Free to Get Ready

Date	Nov 20, 2022
Total 2022 Caminos:	340 miles
Total All Caminos:	1620 miles
Planes:	$810 Rochester -> Munich -> Rochester
Total Planes:	$ 810

Meaningful Moment 

Free to get ready for the trip.

Last Friday I had my final German grammar class of the fall term. Several days prior to that, I had my final Spanish grammar and final German conversation class of the fall term.

So over the weekend, I have been rediscovering what it means to have nothing to prepare for the next school day.

I spent Saturday doing some bird watching, participating in a club hike and then had the grandchildren for a sleepover. 

Sunday, I took them out for bubble tea, had a YMCA weight session, another club hike and then watched my son play some ice hockey.

In all of this, not once did I have to suffer through a nagging session in the deepest corners of my mind that I should have been doing homework.

It was glorious.

Random Thought of the Day

It's now a weekend and some days without the constant pressure to study and get homework done. Although I was auditing one Spanish and two German classes, they were highly interesting to me, so I put a lot of effort into them.

I had forgotten what it meant to be a full-time college student. The consistent thrust by the professors to introduce new material on top of only half-absorbed material. 

The internal drive to not just acquire knowledge (in this case two foreign languages), but to master all aspects of the material: reading, listening, writing and speaking. 

But my desires go beyond those four basic categories of language comprehension. I strove & strive for real-time processing of those babylonic syllables, that mish-mash of air pressure waves to the ear, that transliteration of ink symbols into electro-magnetic waves into neural synapse firings into "a thought", and last but not least - coordination of the tongue, lips, jaw and throat to speak - say - utter - stumble through a new syntax and new semantics to tell the waiter that I would like a cup of coffee with milk.

It's so simple and yet so impossible.

I'm re-watching Babylon 5, and every time they show all kinds of races walking past one another, intermingling, interacting and communicating, I  realize over and over how lucky I would be to work there as an interpreter, to live there as an inhabitant and to share ideas with "peoples" from all over the galaxy.

Sometimes I think I was born a couple of centuries too soon.

"Who am I?"

"What do I want?"

Checklist:

• Vaccine and boosters. No entry requirements for Germany at this time.
• Check passport for expiration date.
• Verify any visa requirements. (Great Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland)
• Currently, US citizens can travel to Europe for up to 90 days without any sort of travel authorization. Starting with 2023, US citizens visiting parts of Europe will need authorization from the European Union. 
• The European Travel Information and Authorization System, or ETIAS, will require "pre-travel screening for security and migration risks of travelers benefiting from visa-free access to the Schengen area.
• TSA Global Entry Card
• Health Care: Medicare does not provide coverage outside of the U.S. Purchase travel insurance the provides for, at least, major medical, transportation while injured/sick and return of remains to U.S.
• Check expiration date on credit/debit cards.
• Notify bank of travel outside of USA so that they don't lock card due to suspected fraud.
• Auto-pay any bills or pay early.
• Plane ticket: downloaded 
• Test out all your electronics, e.g. chargers, tablets, cables/cords, phones. Bring equipment designed for your electronics. 
• Have power adapters available. Adapters differ among the U.S., Great Britain/Ireland and Spain/Portugal. 
• Turns out that Germany uses the same kind of power outlet plug as Spain. Was expecting the UK, Ireland, Switzerland type of outlet.
• Delete outdated maps on phone (to free up space.)  Download maps for Bavaria.
  
  

Just Over Two Weeks to Go

Date	04 Nov 22
Total All Caminos:	1620 miles
Planes:	Rochester -> Munich -> Rochester $ 810
Total Planes:	$ 810

Meaningful Moment

Nov 14, 2022:

With only two and 1/2 weeks to go, I start the day attending the funeral service of a good acquaintance. As far as I know, his passing was unexpected. He was 61 years old. 

There are so many reminders lately of how precious life is, how lucky I am to still be here. It was 11 years ago that I pretty much beat back my POEMS cancer. Read My Blog Here. 

I long ago learned to avoid reading the obits. Not much good came from that activity. The one exception is when I receive my monthly issue from the Fleet Reserve Assc. I do look for friends and acquaintances from my time as a Naval Russian linguist. Those were good times. It is an odd combination of relief to not see anyone that I know in the list, and sadness to see someone that I do know (or did know).

During the Mass at the service this morning, as I approached the altar to receive Communion, I momentarily touched the draping over the casket. I was so surprised at the depth of a fleeting fragmentary feeling of finality.  It has been some time since I had last met Mike, yet what had changed and made me shudder in a way, was the idea that I would never ever meet him again. 

My 70th comes up in about 10 months. Since my 69th, I had been keeping in the background the significance of my next birthday. In a way, I am not surprised that I am here. In fact I plan on making it to 100. But there is now this nagging firing of brain cells that happens at sporadic moments that reminds that everyone has their finality. 

I suppose the question is whether we make our own fate, or whether we are driven along by some pre-programmed machine running in the background  that drops a lever, rotates a cog, spins a tumbler and then BAM, the bus hits you.

Perhaps this might be one of the things that I reflect on as I make my way through Bavaria.

