Day 120: Summer's Here

Riesebusch (Bad Schwartau) to Güster

Distance: 55km

A surprisingly chilly night meant a rather light sleep. Many times I woke up, feeling cold.

Hence, I don't mind when dawn arrives. Time to get up, get moving.

Today, I will deviate slightly from the E1, which skirts around Lübeck and zigzag its way south. At one point, a bus ride would be required to take me beneath the Trave river. Since I neither feel like zigzaging nor taking a bus (boat would be okay to cross a river but certainly not a bus...), I opt for a more westerly route, through Lübbeck and along the Elbe-Lübbeck Canal. After a bit of boring walking through the industrial area of Lübbeck, enter the old town. Nice but nothing out of the ordinary. Being only  07:00 the city is still waking up. After not spending too much time in the city, I settled in for a 30 kilometers walk along the canal, which I have mostly to myself in the morning. 

It's a pleasant walk, monotonous maybe, but I enjoy it. People I meet along the way are talkative today, on this sunny and hot Friday afternoon and curious about what I'm doing and where I am going. 

With Heinrich, a NOBO hiker with destination Trondheim, I have a pretty long chat. After one week on the trail it feels great to meet another thru-hiker. So I'm not the only one out there at least. 

The last kilometers along the canal are going surprisingly smooth for me. At Mölin, I leave the trail as I want to follow the last 20 kilometers a string of lakes, with the hope to find a nice bathing place. 

Along the way, I grab a big bucket of ice-cream. Nothing beats that on a hot day like today. 

Right after joining the lake, I spot a wonderful spot to jump into the water. The  lake is warm and surrounded by forest. Civilization seems far away here. Wonderful. 

The last couple of kilometers are tough. Despite the nice scenery, my legs and feet feel tired. So I am happy, when I am finally being greeted by my lovely 1nitetent hosts in Güster, where I have a sweet camp spot in their garden. After a very nice evening around the fire with my host I retreat into my tent. Tired but happy after a really nice day.