Second Day On The Rheinsteig.

Second day on the Rheinsteig.

Again lots of mountains/hills. But I actually felt better than the day before, despite starting out with sore legs.

Also, so far, my new anti-blister system seems to be working. I slather the toes, arches, and heels of my feet in Vaseline, and then on with the hiking socks. Nothing more. I have a cousin who’s in the military, and he gave me this tip. I’m cautiously optimistic about this approach, praying it will last.

The pictures are: the moon of the first morning (enhanced), a super creepy old house we walked by, the trail, the view, Chanel, and myself.

In the second-lowest to the right Chanel is eating grass. She always does this. At first I thought it was because she had an upset stomach, but according to the internet, most dogs who eat grass just like the taste of it. She doesn’t throw up after eating it, and she also seems to look a while for the right grass to eat, smelling all the shrubs we walk past before deciding. She’s a little strange, but to be honest, this just makes her more lovable.

So lovable that I made her a little floral wreath. That’s the last picture. She didn’t seem to mind when I put it on her head, she just went back to sleep in the sun.

First part or my hike in Denmark.

Starting again after a long and final break. The completely clear sky hints at an amazingly starry night. Here in the quiet of the countryside I doubt any light will spoil it. At least I hope so. Chanel has been her usual merry self, rolling in just about anything smelly along the road. However, for some strange reason, that I am grateful for, she has not retained any bad smells. This is a great comfort, since we will be sharing a sleeping bag.

Sunrise and morning frost. Silhouette of a hiker.

The greatest thing about this trip so far has actually been the people we have met. I had imagined that I would spend most nights in my tent somewhere along the road, occasionally paying for a camping spot. And I had to get used to the idea that most of my toilet business would probably be outside.This has not been the case. Not even close.

I have always been bad at asking for help. I don’t mind helping others, but I prefer to “go it alone” when it comes to myself. Whether it be learning, paying for drinks, understanding foreign languages, working on a project, etc… Usually, when I finally ask for help, I am frustrated, defeated and completely boned.

So ever since my first experience of being invited into someone’s home (tak, Birgitte!), and mustering the courage to ask if I could pitch my tent in their garden (because the place I had planned to camp was closed) I have given myself the challenge of asking to sleep in people’s gardens most of the time. So far I have always had a place to sleep if I asked for it, and even better, I have made some fantastic new friends.

I especially have to thank Manuela, Stefan and Jonas, who let me crash at their place for three nights. And crashing is putting it lightly, since after the first night I was pretty much given my own room! We drank red wine and beer(Erdinger Weissbier!), we talked until late in the night, we ate the great food Stefan made and we played minecraft, Kinect games and dart. Even Chanel had a great time, despite the many courting attempts of the family's great black puppy, Bruno. He was constantly rejected, so after a while he contented himself to just sit and pine from afar.

I stayed quite a long time despite my schedule, because my blisters suddenly started to look really serious. I will spare you the graphic details, but suffice to say that I have to come up with a different method to preventing blisters than just plastering them in sports-tape and then walk on.

They're healed now, and I hope to keep them that way. Today I smothered them in a thick creme and no sports tape except for halfway through the hike, when one toe started hurting. Off with the sock, on with some tape to take the brunt of the friction, sock on, and forward. Looking at them now, it seems to have worked, but I will wait a few days before passing judgement. I have been burned before...

The pictures are of Chanel and Jonas playing football, the surrounding area, and a fortune cookie I got with a very accurate message. Also, a very sleepy Chanel.

First signs of spring, a new shelter in Vingsted, and a sunset in a puddle