels my own through Bavaria and is presumably based on the same historic pilgrimage and trade route as the Via Romea Germanica. 

The Romantische Straße route

I stopped for a break on a bench just after the last dam on my route. If I had studied my map at this point, I would've realised that if I walked over the dam to the other side of the Lech, I could have saved myself an hour's walking and arrived directly at my Couchsurfing hosts' house before noon 😅 Which might not have fitted in with their plans, though! In any case, I followed the Romantische Straße the long way around, getting my boots muddy in the fields on the way. But the advantage was that I came down directly into the old town of Landsberg am Lech, and was able to take a walk around the town centre and see some of the sights (in the rain) before heading "home". I figured that in this weather, I wouldn't want to go out again, once I was somewhere warm and indoors! It had been drizzling most of the morning, and when it didn't, the trees dripped on me anyway!

I eventually arrived at my Couchsurfing hosts' house, where I drank an entire pot of herbal tea, took a hot shower, threw my clothes into the washing machine and scrubbed the mud off my boots with the aid of the garden hose. The benefits of staying in a house, rather than a hotel! Then I took a nap while my hosts, Sabine and Xaver, prepared their lessons for the week - they are both high school teachers.

Marienbrunnen

Maria Himmelfart

Heilige Kreuz

A bit of history: Landsberg am Lech

The town of Landsberg arose where a major salt road (salt trading route) crossed the river Lech. Duke Henry the Lion ordered a castle to be built to protect the bridge, the Castrum Landespurch. The town burnt down in 1315, but had been rebuilt by 1320.

Landsberg am Lech is known for its infamous prison, where Adolf Hitler wrote/dictated his book Mein Kampf together with Rudolf Hess while incarcerated in 1924. His cell, number 7, became part of the Nazi cult, and many of his followers came to visit it in the time of Nazi Germany, when Landsberg am Lech was also known as the town of the Hitler Youth.

Over 30,000 victims were imprisoned in the nearby Kaufering concentration camp complex, where almost half of them died in inhuman conditions. After World War II this became the location of one of the largest displaced person camps for Jewish refugees, as well as the place of execution of over 150 war criminals.

One notable native of Landsberg am Lech is Luise Rinser, one of the best-known German writers of the post-war years, whose largely autobiographical writings mirror the tragedy of Germany in the twentieth century. ...And whose son used to live next door to me in Italy! 

Scheuring - Landsberg am Lech 20 km

Cheesy dinner 😁

With hosts Xaver and Sabine

My bed among the schoolbooks 😁