Stage 7: Hausach - Brend 33km
Or something like that. I told myself I was done walking more than that day's stage, but I lied. I reached the end of stage 7 around 2:00pm and didn't feel like stopping. So I continued on. This stage started out straight up. When cycling I generally enjoy climbing and tend to think of it as something I'm decent at. New roads with new climbs would often get me a bit excited. Since travelling I've seen and walked on quite a few roads that made me wish I had a bike. The start of this trail was wide enough for cycling, but I didn't wish for a bike. In fact I wished I was somewhere else. The grade was at points outrageous. My nose was almost in the grass in front of me. And it continued like this continued for many kilometers. Eventually flattening out and weaving through the Schwarzwald dairy land. It was a nice change of scenery from the trees that had become the norm.
That night I'd make it to a hotel found in the back of the Westweg brochure gifted to me by the two friendly Israeli guys. The Goldener Rabe. If I could read German my brochure may have said something like "Warning: may contain vampires." It's a large old yellow building that looks friendly enough from the outside but was dark on the inside. I opened the front door and walked into an empty dining area with no lights on. A door to my left slid open and a woman with dark circles around both eyes came into the room. I'm not sure what century she's from but it pre-dates the USA as she looked confused when I said that I'm from the United States. She did however speak a bit of English and soon I was being taken through a dark stairwell down a dark hallway to my room. I opted to pay a few extra euros for the one with a toilet and shower attached so I could stay in the safety of my own room. The next morning I came down to the dining area for breakfast. Population: Me, an orange cat that licked my butter, an old black lab, and the vampire and her sister.
Stage 9: Brend - Titisee 30km
I set off at a good pace eager to put some distance between myself and the Goldener Rabe. While it was nice enough, I couldn't shake the gloomy feel. Once again I'd walk a little more than I had too. This stage was fairly uneventful aside from a lovely family that offered me sweets along the way. Some sort of cakes, whatever they were they were delicious. I'd make it to Titisee, after getting lost for a bit, and settle into a small guesthouse. The night before I didn't have much for dinner so this night I treated myself to a whole pizza. And it was so good. I'd go to sleep full and happy to know that I only had three more days of walking left.
Stage 10: Titisee - Wiedener Eck 35km
Titisee was about 5km from the real end of stage 10 so I had some catching up to do. But not until I bought some bread and cheese to help me through the day. 5km into the hike I met a feline friend who I stopped to talk with for a bit. He followed me a while before the trail met a road and the cars scared him off. Hope he is well out in the world. The halfway point of stage 10 is the top of Feldberg, highest point in the Black Forest, at 1495m. The hike up was much easier than expected and was a well populated area. I ran into a friendly group that asked me if I was Irish. I'm an American in disguise over here. They were however happy to hear that that is what I am. And one from North Carolina too, a state they had just been talking about. They let me know that they had met very friendly folks in the states and wished me the best of luck on my journey. After Feldberg I found a much appreciated resting spot. It was a large tree that had been cut down with places to lay down added on. I sat there for a while before continuing. Just before reaching Wieden I'd run into another man from Israel. We'd finish the stage together. He was hiking with his brother who got tired and took a bus ahead to the end. In Wieden we parted ways as I attempted to find another guesthouse. The first I found wasn't open but the owner let me take a short cut into town through his goat herd, even cutting off the electric fence for me. In town I'd find Haus Barbel where a friendly lady and I battled through the language barrier to get everything in order. After dinner in town I returned and after getting inside after believing myself locked out I hopped into bed to prepare myself for the second to last day.
Stage 11: Wiedener Eck - Kandern 33km
What a day. This stage also started out steep and hosted some of my favorite views of the whole Westweg. It was however also fairly uneventful. At Haus Barbel I drank my first cup of coffee in years and I credit that to helping the first half go quickly. Unfortunately though the last 10k would probably be the hardest of the Westweg as I hit the wall and had to hobble into Kandern. Quite literally hobble as my left leg decided we were no longer friends. In Kandern I stuffed myself full of kebab and pizza in one of Europe's wonderful kebab and pizza places. They seem to be widespread like fast food joints and very well priced. Afterwards I'd limp about in the rain searching for the cheapest place to stay that I could find. It was however the most expensive place (and least nice) I'd stay the whole hike at €45. In my room I'd find a pair of pants left behind with €70. Was it immoral for me to take the money? Probably. Do I feel bad about it? Honestly, not too much.
Stage 12: Kandern - Basel 26km
This stage was... well... extremely uneventful. Almost downright boring. Also it rainded hard the first 13km. My leg was also still very much not on good terms with the rest of me. In Basel the trail was not very well marked and often I wondered if I was still following it. Eventually, and not soon enough, I'd find myself in Basel outside a train station. There I was unsure if I had really completed the trail until seeing a small sign that let me know I was at the end. No grand finale, no applause. Inside the station I'd find my friend, Cedar, and his brother Thunder. I don't remember their names, only the English translation. We shared similar thoughts of being underwhelmed at the finish. Cedar believes only 6-7 stages were really worth doing and looking back on it maybe he's right. But here I am in Basel with the trail behind me. And glad to say it's something I've done.
Upon arrival I sat in the station and ate a lot of food. Eventually I'd make my way to the tram station and head for a campsite just outside town. Currently I'm sitting on a bench somewhere in the middle of town writing this. Soon I'll head back toward the campsite. On Sunday I've got a flight to Budapest to see my friend Camille and the city. While I'm excited to do so I'll first be enjoying my time here in Switzerland, or at least a part of it. Basel is lovely so I'm sure to post about it soon.
Goodbye Westweg! Goodbye Germany!
Sincerely,
Zeb
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