Days 47-48

Schwarzwald 8, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

116.9 Kilometers.
I'm still alive.
I set out into the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) around 11 am from Freiburg, and found myself instantly on some of the most beautiful trails I have ever run. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, I have been spoiled by nice trails...but these were like none I had ever seen. I just had to follow the right colored diamonds, so I didn't have to worry about stopping to check out my map at every fork (none of these trails are on my map anyways). When I left in the morning, I knew that I had to choose between three short days in the Schwarzwald or two long ones (the latter would put me in Zurich by Friday).
A fast 31.5 Kilometers put me in Hinterzarten, where I could have potentially stopped for the night. I felt like I could keep going, but I went into the tourism office to see if they could suggest anything for me. The man informed me that the place I would be heading towards was not a town at all, but just a spot in the middle of a gorge. There were no places to stay there, he said while showing me the map, suggesting that I stop in a closer town. For me though, if I continued on, I had to go far enough to where I could get to Switzerland in the next day. If I wasn't going to make it at least half way, I might as well stop where I was. The map that he had showed many places in the forest where there were caves, castle ruins and covered campfire areas, so I figured I could find a place in the forest even without a tent or sleeping bag and camp for the night. I asked for the cheapest restaurant in town, and bought the map that he had shown me. I spent about an hour eating some Blackforest ham and cherry cake while planning my next move. To get over the huge amount of food in my stomach, I walked a couple kilometers to Titisee where I looked for all the supplies I thought I would need for the night. I found a little box of matches for free at the pharmacy, and headed to the little grocery store to find some things to eat. I ran out of town with a Capri Sun, two nectarines, a mini baguette thing, four bratwursts and three candy bars (Bounty, Snickers, Marzipan Ritter) figuring that I would have enough for both dinner and a light breakfast. When I bought the bratwurst, I had the option of buying some precooked sausage, but I thought to myself "I'm camping, of course I will have a fire."
Along the route, I made some detours to find some castles that were marked on my map. All I found was several minutes of stingy nettles and nothing. I decided that castles were not my best option, and that I would run to the next covered cooking area and stop there. The trails were amazing, and I found myself happily making the climbs and discovering the views with the additional weight of food on my back.
I arrived at the Schattenmühle hut and fire pit before 8 pm, having covered a stupidly huge 62.4 kilometers to get there. I had eaten the Bounty bar during the run, and when I arrived I ate a nectarine and the Ritter Sport and drank my Capri Sun. I was shocked to find that the place was not actually a covered fire pit, but a fire pit and a covered building which were not connected. My plan to sleep sheltered and near a fire was ruined. I cursed my map.
The "camp site" was near a road which had a construction trailer on it, so I spent much of the remaining daylight trying to get into it with tools fashioned from a rusty tent stake that I found nearby. No dice. I also gathered a bunch of wood, but because it had rained, most of it was pretty damp. As it started to get dark, I started to feel hungry and impatient to have a fire going. I quickly built a little tepee out of the sticks that felt the most dry, and tore up some of the now useless pieces of my map and tried to get a fire started. The wood was too wet, and it wasn't long before I was sitting in the dark with no fire and no more matches. Fire is a difficult thing. You have to be patient with it. Around midnight, I went and waited by the side of the road, hungry and tired, for a car to come by. I got a lighter from a woman and headed back to try to make magic happen. I gathered all of the dry sticks and leaves from around the hut and tried to make my fire. It wasn't enough, and the lighter was almost out of fluid and wouldn't start...and it was starting to rain. I resolved that I would go to sleep and try again in the morning. I ate the little piece of bread and the last nectarine and pulled out my space blanket and sprawled out on the hard wooden bench. I maybe slept for a few minutes off and on, but I was cold and my stomach was grumbling. Around 3 am, I decided to make another try with the fire. I went out onto the road and waited again. I got a lighter from a pair of construction workers that drove by and went back to start my fire. I found an old board that was dry on the backside of the hut (under many heavy clay shingles) and spent some time jumping on it and throwing rocks at it to break it up into manageable pieces. I built a perfect tepee and used the last of my map as starter fluid. I smiled at my success, the fire was starting and I was ready to eat. Just as my little friend crackled its first strong breath, it started pouring with rain. Minutes later I was underneath the hut with some rescued wood, cold legs, tired eyes and raw bratwurst. It was 3:30 am and my spirit was breaking. "Why did I buy food that needed to be cooked?" I tried to go to sleep, sitting upright in a fetal position in my space blanket igloo. Somehow I managed to sleep until 5 am, when the sun came up and I resolved to try to make a fire one last time.
This time, I was patient. I didn't have any more paper, so I spent an hour and a half picking slivers off of the board that I had found, producing as much tinder as I could. My hands were trembling and cold, and my legs were wrapped in my (useless) space blanket...but I was patient. It was raining, so I built my structure on a portable wooden base that I could move outside when it stopped. Around 7, I had a beautiful little structure of tepees within tepees full of hand generated sawdust and a found cigarette-butt fuse. As soon as it stopped raining for a second, I carefully carried my precious little friend to the fire and tried lighting it. After a couple flint strikes, a fire started to grow, and I wrapped my hands around it in desperation. "Take my warmth, whatever you need...just live!" Man did it live. Tired cold and covered in ash, I saw my friend grow through bloodshot eyes...one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I threw my bratwursts on the grill and ignored the drizzling rain. I would eat this morning. Those bratwursts are among of the greatest things I have ever eaten. It was 8 am, and I had to cover 55 more kilometers to get to my destination in Switzerland.
Tired and still a bit hungry, I started walking east to Achdorf where I would transfer trails and continue south. On the way I found a snack hut where I got some sports drink and some food, along with a bag of Gummi Bears (which I had to eat while still in Germany). The trails were muddy, and the forest that was paradise the day before was a completely different place. Tired, I stumbled through the forest, taking some time to explore abandoned structures or caves along the way that might have been better places to stop the night before. I also stopped to take a nap on a bench in a field, and I arrived in Achdorf around 18 kilometers later under drizzling rain. Somehow it was nearly three o'clock when I arrived, and I still had nearly 37 kilometers to go. I took the mandatory first couple steps, and started to run. I needed to get into Schaffhausen (Switzerland) before too late. The trails were incredible. Much better than the day before, and so much clearer than the trails that I had been on in the morning. It was like paradise, I ran along narrow trails in lush green forest along cliff edges and over tangled roots by stones that were carved to look like mythical beings. Tired as I was, it was incredible. Too bad the battery in my camera was close to dead. I didn't take any photos...you'll have to see it for yourself. Running on trails like that is like dancing, you move fast and without thinking, subconsciously finding the proper footholds through roots and rocks. On occasion, I would slip and feel certain that I was about to die at the perils of a steep cliff...only to catch myself with the other foot. I ran the rest of the run with the lyrics to a Johnny Cash song stuck in my head: "That's one you owe me, I let you slide..." One foot to the other...my feet make good teammates.
I arrived in Schaffhausen in the evening, wiped out and bleary eyed, unshaven and covered in ash and the smell of campfire. I was pretty sure that I couldn't make another night outside...so I started my general process of wandering around hoping that a miracle happens. I wandered around town and through a castle. I withdrew some Swiss Francs (from a Swiss bank!) and got some dinner at a Chinese takeaway place. I spoke with some young people who informed me that I would be hard pressed to find hospitable people in the country. "People are just cold here and unwelcoming of strangers." I sure hoped not.
After some other uneventful events, I found myself in Cross Box, a backpackers bar and hostel in town. I ordered a beer and started talking with the bartender, who put me in touch with the head bartender. After explaining myself in some pretty terrible German, and asking if there were any nice locals in the bar, she told me she would look about. She returned with two young men and a place to stay. I had a drink with Jeremy and Michael and discussed some common interests in music. They are some pretty awesome dudes. I was wiped out and so excited to have a place to sleep. Jeremy's roommate was out for the night, so I had a bed to myself, and I took a shower and slept for a solid 10 hours. It was amazing. I love bed.

