Last few days

So once again I'm behind a few days. But this time it wasn't out of laziness, rather parsimoniousity! Internet cafes in Baiersbronn are soooo expensive! The cheapest one is 4 euros (~$7) per hour! But I made a trip to Freudenstadt to buy a knife and fork (which are also incredibly expensive in Baiersbronn) and noticed that this internet cafe was only 2 euros/hour (which is still fairly expensive compared to Frankfurt).

So anyway, to summarise: I made it to Baiersbronn without any major problems (apart from a bit of confusion at Karlsruhe trainstation. My travel guide indicated that I should be getting on another train, but I couldn't see any trains at the place it directed me to go. Turns out what looked like trams were actually what we'd call 'light rail'), was picked up by my hosts, shown round the house, then paid my 'Guest tax' and collapsed into bed. The house where I'm staying is quite nice. It's a three storey traditional style house and I've got quite a sizeable room to myself. It's got a bed, wardrobe, TV, and a free standing shower, (which is a bit of a weird concept, but it works).

My first day, I woke up lateish and feeling quite hungry, I went for an explore through Baiersbronn in search of food. I raided a few bakeries, 'drug stores' and supermarkets (they have one named after Marilyn Monroe heh) and amply supplied with pretzels, donuts and biscuits, I went for a 3 hour walk along the country side. It was rather a nice day, probably 5° or so, with blinding sunshine. I followed the Murg (a big river fed by snow melt) and was fascinated by the numerous hydro-electric plants along its length and the small remaining outcrops of ice. Eventually got back to the house (and finally worked out how to open the front door lol. I'd tried to get in before and couldn't, which is why I went on the walk) allowed myself a 30 minute rest and then went for a run. I found this great trail through the forest with great views out onto the countryside. I think you can ski along it when there's snow. After a bit over an hour, I was back in my room and had a tinned dinner of kidney beans and mexican mix vegies, which I drank out of a cup, lacking suitable utensils. Went to bed at 10ish after reading for a little while.

The next day, I woke up earlier and walked down to the town in search of bread and juice. I bought them and then asked around at a few camera places to see if they could help me. At some point in my travels, I'd lost the cord for my camera's battery charger and it was now warning me that I didn't have much time left before it expired. I didn't have much hope of finding it in a small town like Baiersbronn, but lo and behold, the local elektro-Laden had a multitude of such cords and I bought a replacement for 2 euros:)

I walked home and tucked myself in bed, in search of warmth. Next thing I knew, it was boiling hot and 2 hours had passed. I was feeling quite weak, my cold had worsened, but I forced myself to go for a run. I felt better almost immediately as I knew I would. The fresh air is really invigorating, completely free of pollution. I followed the trail I'd found the day before, but as I had a longer run scheduled, I kept going, climbing higher and higher into the mountains. After a while I was no longer running on a trail proper, instead I ran on an old disused logging track that had long been overgrown with ferns. I was delighted to find proper snow here and there, ever more frequent as I climbed higher and higher. On quite a few occasions, I had to run on the snow to avoid the slippery ice on the trail, and it felt wonderful underfoot. Soon I was completely alone, away from all signs of civilisation. The forest was completely silent, the only thing I could hear was the sound of my own footsteps. It was really a beautiful place. When my watch told me to turn around, I wanted to keep going. I felt like I could run forever and never tire or grow bored. I did turn around though because I knew I had a longer run scheduled in 5 days. On the return journey I sped down the trail. I had climbed at least 500m on the way up and now it was time to reap the rewards. Halfway down, I thought I heard a car behind me skidding slightly on the damp road. I moved to the side of the road and looked over my shoulder, but saw nothing. This happened a few times before I realised it was the wind whistling through the trees (or was it one of the fighter jets that periodically tear through Baiersbronn's airspace at supersonic speeds?). I ran back along a different trail, which transected a few of the fields, which are used for downhill skiing when mother nature permits. Without the snow cover, you could see the devestating effect downhill skiing has on the environment. Deep scars had been torn in the earth by the skiiers and the grooming machinery. I ran past the guest house and made one final circuit to bring the total up to two hours and then went inside. Truly an epic run:)

I read for a while and ate a little for dinner and then went to bed. By 8:30, I was fast alseep. I woke up at 7:30 this morning, feeling a bit better than I had the previous two mornings, but still quite sick. Like I said before, I'm in Freudenstadt at the moment. I was very pleased to find a 'Reform' shop, which sold some vegan food. I've been finding it very hard to find things to eat here. There are lots of fresh ingredients available, but lacking a kitchen, I have to resort to eating out or eating out of tins. There's basically nothing I can have at most of the restaurants, whose menus I've perused. I could pay 4 euros for fried potatoes, but it doesn't really seem worth it with no-one to eat with. At the supermarkets, all the ready to eat tinned meals have meat in them, so for the last two nights I've just been eating bread with kidney beans and vegies. But at this shop, there were heaps of different vego tinned meals as well as some rice milk, so I bought enough to keep me fed for the next week:) Now I just need to find a knife, fork, spoon and I'll be set:)

Until next time,
seeya