Day 13 – 24 Kilometres – Total 292 Kilometres – Lorch

Today saw our first day walking along the Rhine (apologies for varying between German and English spellings - I'll try to be consistent from now on).

We climbed higher and higher, along the banks of the Rhine, through endless vineyards, perched in impossible locations, at impossible angles and enjoyed spectacular views all of the way.

The path narrowed sufficiently to test my poor ability to deal with heights.

The walk was all the more enjoyable for not having to carry fully laden rucksacks and, frankly, I am not sure we would have made it with them, so difficult was the climb and, at points, the path.

No rucksacks? I hear you repeat to yourself, incredulously, reading that last sentence again. Yes, we liked the hotel in Ruedesheim so much that we decided to stay another night, walking our next stage but then getting a train back to our hotel, with the intention of starting tomorrow exactly where we left off. By the way, it took us about 6 hours to walk the distance but literally 10 minutes to return on the train.

Now I do wonder, in my own mind, whether this is some kind of cheating – a betrayal of the “purity” of vision? Well, actually, it closer to my original vision of just walking and enjoying the walk. My vision was naïve, as visions of doing difficult things often are. My rose tinted picture didn't include carrying rucksacks - it just included walking. This was a pretty dumb omission but if it had been otherwise, I probably wouldn't even have mentioned this mad idea to Doris and instead dismissed it as too difficult.

That said, a good vision takes account of life's realities and I have come to enjoy achieving the physical challenge of being able to carry all that we need from one location to another. On the other hand, we have numerous injuries that come, go and stay with monotonous regularity - my latest almost preventing me from finishing today's walk. So common sense says that we need to give our bodies at least some rest now and again, even if it is just lightening the load from time time.

And that is what we will do again tomorrow, as much as I would love to press on relentlessly, or perhaps idiotically. After that, we will be back to the routine of carrying everything with us and hunting accommodation upon arrival. But if we can get some respite again in the future, albeit brief in the context of our journey, rest assured, we will take it.

Today's musical choice is “The Weight” by The Band.