Days 45-46

Roof Dinner, Freiburg, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

31.2 Kilometers.
After getting across the border for the fourth, I was ready to take a long awaited (since Paris) day off in Freiburg. I had slept until noon after the long day before, and after spending some time eating lunch and catching up on some computer usage, I got my things put together and started heading to Freiburg after four pm. The run was smooth, except for a few 16 percent grade hills, but I got into Freiburg before long. When I got into town I bought a cold chocolate milk (milk in Germany is refrigerated!), and thought for a second that it was curious that it came in a glass bottle. Seconds later, when I stepped outside and the bottle slipped out of my tired and sweaty hands and shattered on the floor before I could drink it, I also pondered why it came in a glass bottle. So much for my cold chocolate milk. Scheiße.
I met up with my host Aline and had some dinner on the roof with some of her friends and roommates, and then we watched the French movie about Edith Piaf until everyone was too tired to finish it. It was in French without subtitles, as every young person in this flat speaks English, French, and German incredibly well...except for me. I got the gist though.
On my day off, I wandered around town, looking at some of the old architecture and trying to not step in the open gutters that run along the streetsides. My day went like this: Pretzel, Münsterworst, Ice Cream, Kinder, Ice Cream, Beer, Schintzel, Beer, Fries, Pretzel, Wine. Between eating, I spent some time checking out the maps of the region for my next couple of days, eventually deciding upon a vague route where I just take things as they come. Story of my life I guess.
I had dinner with Aline and her friend Miriam, and watched the sunset on the roof with some more young students from the flat or the area. Now I am tired and wondering what will happen tomorrow. I am trying to work out a trail route through the Blackforest, but I have no idea what the trails are like or how challenging they will be. I'm just going to head east on the Freiburg-Konstanz transverse trail and see where it takes me, eventually (after one or two days) meeting up with the Ostweg trail which heads south into Switzerland.

