Walk with us across a continent from
Prague, Czech Republic
to
Le Puy en Velay, France
along the
- “Svatojakubská cesta” (Czeck Republic),
- “Jakobsweg” (Germany),
- “Via Jacobi”(Switzerland), and
- “Chemin de Saint Jacques” (France).
Latest Posts
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Well, we all made it back to the USA, but not without adventure. Allison and I had a relatively smooth ride to Charleston where we will sow d some time visiting my sister and brother-in-law and my mom. We’d planned to rent a car when we arrived and it wasn’t until literally 30 seconds until…
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We enjoyed our last day before heading home by touring the International Museum of the Reformation here in Geneva. It was surprisingly entertaining and interesting for anyone who likes history. My favorites are below. Again, there was so much more… I highly recommend this museum. Later we had lunch of savory crepes and one sweet…
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With our pilgrimage over, we became tourists for the day. After sleeping in (until 7am) we had a breakfast of Croissants, butter and jam. Allison also ate a hard boiled egg that she’d saved from the night before (or was it two?). We then walked the short walk through Martigny and caught the train to…
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Heavy rains were predicted this morning, so last evening we made the decision to sleep late. We had planned to leave our lodging around 9am. Our discussion at breakfast led us to make plans to return home. Yes, we are stopping this pilgrimage early. This one has always been different insofar as we never had…
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We woke up at 6am in the dark (we all remembered the 5am sunrises 63 days ago in Prague). We packed under the light of our phones and dragged our stuff under a light near to the bathhouse at the campground. There, we basically repacked because things weren’t in the right place, and we also…
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Nadine It’s complicated. There were many unknowns in the plan for today including both our lodging and even our destination. We have done three consecutive days of significant climbs and I had had about enough. Mark’s knee was also stiff from a minor strain and little sleep last night. So we decided to skip today’s…
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This morning we started our day with breakfast with Gertrude and wished her well as she was going on a llama seeking adventure. The morning was warm and we started with some pretty step climbing. This progressed to even stepper ascent including ropes attached to the mountain side for balance and possible high winds. Despite…
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Today was challenging to say the least.. Those 3743 feet of ascent were all real and included a challenging descent as well. We are tired. I’m not sure what we can upload tonight due to poor wifi but we will try to catch up again tomorrow if possible. We packed up our damp tents this…
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Short update today because we are wild camping with no wifi nor electricity. We are well. Our 16.3mi with 3600+ ascent sounds like quite a feet, but honestly it included 2200 of a cable car ride so let’s just subtract that off and make it a 1409ft ascent. That’s all we can say. We also…
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No update today because other than eat and plan lodging we just rested. The pilgrimage starts again tomorrow.
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Today was our first rest day but that doesn’t mean we were not active. We woke at 6am to leave the apartment by 7 and begin an adventure to the top of the Alps. Jungfraujoch is the highest peak in Switzerland and claims several other “-ests”. At over 11,000ft of elevation it is an alpine…
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We woke in our tents to the pattering of rain so we knew today was going to be a less-than-ideal start. It’s no fun packing up wet tents in the rain. Also, neither Allison nor I slept well since our stomachs were feeling off. We were not in a rush since our bus back up…
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“Good morning pilgrims” is a phrase you’ve likely heard us say most mornings as we do our morning update. This is because in many ways we count you as pilgrims with us on this journey. But today, more than ever, I wish you all could have been with us in person. Today’s walk was superb…
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Leaving our nice Pilgrim Herberge this morning was bittersweet. The hosts had been so kind to us letting us use their oven and clothes washing machine and being available for us. The Herberge in Giswil is highly recommended. We also said goodbye to Otto with whom we’ve been traveling for a few days now. We…
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We had yet another discombobulated Morning Update but we’re just trying to keep you on your toes. After leaving Stans we immediately started climbing and the intensity so early took us all by surprise. We were quiet as we all struggled. Soon up ahead we saw a children’s school group (I’m guessing 8-9 year olds).…
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Today we were up at 5:30 am with a plan to catch a ferry across Lake Lucerne about an hour from our lodging. Johannes walked along with us as we recorded our morning update. Things didn’t really go as planned… After we arrived at the port in Brunnen, we unexpectedly met up again with Otto.…
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The monastery was a nice relaxing place to stay. Of course the church bells chimed every half hour throughout the night, so our sleep was interrupted. With the windows open I could hear the rain that began early in the morning. After a pilgrim breakfast provided by the Monastery at the pilgrim’s table, we walked…
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We planned slightly later start due to the short distance planned for the day and alarms were set for 6:30am. Of course Nadine was up much earlier. The Pilgrim Herberge in which we stayed last night was full and it was the first night sleeping with nearly a dozen “strangers”. I was amazed that no…
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Our morning began a little later than normal. Our hosts prepared us breakfast at 7:30am which was lovely and very filling. Then Richi drove us to a high point where we could walk on our route. Boy, was it up high. In my mind I was thinking we cannot possibly walk any higher this trip.…
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First. Sorry for the discombobulated post today. It seems the ladies were tired and things got a bit scrambled. So some things may not be in order. Because we were warm last night we left a window open. This made the room perfectly cool but also let in an annoying mosquito. So when the alarm…
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Nadine So whenever someone tells you it will be flat for the whole day do not believe them. I think we started the day just out of Konstanz with 1100 steps up. (I’m exaggerating just a little). We were lazy this morning and slept in on purpose. It was a wise decision as it was…
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PitterPat we woke up to rain on our tents. Ugh. That meant packing up wet tents which is a pain. But we survived the minor inconvenience. We had a short day planned (some of the 15.8mi today was on a ferry across Bodensee). But we all agreed that our legs felt heavy for some reason.…
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Just some videos for completion since I was unable to post last night.
