Publicatu: 25.05.2020
To have a test run before the 'real' journey begins, I cycled from my former chosen home Regensburg to my original hometown in the Franconian Switzerland, Hollfeld, on Sunday and Monday, May 16th/17th.
With perfect weather, my aunt accompanied me for the first part from Regensburg to Kallmünz, so the start was absolutely fantastic!
And it continued great afterwards: In Schmidmühlen, I spontaneously visited a former colleague, met her freshly hatched, super cute offspring, and was also provided with a delicious lunch :) Thanks a lot again!
The following kilometers along the Naab to Amberg went smoothly, and even when it became hilly towards Sulzbach-Rosenberg, it did not dampen the good mood.
When I found a great sleeping spot in a small forest on a hill about 10 km before Neuhaus an der Pegnitz, I was amazed that I had already completed 100 km on Day 1.
My first 'real' wild camping night was very peaceful, it was relatively cool, but I still got some good sleep ;)
The next morning, everything was packed up again, a little yoga session was included, and then I continued to Neuhaus, through the beautiful Veldensteiner Forest, and suddenly I was already in Pottenstein at the Himmelsleiter (Heaven's Ladder) and could enjoy the great view of the region. As the Franconian Switzerland certainly lives up to its name, my legs noticed the increasing altitude and the lunch break in the town below came just in time.
Afterwards, there were a few more hills to conquer, which made me sweat quite a bit due to the luggage and the sun. But then my mom already came towards me and we cycled the last kilometers home together :)
In short: Dress rehearsal more than successful, the anticipation has definitely grown even bigger!