Day 44

Day 44, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

28.5 Kilometers.
Au revoir France, Gutentag Deutschland!
Happy Independence Day! I made it to Germany! Wake up PJ!
The run was straightforward but not incredibly scenic, along the side of a busy two lane highway with no shoulder. Halfway through I had to stop in the woods and use the emergency toilet paper that I have been carrying around since I left Columbia...it seems the French Thai food hit me pretty hard. The toilet paper has been through a lot (NYC plus 1,200 km of European roads inside of a calcium bottle), but sadly it never made it to Germany. It did get all ripped up though and and coated in minty calcium...so it was a little bit less of a pleasant experience than it could have been...
Anyways, a little over 2 hours after I left Mulhouse, France, I arrived in Badenweiler, Germany and met up with my couchsurfing host Anna. I let my legs cool in the stream that runs near her house, had a shower and passed out on the futon for an hour or so. Some friends of Anna were having a party outside of Freiburg (my next destination), so around 7 we rode bikes down to the train station, and took the train into Freiburg. Once we got there, we stopped by the grocery store and rode out of town, and then hiked a mile up a hill to get to a little castle. We watched the sunset from a the top of the tower (the view was awesome), and then built a fire at its base. I spent the night hanging out with a bunch of cool people (who all spoke perfect English) who played some music and grilled some good food. I even heard some country songs and had some beer and Bratwurst (the closest I got to a hot dog)...apart from the lack of fireworks and the whole not being in the US thing, it was pretty much a normal 4th of July.
Around 1 AM we made the walk and bike ride back to the train station, and after getting off the train, we had a half hour bike ride up a hill to get home. Definitely one of those days where my legs hate me. I think they will hate me more for making them run back to Freiburg now...

Day 43

Photographer, day 43, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

47 Kilometers.
I set out around 10:30 towards Mulhouse, where I had found a place to stay through couchsurfing. On the way, I was called by Justin, an Australian photographer living in Zurich who was trying to find me to take a photo of me while running. Through some crazy chain of events, and some friends passing around the word, I guess my trip has been deemed worthy of an article in the NY Post (if you're in NY, get the paper this Sunday!)...which is pretty cool, but also pretty nuts. It was pretty weird for me having a photographer drive out to find me while running. I felt like a celebrity. Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually a normal kid who likes to run who went to Europe with a backpack and a blog so that his Mom could know that he wasn't dead every day (still alive Mama!). Cool to see that I can maybe inspire or entertain some other people though...and maybe find some more places to stay!
Anyways, after much calling back and forth between Justin and I (where I was always arriving in the next town by the time he got to the last one), he managed to track me down and I spent some time running around in circles for the camera. He would drive ahead a little ways and take another photo when I got to him. He kept asking me for less smiley photos...which was pretty difficult for me to do. I smile a lot in general, and the whole scenario was pretty funny. The run took quite a bit longer than it should of, and Justin headed back to Zurich when I had about 25 km to go. It was the closest I've gotten to having someone run along side me in 43 days.
It was an incredibly hot all day, but as soon as I got near Mulhouse it started pouring down with rain. Luckily I had finally broke and accepted the disposable poncho from Claire back in Belfort. I met up with my couchsurfing host Efi in the center of town, everything dry except my fingers and shoes.
I took a shower and blow-dried my shoes, and Efi and I headed out back into the middle of town to get some dinner. We went to a Thai restaurant, which was awesome for me. I haven't eaten spicy food since I left NY, and the restaurant was nice enough to give me an extra little bowl of fresh Thai chillies. It wasn't long before my craving for heat was satisfied and I had the hiccups. After dinner, we watched a little concert in the middle of town. There is a big car convention going on in Mulhouse this weekend, so there was a french guy singing 1950's American rock and roll. It was a pretty awesome last night in France.