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Another short post with limited content because we are tent camping with no wifi. We left in the morning after a big breakfast of eggs, yogurt, and a whole honeydew melon. The walk today was very nice with lots of wooded and farm paths. The rolling hills parted occasionally to reveal ever closer view of…
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Our day began at 5:30 am. We had a hearty breakfast of eggs, ham, and cheese plus coffee and tea. That is the way to start a day. Our path started off flat but we did climb some steep hills today. We have been spoiled by all this flat land walking. Our mountain climbing muscles…
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Let me back up a bit. On Sunday we had no WiFi so I was unable to post videos. Here a few to fill in the blanks.
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We woke early after a chilly night tent camping. It was fine in the tent in the sleeping bag, but the air was cold nonetheless. The beautiful church I mentioned had a bell tower that chimed every quarter hour. We had a disturbed sleep but still woke up at 5:30am. Why wake up so early??…
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Tiny update tonight because we are tent camping with no wifi available.
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Mark After a great breakfast and a special blessing by our host (an individual prayer for each of us), we said goodbye to this special pilgrim house… …and walked out onto the asphalt sidewalk. Our first stop was the grocery store to stock up with two days of supplies because tomorrow is Sunday. This is…
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Mark I had probably one of my best nights sleep primarily due to this hotels extensive options of pillows. I chose a small firm pillow and a neck roll and slept like a baby. So when the alarm went off at 5:30am I was asleep (not normal), but popped right up, ready to go. The…
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Nadine Breakfast was included in our room cost so we started out with the traditional breakfast of every food under the sun. I was able to try quince jam for the first time! Just yesterday we saw quince fruit growing on trees along the way. Today was an easy day walking to Ulm (about 4mi).…
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Mark So let’s cut to the chase. We woke to wet tents after an overnight rain. If you’ve ever camped, you know that feeling after a “good” nights sleep on the ground. But packing up a wet tent in your backpack along with damp clothes is a special treat altogether. We left with a “cheerful”…
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Just the morning update I was unable to publish yesterday due to lack of wifi.
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Short post today because we are at a campsite with no wifi. We had a long day planned so we left early into a cool 40deg morning. We continued to climb through the day which was a little bit of a surprise since we were told (not for the first time) that it’s all downhill…
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Allison Today began early. We hit the road at 6:20 am. The air definitely has a cold bite to it at 47 Farenheit with a breeze. The sunrise was beautiful on this cloud free morning. Mark decided it was time to replace the rubber tip on his pole. The old and new tips definitely looked…
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Mark We left our sweet set up in Oettingen and set out for the day earlier than we needed, but that is just habit. Before leaving however, we had a yogurt and fruit breakfast we’d purchased yesterday. It was Sunday and you could tell because the town was completely deserted at this time of morning.…
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After our dinner we took a quick walk around old Oettingen. Here are a few shots.
