Distance: 24.3km (+14km in taxi)
Duration: 5.5hrs and 2hrs breaks
Weather: extremely hot with 36C, no wind, no clouds
We left the accommodation without breakfast as we tried to walk the first 10km before it would get too hot. Dömitz was the next town where we had the opportunity to buy some food and water. The walk there was mostly pleasant as right on the dyke, surrounded by beautiful landscape. Just the last part walking into town was a long a busy road with very hungry mosquitoes. We reached the place in the late morning and the sun was already extremely strong and burning down on us. Our breakfast was a real treat with an ice cream on the super market parking lot as there was otherwise no place in the shade.
We continued our walk but we got more and more worried about the distance we had to do that day with the unbearable heat. We still had another 26km in front of us which is already an extreme stretch and with those conditions far from healthy. Hence, we started looking for options. However, there were no busses on the weekend as they only do school runs, the option of calling a bus would have taken another 2.5hrs. So we only had the possibility to book a taxi as there is no Uber in the area. I felt a bit defeated in my mission to walk all the way to Hamburg but looking back, it was absolutely the right decision. Under different circumstances, we would have adjusted the accommodation but since Andreas had a train on Sunday morning from Hitzacker, we needed to stay there for the night. The taxi ride was great and we nearly didn’t want to get out of the air conditioned Mercedes! He dropped us off next to the dyke and we continued for another 12km. The walk took us across enormous fields and there was hardly any shadow. During this trip, I learned that I can cope quite well with high temperatures as long as there is shade. But I can’t cope at all with direct sun as it makes me feel like my brain is getting a deep fry.
The last part of the trip was by ferry for pedestrians which took us right into Hitzacker. The town is super beautiful as the old town is located on an island that has the shape of a heart (ok, it requires some imagination). They have the best ice cream I had in a long time and the city is perfect for a relaxed stroll in the evening.
Our place was a very cute B&B which was decorated with good taste. Hitzacker is definitely a stop on route that one must see!
Accommodation: http://www.schillers-hitzacker.de/
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