Sunday morning the ferry starts late. The first ferry was at 7:45, so we were forced to sleep in!  The morning view of the village was beautiful and it reminded me of Cinque Terre in Italy.

   
    
    
   
The climb started right after the boat crossing .  Mount Ulia was beckoning us. The view was once again beautiful. We think that even the views themselves are on steroids. 

   
    
    
    
    
   
Everything that goes up must come down, so we began our descent into San Sabastian. This being the first summer weekend and the fact that Friday was a holiday, and now it was the weekend, the two beautiful beaches were crowded and colorful. 

   
    
    
    
    
    
   
The first beach is the Zurriola beach,  where we had our late breakfast (we already had a snack along the way).  We had our first huevos fritos of this trip (we lived on this for breakfast on our last Camino). 

   
    
 The next, La Concha Bay, is even bigger and more colorful and scenic.  By this time the sun was high and the temperature sizzling. 

   
    
    
 We have decided to spend the night here in San Sabastian rather than continue another 16 km (to the next Albergue). This way we can enjoy San Sabastian and then start early for our next adventure tomorrow.

We just finished swimming and are now ready to shop for breakfast and lunch as the next meal is at least 16 km away. 

DAY 1 – Camino Del Norte 

We begin our Camino Journey of 869 km today by taking our first steps. We left the safety of our B&B and were out to begin our walk at 6:30 in the morning just before the sunrise. 

  
We started our walk on the French side of the bridge. In the distance we could see the Gaudalupe church that is about 8 km from our starting position atop one of the mountains. 

   
    
 3 km after we started, we saw our first Albergue and many pilgrims ready to start. We made sure to get our stamp for the start and promptly left the town to take the country path that slowly began to climb uphill. We had purchased our breakfast and lunch the day before so our backpacks were the heaviest it will be for the duration of the Camino (good thing we were prepared because there was no water or food until the end). 

   
    
    
 
   
 After 8 KM, we reached the church to enjoy our first Panaromic view of the day. 

   
    
   
We thought we were almost done with the climbing, but that was not the case. There was a split on the path and we decided to take the shorter but more strenuous path. While it was the right decision, it was one of toughest ascents we have done in the 20+ years of our hiking. The slope was extreme, but the views were breath-taking. I have never taken more Panaromic pictures in my life. 

   
    
    
    
    
 The climb went on and on for another 6km and some rough trails that had us wondering what we had gotten ourselves into.  At the top the skies turned cool and we even had two shorts bouts of mist and rain.  Whoever coined the name Camino on steroids was definitely correct. 

   
    
    
    
    
 The trip down also was fairly steep in places. 

   
    
    
   
After 32,000 steps, 22 km and 8 hours of hiking we are waiting outside our albergue at Pasai Doniban which opens at 4 PM. We are number 8 and 9. The albergue has 14 beds so we should be set for tonight. There is a boat downstairs that shuttles passengers across the bay that we will be taking to begin our day 2. 

Now that we have taken a shower and rested our legs, we are beginning to feel normal. Actually, the town is cute. There is just one street with one lane (cars wait on each side of town for 10 mins to go – one way at a time for each way). 

Victor Hugo lived in this town and now his home is preserved as a museum. 

We arrived in Hendaye late in the evening as the sun had just set (sunset in the south of France is around 9 PM). Fortunately, our bed and breakfast host had agreed to pick us up at the train station.  They live in a beautiful 3 bedroom apartment overlooking the bay. Dany and Michel are very gentle souls.  Michel is a retired college principal. Dany is a retired French teacher who grew up in Hendaye. 

  
View from the apartment when we arrived at night. 

  
The view in the morning was even better. 

  
After breakfast at our B&B (in France), Michel drove us in the morning to the “Santiago Bridge” that runs over the river Bedosa that is the border between France and Spain and from where we will begin our walk in the morning. 

   
    

We decided to check out the path and the markings to familiarize ourselves with what to expect. 

   
 
Camino del Norte is truly a path less traveled as we ran into only 4 pilgrims in the whole day and found 1 albergue  which was not open (a sign said they would open at 4). We did see quite a few pensions in town, so we will have backup options if needed.  We enjoyed our first Spanish lunch of the trip while watching kids play in the plaza. 

  
The walk back to our bed and breakfast was nice along the coast. 

   
   
Our option for dinner is to just walk around nearby and have dinner in France or take the ferry on a 5-minute ride from a block away to Spain to eat there. Tough choices, but probably the last time we will have this much flexibility. 

Tomorrow we start early as we may have to walk 25 km before we find an albergue!

   
 Tuesday night we had the opportunity to listen to Vivaldi’s Four Season’s at the beautiful  Sainte Chappell  across from Notre Dame. The chapel was surrounded by stained glass windows and the violin concerto was elegant and peaceful. 
On Wednesday, our last day in Paris, we visited the Montemartre district and took a walking tour of Moulin Rouge, Toulouse-Lautrec’s base, Pablo Picaso’s studio, Dalida’s House,  and Van Gogh’s breakfast haunt.  We also visited the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

  
In the afternoon we took a river cruise on the Seine witnessing many beautiful sites of Paris for one last time. 

