Der Traumpfad München Venedig

A summary. That's what I've been promising everyone. Including myself, to come to a good answer for all the good questions everyone asks me: How was it? How do you feel? Are you proud? Would you do it again? These are tough questions, at least for me.

Well, let's start with the facts of the trip, that's the easy part. I've walked from Munich to Venice. With some minor exceptions:
- instead of starting in Munich I started in Bad Tölz. Saving 2 days, around 50km in the plain. I did this mainly because I never actually planned to do the full tour and I wanted to hike the mountains
- I skipped 2,5 days of hiking in the Italian plains. Again, due to lack of time (my flight back home to my sisters birthday was booked) but also because it sucks to walk in the Italian heat next to roads and through industrial areas
- three things on the way we had to skip: Birkarspitze, Friesenbergscharte and Schiara. All three were in theory possible (we know people who did them) but either were strongly advised not to do without the right equipment (which we obviously didn't have) or where the weather didn't let us do it.
- and the occasional bus/taxi/lift we took. Usually we did this when the book advised us to. Because a steep way down on paved road just is no fun or you would need an extra day to do this variant of the route.
So from the original 555km track, which would be 29 days of hiking, I did around 400+km I guess, in 23 days. We did one rest day in Belluno. Even though I thought about a rest day since day 2 it took me roughly 19 days until I got it :-) My shortest hiking day was 2 hours, my longest 10,5 hours. Mostly we were really lucky with the weather, despite July being quite early for this track. We had only 2-3 times when we walked in rain and most of the predicted thunderstorms only came late in the day.
I've been in the Bayerische Voralpenland, went through the Karwendel and the Tuxer Alpen. Then across the Alpenhauptkamm and through the Dolomiten. I went about 22.000m up and the same back down, reached the highest point of the track at 2950m and made a small detour to the peak of Piz Boé at 3152m.
I've stayed in absolutely basic huts, where only cold non-drinking water was available and all supplies needed to be brought up by a material lift and some carrying or a helicopter. If there was a shower you would usually need to buy a coin for it and hurry that you finish your shower in time.  Often I've slept in dorms with up to 20 people, where you put basic blankets over your Hüttenschlafsack. And I've stayed in quite luxurious guest houses, with double rooms and unlimited hot showers. I've washed my clothes by hand every other day (and now have the confirmation that I am an awful house wife). I've enjoyed great hut food, from Bratkartoffeln to Knödel, from spaghetti to pizza (that one in fact only on the Italian plains and not on huts). And I've tasted very good white and red wine. I've even learned to love the grumpy hut owners with their great knowledge.
I've started the trip alone and met 5 amazing people I stayed with for most of the trip. I walked a lot on my own, being by far the slowest hiker of the group. I sometimes hated to hike, usually when I got tired. I've learned to find my pace while hiking uphill, meaning very, very slow but with nearly no breaks. I failed to find my own pace going downhill and started to hate that even more than my exhaustion going uphill. I had a huge blister on my big toe, which many people wanted to pop, but I denied for nearly 2 weeks as it didn't really bother me despite being really big and nasty. My knees surprised me, despite the standard pain they made it quite well through the trip (as long as I had my sexy knee bands on). Until the last 2-3 days I was completely spared by mosquitos and then suddenly eaten alive with minimum 30 bites on my whole body.

So how does a standard day look like? Very unusual for me I went to bed around 9pm and got up at 6:45 (everyone else at 6:30). And I even had breakfast! Then pack your bag, fill up water, put your shoes (and knee bands) on, grab your sticks and start walking. And then love it and then hate it. Enjoy the view, be a bit too cold, be exactly right, be too hot. Walk a bit with someone and chat, get fully out of breath, stop talking and fall behind. Just keep on going and pass past quicker people on a break. And then you get there.  The hut, maybe only the lunch break hut, but anyways, it is amazing how you can find back to strength with just 30-60 minutes of a good break. And then the same again and at one point you see the hut you will stay tonight. This can be an amazing happy moment. Even though it still sometimes takes up to 1 hour of hiking to actually get there I love this feeling of 'I know I can do this, I've made it again'. Then you hope you still get a bed, or any place to sleep, check in, shower, maybe wash your clothes. Wohoo, I am a new person again. If it was a short hiking day now you have time to relax, read, listen to music or finally take your camera out and take some pictures. And of course plan your next day, how far will we walk, which alternative do we take, where will we sleep? Then Dinner around 6-7pm and after that slowly get ready for bed. Good night mountains :-)

And I guess that's what brings me to my highlights of the trip and I hereby decide I will name 5.
1. I guess my shoe story deserves to be named. Get a personal delivery of new hiking shoes up to the hut was incredible. If you ever have the chance to go to the Tutzinger Hütte, GO! It is a beautiful place with a great atmosphere, mainly due to the amazing hut owners. They helped me to organise my new shoes after my 10 year old shoes fell apart after day 1 and were just unbelievably nice and helpful. And I still can't believe that even though the guy had to bike/hike up there to sell me my shoes it was cheaper than at the stores I've checked afterwards.
2. The beautiful nature. The track is unbelievably diverse and beautiful, remember you hike through several different mountain ranges. The three views I remember most: the Benediktenwand on day one, the amazing 360 degree view from Piz Boé and the beautiful sunset colours from Coldai hut.
3. Realising I am actually hiking in the mountains for 3 weeks already. And while sounding and looking like I am close to fainting while hiking up this last mountain (Col Visentin) having this moment where I nearly burst out in laughter: if I would see myself now, I wouldn't believe that I hiked all over the alpes and dolomites. But I did!
4. The crazy night at the Tuxer Jochhaus: definitely the worst hut we've slept in. Unfriendly hut personal, very touristic and expensive, only 1 shower, small portions of food, and an unbelievably bad bed: 4.3 mattresses next to each other on the floor for 6 people. And because the hut is full an extra mattress in the way to the door for another hiker. Oh and talking about the door: it was roughly 1m high and wide :-) Why this is still in my top 5 moments: because somehow this ended up being one of the funniest evenings, with everyone giggling and talking way past bed time :-)
5. And I guess that brings me to the most important highlight of this trip: the beautiful people I met. I was lucky to make most of this trip together with 5 wonderful people:
- Ronnie & David, father and son who had actually started their walking trip in Sweden where they come from and already had walked 1300km before they started the Traumpfad.
- Alex & Jeanette, a couple from Trier who did this trip also as part of their geo caching hobby
- and Eugen, the other 'alone hiker' with the funny rolling Rrr from Franken (and as well geo cacher)
These people became my friends on the way, even though we split for a couple of days in between. I love it that we managed to meet each other again and stay together for most of the trip. I definitely wouldn't have been going that far if it weren't for them! The toughest part of the whole trip was to say goodbye and not arrive with them together in Venice!
And even more, there were so many amazing people we kept meeting on the way. From alone hikers to families and friends, everyone unique with their story, but everyone great to meet and share parts of the way. I am amazed how often we would meet people again who we thought were already far ahead or behind. It was great to hear their stories, how they made it here and what they had experienced.

Well, I guess that answers most of the questions. Am I proud? I don't know, it was never about that. The trip was amazing, beautiful people and beautiful nature and a great experience for me. If I had to go back I would definitely do it again. I loved how it wasn't important who you are in your normal life. You mainly talk about your day in the mountain and things you love. I have to say I didn't think about a lot there, except for of course 'Is it still far to the hut? Is this cloud a thunderstorm cloud? Am I still on the right path?' So if you want to relax and loose all the heaviness of life: go to the mountains! It is so easy, you just keep on walking.