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Allison, Nadine, Mark We slept in! Well, Nadine didn’t, she got up to see the sunrise, but unfortunately it was an overcast morning. Breakfast was served at 8 am and what a breakfast. The meal covered all the basics and the entire surface area of the huge table. Granted we also made sandwiches for lunch…
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Mark We had a beautiful but chilly early start to our morning. It was cold enough that we were happy to climb a hill first thing. I think we all agree that getting an early start makes a world of difference. Today ended up being exactly 18mi which is a significant haul. But it felt…
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Nadine We left Schwabach with some light rain in the forecast but with a nice cool day ahead. Today was full of fun surprises, interesting people and sightings, a lovely cup of tea, and beautiful surroundings! 17+ miles of walking was enough but not bad. A favorite thing today was being shown through the Bicycle Museum…
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We had an easy day planned but we started out early anyway. I guess we were just ready to get going again. Walking out of a city is always “interesting” you get past the tourist areas into the places real people live. Then you move past those to small industries and mom and pop businesses.…
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First, before you read further, we are all fine. Next. We were happy to get on the road this morning, just not in the way we’d expected. Our morning packing and breakfast preparation was underway when Nadine decided to empty the dishwasher in the nice apartment we had in Nürnberg for our rest day. The…
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Our “rest day” in Nürnberg involved a lot of walking…well strolling really, but we were nevertheless on our feet a lot. On our stroll we met Mark from California who was touring Europe and remarkably a lady from Charlotte NC who grew up in Winston Salem. We visited a few cathedrals the bizarre Ehekarussell fountain…
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Last evening was truly an adventure. We camped in the woods with all the creatures. After a leisurely dinner of smoked salmon, potato salad, and rolls, we enjoyed our one beer. Mark was kind enough to hike over to a pub and buy 3 chilled beers. We headed to our tents and we’re asleep by…
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Very short post today because we are wild camping in the woods and need to conserve battery. We left Forchheim late to catch a grocery store knowing we might be camping tonight. Mostly farmland today but we did visit two small chapels and got a Jakobsweg stamp. The campground we’d chosen was pretty suspicious (it…
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<More video and pictures have to wait until better wifi> Today started early so we could beat the heat and also because of the distance and elevation. Unfortunately, last night was loud. Our lodging did not have air conditioning which required us to open the windows. Thank goodness the owner had a fan we could…
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<Note: Unless you intend to be anonymous, please sign your comments. We do a good job guessing who you are by your email address but some of you are mysteries since WordPress encodes your responses!> Today was supposed to be an easy 7.5mi day but there must have been a miscalculation, not by much but…
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< We finished mile 291 today. Tomorrow we will pass 300mi. > Today was a scorcher. Today was a day we kind of dreaded after seeing the forecast. We had a longish day planned anyway and the previous day exposed in the sun had drained us. To add to that, we had a late start…
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It was hot and we walked 17+mi. The End Well, not really the end but the heat took a toll on our enthusiasm and excitement about the walk. There were long sections of paved bike paths and that didn’t help either. Oh, and we ended with a climb (always fun on tired legs). I created…
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Leaving Gerhard and Heike’s this morning was bittersweet. We have been so loved there, but we also knew it was time to continue the pilgrimage. Allison We had to say goodbye to Heike last evening since she had to go to work early this morning. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with Gerhard and said our…
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First a video from yesterday. The Tauziehen (Tug of War). https://youtu.be/x6yoiKTANWI?si=dLkqoLp6W9IVT-bn We woke this morning early to attend a pre-mass parade. All of the former military men (what we would call Veterans) from nearby villages marched in front of the village square. FYI: Veteran in Germany is exclusive to those that saw combat. https://youtu.be/mIZLoe5hUYo?si=cLei6DU-wswgFPFq We…
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Another feast day at Gerhard’s and Heika’s home. We received a tour of the farm that had been in Gerhard’s family for many generations. There is a bell that chimes for the village at 6 am noon, and 7 pm to signal the work day for the village. Gerhard and his neighbors all helped place…
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Today was an exciting day for me. Ever since we’d started planning this pilgrimage, I’d made it a point to somehow visit my German friends Gerhard and Edgar and their families. I met Gerhard and Edgar in the Spanish meseta during our 2017 Camino. Their massive pilgrimage from their home here to Santiago Spain is…
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{Note: Until I get the YouTube embedding issue corrected, please just click the links. } The sun is shining today! It’s going to be a good day! https://youtu.be/e4dJ7JVudkI?si=HOwxwv0mm-DXfg8G Nadine Today was a relatively short day of 12.54 miles. We listened to Christian reggae (Christafari) music as we walked along the way. Isn’t that silly being…
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The morning video link was apparently bad. Here is the corrected one. https://youtu.be/RPBYYjyYiZw?si=fb0ab-gx6DYulz-x
