GregCath

We arrived in Berlin from London via EasyJet. It had been an early start from Alex and Jill's apartment and out we went from Gatwick airport. Good to hear German spoken again. Cloudy skies over Europe but meticulously laid out farm and fields down below gave us a hint of our destination. Into Schonefeld then onto a DB train to Berlin. Berlin itself has a reasonably complex underground/overground/international rail intertwined system. A poor old guy like me could barely see the short designations for the lines - just too small a font. Out of the architecturally inspiring Hauptbahnhof building and towards our apartment on foot. Later we worked out that this walk along Invalidenstrasse actually took us across the line of the old Berlin Wall. This line is such a defining thing for Berlin, even now ... read more

Wednesday: We got back to London on the afternoon of the 1st of June, after a slightly delayed trip back from Santiago. The camaraderie of the Camino continued to the airport with people spontaneously making conversation and sharing their joy. We had left the hotel befor 0730 on a crystal clear blue-sky day in Galicia. Into Gatwick, down through the thick clouds that are so typical of London. A particular joy of travelling from Santiago was the airline's concerns about walking sticks. Despite Catherine trying to protect hers, all three were lost to the system. We did not have any checked luggage so that was not an option. The train took us all the way through to West Hampstead and we walked the final 500m to Alex and Jill's place, but not before enjoying some Thai ... read more

It had been a long night, but we woke to the sound of songbirds and gentle rain. All quite pleasant until you realised we were about to venture out into it. I got the gang roused by about 0550 and we started to gather our belongings in the dark with head lamps. The Frenchies continued to sleep almost oblivious of our movements. I guess their 28 km trek of the previous day knocked them out: note to self about our plans for an even longer Camino in a few year's time. Backpacks swung over our shoulders and down stairs to regroup. One final "emu parade" of the room and we were on our way. Greg's knee was OK but causing him some trouble. Of course the younger ones were completely fresh and raring to go. The ... read more

As this was destined to be a short day of 14 km, we opted for a slow start. The surly Germans left the room relatively early but just to move to the Albergue kitchen to prepare breakfast. This was not before they two of them "entertained" Greg in the communal bathroom as he was trying desperately to fit his contact lens, and not have to endure the "entertainment" a moment longer. We opted for a local cafe for breakfast which was as expected except for a memorable ricotta cake. We headed out by around 0800. Greg with his new knee brace fitted and operational. The trail rose briefly out of Melida and past several lovely medieval churches. The attendant at one was particularly excitable - the church had dominion over an 11th Century baptismal font. It ... read more

Walked from Alex and Jill's place to the bus stop. Something of a rush because the bus driver decided to leave 5 mins early. A beautiful sunny day in London. We took freeways across town to Stansted airport for our Ryan Air flight. Catherine had a minor hassle getting through security because they were concerned she had something more than 100 mls of liquid. Debate come down to whether stick deodorant could be counted as liquid or solid. Sheesh! Onto the flight which was pretty full. Coming into Santiago de Compostela airport we could see the rolling green hills of Galicia and while cumulus clouds. Great walking weather. During the flight an English woman was sitting next to us. She was also planning to travel to Sarria, and had organised a taxi. We asked if we ... read more