Early morning today we left Paris for Lille (northern France) to visit with Clarisse, one of our foreigh students who visited us 5 years ago. She has just finished her bachelor degree and is about to start her masters. It was a pleasure to spend a few hours with her, walking the town and getting to enjoy her company. 

        
We are now on our way to Hendaye through Bordeaux to the south of France at the Spanish Border. Today marks the end of our tourist portion of the vacation! 

We plan to begin our Pilgrimage part of our journey after a day’s rest on Saturday. We are excited about the simple and meditative days ahead where life will become the simple task of living in the moment. Each day will be a new adventure that weaves itself into a tapestry of memories.

We left Berlin Sunday night by train after spending the last two days walking, river cruising on the Spree and visiting Potsdam (30 km from Berlin) 

   
    
    
 
At Potsdam we walked through the Park Sanssouci and through the old town. 

   
    
    
    
    
 
After 10 days we said goodbye to Germany and arrived yesterday morning in Paris (long train ride!). We spent yesterday and today walking around the historic city.  Our first stop was Notre Dame. We walked over to Shakespeare and Company (Sitara’s recommendation).  We made our way to the Louvre (eating Macaroons and Crepes along the way – one of the benefits of walking 20,000 plus steps a day in Gai Paris). 

   
    
   
We found this beautiful saying on Shakespeare and Company’s steps to upstairs, “I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your being” – Hafiz. 

Last night as we sat near the Louvre, we met Alex, a chef from NY, and we had a wonderful time chatting and getting to know each other.  

   
We ended our day by having a wonderful meal at a French/Algerian restaurant that sold these sweets:

   
 
Today we started our day at L’Arc de Triomphe and slowly made our way down the Champs-Élysées to Notre Dame. 

   
    
    
    
    
 
In the afternoon we went on a walking tour of the Latin Quarter.  I am writing this as we finish our dinner across from the Pantheon, at a nice French restaurant, where I am using their wifi (since I have not had access to good wifi for last day and a half). 

This is for the chocolate lovers – you know who you are!

We discovered yesterday that Berlin is famous for its chocolate.  

 
The choices are mind blowing. Here is just a sampling to tease you with pictures since we can’t bring it with us while we walk 500 miles. 

   
    
 
What is even more amazing is how they have captured the Berlin landmarks with chocolate. I have included the video of the lava chocolate for your kicks. 

Last Night we left Munich by night train for Berlin. Thanks to the bunk bed, we had a restful journey!

I was not prepared for the Berlin I witnessed today. A hundred years of economic, and ideological contrasts has created an interesting city which has figured out a way to thrive despite complete destruction only 60 years ago. They show the contrasts of Facism, communism, and capitalism well. 

We arrived in Berlin at 8 am and after dropping our backpacks, we immediately headed out to explore the city.  We walked through the Grober Tiergarden (second largest after Munich’s English Garten). 

   
   
The garden led us to the Brandenberg  Gate, the iconic Berlin landmark from the15th century. 

     
The holocaust museum near the gate is simple yet powerful in its imagery and size. 

   
Berlin won’t be Berlin without the Berlin Wall plastered all our the city pointing out the contrast in its stark reality of how time and prosperity changes with freedom. 

More of Berlin tomorrow!

  
Today we went to the somber and bleak site of Dachu concentration camp. It is hard to fathom and witness “men’s inhumanity to men”. The sign by the Germans of “Never Again”, gives one hope. Yet, since 1945 we have seen so many more atrocities committed in this world, I wonder if it is a tendency we as human beings can overcome. 

I must share the following memorial statue created by a German artist in 1950 called “Anonymous Prisoner”. 

  
Roughly translated it means. 

“Honor the dead but warn the living.”

Below is a memorial designed by one of the prisoners of the concentration camp.    

View from outside looking in. 

    
Before there was Disney and its fantasy castle, there was schloss Neushwanstein. Nestled in the Bavarian Alps, 1 1/2 hour from Munich, is the genesis for Disney Castle.  Built in mid-1800 by king Ludwig II, this castle was built to fuel the King’s fantasy-filled reclusive life. 

The first view from the town is beautiful. There are about 10,000 tourists who visit this castle everyday.  It is about a 20 min climb to the castle and another 15 minutes to Mary’s bridge. 

   
    
   
Climb up to the bridge and the view from the bridge. 

   
    
 
   
   
Up close.  

    
    
 
View of the castle where king Ludwig grew up (rebuilt by his grandfather on the site of an earlier 12th century castle).

Today was our leisurely day in Munich. Beside a walking tour, we had nothing else planned. As I sit here at 8:30 at night we have already walked 21 km and we have not had dinner yet. 

We enjoyed our breakfast at the hostel which is full of kids (most of them in groups and in their early teens).  We met a young man (Abdur Rahman) from Syria, and the girl from Iran (Ehram). 

   
 
For the walking  tour it was just the two of us, so it ended up being a fun 2 hour with Iain (Ian) from England/Scotland. 

   
    
    
    
 
After lunch we visited the English Garden. It was a hot day but the water through the park kept the temperature cool. We had an unexpected pleasure of enjoying surf boarding. I am posting a video at the bottom of this set. Hopefully the blog will show it properly.