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This morning began with an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheese along with hot tea and coffee. It tasted extra good since we cooked it ourselves due to the use of their kitchen. Click on the link for the corrected video. https://youtu.be/RPBYYjyYiZw?si=fb0ab-gx6DYulz-x We hiked uphill for the first hour of our morning. Eventually we…
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You can never tell our mood as we entered Day15, our xth consecutive day of wet. Today, to lighten the mood I snuck up on Nadine as we walked. As most of you know, the section of our pilgrimage is along a path called Burgenweg. It is a nature filled path that today ran alongside…
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Today started a bit like last night insofar as we had a completely non-pilgrim like meal. It was a luxury breakfast of fruit, meat, cheese, eggs, bread and jam all served over a linen tablecloth. Our host and the amazing breakfast. We received a stamp in our passports and headed out for the day. Despite…
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This old joke works well this morning. “I was born by cesarean section….you can’t really tell. Except I always enter my house through an open window.” – Stephen Wright Well this morning started out like a Keystone Cops flick. We expected a nearly 19mi day with significant elevation so we got up at 5:30 and…
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We had a short day after yesterday’s long haul, but it was mostly in a light rain. But the morning mist made for some pretty scenes. Our shoes were soaked through and our toes were doing the dog-paddle in our wet socks not long after our start. But as a pilgrim you take these things…
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Welcome to Germany!! Last night we celebrated our last evening in Czech with a fancy BIG dinner. Note what we are wearing. The temps had dropped to the low 50’s We had chicken pork, beef, pork ribs, grilled veggies, and mushrooms. (We needed to spend some left over Czech Krones anyway). We also treated ourselves…
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Nadine This morning we left the village of Kladruby a little earlier than usual, around 6:30 a.m. Already, people were out and about, a lady carrying two bags of groceries was returning to her home, children were setting off for school, and people in their cars zipped by. It’s fun to see daily life in…
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Follow up from yesterday. If you tried to see the clip of the vintage sewing machines yesterday, the link was bad. I’ve fixed it in yesterday’s entry. We spent our impromptu rest day by waking up late (6:45am) and having a cooked breakfast of sausage and eggs and a banana. We researched a new path…
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Before we even left our room this morning the sunrise over the lake was beautiful. I have to take Nadine’s word on that because I am not a morning person. Obviously, this is Allison. And our lodging very kindly provided black tea which apparently has lots of caffeine. Apparently when a morning person has two…
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FYI. Today we passed the 100mi mark!! A short compilation video is at the end of today’s vlog entry. Good morning,Allison here. This morning we ate a breakfast of yogurt and pastries in Nadine’s hotel room. But much to the disappointment of Nadine and myself there was no tea or coffee. We are very caffeine…
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About our morning updates. I know these are boring for many (but I hope you will view the first bit of today’s). I post these specifically for those that know us well and want to see how we are each day. I keep hoping to have WiFi sufficient to produce and send you guys some…
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Another short post due to no wifi. Actually we have WiFi but it isn’t connected to the internet so…basically useless to us. We started out this morning with the intent to walk again along the Berounka River to a cool sounding campground called Kemp Reggae. We waked through a nature/wildlife preserve and saw some cool…
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First of all, thanks for your patience. We are at yet another campground but this one has showers and WiFi. Thank you Lord!! We all really needed some WiFi and the showers are nice too. Wait…I got that backwards. Second, did you know that there is a “Maps” page on this site? On it there…
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Short post today for several reasons. What’s worse than a 15mi day? A 15mi day that turns into a 18.6mi plus day. So much to say but so little opportunity to post. Short summary: Left a little late after tenting last night. Stopped at Nizbor for coffee and visit to castle. Gave away first Arrow…
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We woke early. Wait, let me back up. First you should know that sunrise here in Czech is currently just after 5am. Second, our hotel room faced east. So but 5:30 we were wide awake and packed by 6:00. Our hotel included a wonderful and indeed exceptional buffet of eggs sausage, fruit, pastry, bread, jam…
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The pilgrimage has begun. Yay! First the bad news. As we were packing our bags this morning I realized the transmitter mic for our 360 camera was missing. After a few minutes of fruitless searching I recalled on instance the previous day when the camera fell and I’d heard a small crack. I’d been relieved…
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Today we begin our Pilgrimage!!! God has already shown up again this morning. My ankle which had been hurting since sleeping on it the wrong way on the plane has been bothering me since we arrived. This morning it is pain free! To God be the glory for this and the entire trip!
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Happy Sunday. This is the end of our pre-pilgrimage posts. We started our day with something we’d all been looking forward to for some time. We walked 4km (1hr) to a former communist agricultural museum to attend a thriving Christian worship service with Destiny Church. The irony of that cannot be overstated. If such a…
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Here is the cultural festival video that processed overnight.