Or perhaps I am simply sad ... today.

Random Thought of the Day

Nov 15, 2022:

My mood has lightened today. Perhaps I just needed some time to get over yesterday's sadness.

Since my return from Ireland in the first week of September, I have taking nine credits of language courses at RIT. The workload has been overwhelming. I thought that it would be exciting and challenging and rewarding. While it has been all of those, the workload has also been draining, tiring and incessant.

A little while ago I finished the last of the homework that I am going to do. I have three classes tomorrow and two on Friday. Then I am done. I will switch to an all-on focus for my upcoming hiking in Bavaria. 

I need to train to get into shape for 13-mile days. I need to repair a twitch behind my left knee that has the potential to upend everything. If fact, I saw my physical therapist today to get some exercises to at best make it better, and at worst to hold off any decrease in my ability to hike.

The highlight of the day was going out with grandkids for a Starbucks coffed and Subway sandwich. They always make me feel better. 

Special Topic

Nov 18, 2022:

Kind of jumping around here. Had my last class of the term at RIT in German and Spanish today. It was a lot of work. I had classes in German conversation, German grammar (Intermediate) and Spanish grammar (intermediate). For the last nine weeks, pretty much of my free time was tied up doing homework. 

I got in my yoga classes and hiking and pickleball play, but it seemed like I was running from one activity to the next. Now I have actual "down" time. 

I will spend it watching youtube videos about:

•  Munich, e.g. the airport and train system, 
• everyday activities like shopping, getting a room for the night, 
• the Muencher Jakobsweg, and 
• travel videos about the towns along the way, AND
• THE WEATHER in Bavaria.

I must say that I really enjoyed the mental activities associated with all that language learning. It stimulated a lot of "grey" cell usage. I look forward to the spring 2023 term.

But now it is all about my upcoming trip.

One Month and Counting Down

Date	04 Nov 22
Total All Caminos:	1620 miles
Planes:	Rochester -> Munich -> Rochester $ 810
Total Planes:	$ 810

What is the Munchen Jakobsweg (Munich Way of St James)?

The Way of St. James from Munich to Lindau on Lake Constance starts in Munich, the state capital of Bavaria. 

Even when Munich was only known as the settlement "Zu den Mönchen", this served as a meeting point for pilgrims who - coming from eastern regions - continued their journey to distant Santiago de Compostela. 

Today, the Munich Way of St. James is divided into eleven daily stages and thus sets scenic and thematic focal points, because it not only leads through breathtaking landscapes, but also presents pilgrims with the important stations, churches and monasteries that have lined the path since time immemorial.

Pilgrims who do not yet know Munich are therefore advised to stay overnight in order to experience this beautiful city. The pilgrims leave the city of over a million inhabitants on a path along the green Isar valley, beautifully along the Isar. 

On the following days, pilgrims to St. James encounter the impressive Bavarian baroque style in many monasteries and village churches along the way. 

Through the "Pfaffenwinkel" it goes again and again over meadows and fields and through shady forests over a gently undulating landscape. 

Lake Starnberg and Lake Ammer are on the way, after a relaxing beer in the beer garden you can spend the night in the Andechs monastery for a donation - if you have a pilgrim's pass.

The Ostallgäu awaits the pilgrim friends with lovely nature trails and spruced up villages and towns.

The Pilgrimage destination is Lindau, which is fantastically situated on Lake Constance and invites the pilgrims to enjoy and linger.

Meaningful Moment

I've been battling a sense of ennui for some time now.

Sidenote: Way back in the early spring of 2020 with the economic shutdown in full force, I started thinking about returning to Switzerland. I had hiked on the Via Francigena through the French speaking portion. 

I started to look at other routes in Switzerland. The most interesting were in the German speaking portion, but I did not speak German, anymore than I spoke French. 

I suppose that one good thing that came out of Covid was having the time to study new subjects. One of those new subjects was the study of German at the local community college as a senior for free, if I audited the course. 

Long story short, I opted to start learning German, and from there I began to think about a pilgrimage along the Via Francisca in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Although I am not headed to Switzerland, I am now headed to Bavaria.

So anyway back to the present. I've now completed six various courses in German, and I am burned out. I have not had the opportunity to actually put  all that repetitive drilling in reading, writing, listening and speaking to use. My partner and I were planning a trip after the New Year's and at the same time, I decided that if not now, when???

So now it is. Dec 1st, 2022 I board the plane for my flight to Munich to begin the Muncher Jakobsweg.

It comes down to one of two things: either I will succeed at this foray into Germany or I will learn something about myself.

Random Thought of the Day

At this point, it's about checking gear.

•  shoes fit and are comfortable and broken in
•  pack fits snugly on the back
•  got the right gear

And checking over the paperwork:

• Passport (expires 24)
• Covid vaccine and booster record ( Germany no longer requires )
• Global Entry (expires late 23)
• Camino Passport
• trip insurance 
• Trip Cancellation / Interruption: 100 %
•  Medical: $50,000
• Med Evac/Repatriation: $100,000
• Bag Coverage / Delay: $250 / $300
• Baggage: $1000