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First, I promise these Vlog entries will get much shorter once we start walking. There is just so much to see in Prague and our time here is short. I love my sister Nadine. I put her “in charge” of Prague and she has made sure to make the most of our time here. Her…
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Good morning Pilgrims. Although the pilgrimage itself won’t start until Monday morning, we are en-route. In the Middle Ages the route was fraught with danger and the unknown. Delays and unexpected events were the norm and not the exception. Our journey is starting with a stumble as well. Our flight from Raleigh to Charlotte was…
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Well, it has finally arrived. It’s packing day. One of the great things about a pilgrimage hike is that you don’t have much stuff, and EVERYTHING you need to bring is in your backpack. But how on earth do we get three months of supplies to fit? Well….here’s how – watch to the end for…
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It’s Party Time! One of the last steps in our preparation, and one that is meaningful to both Allison and I is our Permethrin Party. What on earth is a “Permethrin Party”, you might well ask. Well it all started in 2017. When you walk the Camino de Santiago Frances route you share the trail…
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In one week (that’s 7 days, or only 168hours!!), we will be starting our journey to Prague. That flight overseas will kick off what is sure to be a spectacular adventure. I can’t wait! The trip OVERSEAS… We have a couple special treats in store for us as part of our flight itinerary. First, we…
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Just a short post to attach the promised gear review for all the gear geaks that read this vlog. Also…a teaser for our one-week-to-go post. If you’ve ever wondered “WHY!” Why would anyone voluntarily walk 1200mi and live out of a backpack for 3 months? Well, stay tuned for that post. We will attempt explain!
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Autographs can be Arranged! I’ve repeated this phrase a lot recently but “things are really starting to happen fast now”. Let’s kick this off with a video of <surprise> me. This is a gear review of everything I am taking on our trip. If you’re not into backpacking, this might not be the most action-packed…
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I’ve been reflecting on the upcoming adventure as we enter our countdown. Tomorrow we will read Psalm 19 and it seems just yesterday when we started our tradition of counting down beginning with the reading of Psalm 150. (Didn’t everyone growing up use paper chains as a countdown to something important like Christmas or the…
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We always end our preparation and training for a pilgrimage walk with three “big” hikes. The first is a 20mi hike at Hanging Rock State park. Being very honest, I never look forward to this one. This year was no exception. First, it is a long hike. After 20mi, I have gone through the typical…
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It has come to my attention that some of you do not see YouTube links when you view the VLOG. This may be happening if you read the VLOG directly from email. I’d love to hear from you if this is the case – so that I can diagnose and correct the issue. If you…
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Whew! That 10days went by quickly. As most of you know this is not our first Pilgrimage adventure. In fact, for Allison and this will be our fifth. That fact still surprises me. Some of our preparation steps always include examining maps, looking up tourist spots, physical training and a detailed examination of what we…
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Yesterday we were 40days and 40nights until our departure. In Jewish tradition, 40days symbolizes is a period of testing, trial, or probation In Christian tradition 40days can also symbolize spiritual preparation or a time of great change or even judgment. This idea continues in modern times with our usage with the word “Quarantine”. The idea…
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We’re 50 days away from our departure and FINALLY we have narrowed our route choices down to a single planned path. That doesn’t mean it won’t change slightly, but the major decisions have been made. As a reminder…when last I wrote about our route…we had a several major options on the table leaving Prague. Well,…
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I’ll save my next update for a few more days but wanted to link this video simulation of our first day (actually our first day + about 4 miles) from Prague. I’m still playing around with the OnceLostTrio opening sequence. It needs some work but I thought it was fun anyway. Enjoy
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Two months before our trip….yikes! I remember this feeling before every adventure. The months before always seem to drag on and on. But at this point you start realizing that there is so much yet to be done and the weeks are fading fast. We’ve been planning this for about a year now and we’ve…
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How do we prepare for a Pilgrimage Hike like this? In the first post about our preparations I wrote about our spiritual and physical training. As promised, today I think I’ll tell you about a heavy subject -pack weight. Now this might sound like a boring subject, but I promise you it has a real…
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For those already signed up and receiving updates, don’t worry, we won’t be posting every day for the next few months until we leave. Just every once in a while to practice the vlog apps and work out any bugs. So what do we do to prepare for an adventure like this? We are well…
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…and the Vlog is now “UP” We will use this vlog to share our journey from Prague CZ to Le Puy en Velay FR (Jul-Oct’25). Stay tuned, it’s gonna be amazing!!
OnceLostTrio 