Day 42

Lion Belfort, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

22 Kilometers.
I realize now that my 'space' blanket is worthless. My legs were very very cold during the night, and I found myself trying many different arrangements throughout the night in the tent to make myself more warm. Rustling around all night with the giant piece of tin foil, I accidentally ripped a corner off of it. All the blanket seemed to do was capture my sweat...so I was cold and wet. When it got warm towards the morning, I finally got some smooth sleep, and I slept well and late...waking up hot and face down with tarp lines and drool all over my face. The best way to start a run. After packing up and returning the tent, I set out towards Belfort. The run was short, and I arrived around noon.
I gave my couchsurfing host Claire a call, and she met me in the center of town. I took a shower and we had lunch, and she set out for her day of work at the local tattoo parlor. While she worked, I intended to get a ton of things done, including my laundry, my e-mail and some sight seeing. I like to do my laundry on occasion with a machine, because I normally just rinse it by hand, and after about a week my stuff starts to look a little bit more brown than it should. So, I set out towards the laundromat, walking about ten minutes only to find that there was no soap for sale. I turn around and walk for another ten minutes back to the grocery store to buy the smallest box of soap they sell...which was still way too big for a single load, but I figure I can leave it in the laundromat for the next traveller. When I get back to the laundromat, however, all of the machines are in use, so I look up the address of the other laundromat in town, and walk for 25 minutes to get there. It is incredibly hot outside, and because I am washing both of my shorts and t-shirts, I am walking around with a black long sleeve shorts, and black athletic pants with no underwear. I feel pretty muggy, but I make it to the other laundromat with my box of soap in hand. The price of a wash is an amazingly expensive 6 euros. After all this trouble, I feel like I need to pay it, and throw my clothes in the machine. I open up the box of soap that I bought, only to find that there is no place to put it. It is then that I notice a sign above the machine that says that soap is included in the wash. I guess that explains the price a little bit...but what kind of black magic is that? After walking about for an additional hour in search of soap and another laundry facility, I could have just used the first place without doing anything extra. Argh. So, I turn on the machine, not putting any soap in, and sit around in the heat (barefoot now) waiting for my things to wash before drying them. When I take my things out almost 4 hours after I started this whole epic laundry journey, they aren't not much cleaner than when they started, and my white shirt still has some brown stuff all over it that makes it really look like it belongs to a homeless person...and now that I've dried it, it is probably heat set in there. What a practical use of my day.
At seven, I met Claire at her work, and we had some dinner and met up with her friend Céline for a drink at a local pub. Afterwards, we went off to walk around the castle that I hadn't had time to explore during the day. During our walk, I saw the famous giant lion statue for which Belfort is famous. I guess it has an interesting history, but it's main impact on me was getting that Lion King song stuck in my head. "Nants ingonyama Bagithi Baba..."

Day 41

Ronchamp and I, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

27 Kilometers.
I have been excited for this day for a very long time. Le Corbusier's Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp. I said goodbye to Jean Noël and set out ready to run. The run was a nice distance, and I could just cruise without worrying about going well over my planned daily mileage. I got into the town of Ronchamp around 11, and spent some time wandering around and finding some drink before heading up the very long hill to the chapel, arriving just in time for the 12 o'clock bells. I wrote a paper on the chapel a couple years ago, and I have been intrigued by it since then. I basically ran for a week through towns I had never heard of to get there (ended up being worth it even without the chapel), and I grinned widely as I saw its little shark fin tower rising above the tree line as I approached. As I rounded the corner ready for my first view of the entire building, I saw a tour bus and a woman who stopped me to ask if I had paid my entry.
"But...it is a church?!"
"It is private."
"Do they still have mass here?"
"Yes."
"And I have to pay?!"
"Yes."
"Fine, take these three Euros and use them for upkeep."
Renzo Piano is building the new tour center...it isn't cheap. So much for a magical first full view.
After getting past a pretty ugly hedge, I got the view, and spent the next couple hours wandering in and around the chapel, noticing the details that I missed in the textbook photos. The execution of Ronchamp is much better than that of Villa Savoye...which is probably a combination of it being much later in Le Corbusier's career, the purpose of the building and its proximity to the German and Swiss borders. I wrote my 'perceptions' paper on the relationship between nature and technology in Ronchamp. In summary, architecture from the beginning has been used to protect man from harsh natural forces (rain, sun, cold, etc.). However, as technology and architecture become increasingly prominent, we often forget about the power of the elements. Instead of escaping nature with architecture, we find the need to escape the city (and architecture) to find nature. As environmental consciousness progresses, technology becomes the oppressor and we try to create more nature instead. To me, Ronchamp is a reminder of the weakness of architecture and technology and the eventual and continuing powers of nature. On the inside, I felt the light piercing through windows and lifting off the ceiling, gravity pressing in on the ceiling above and the earth mounding upwards from beneath. The clumsy hand of the architect was there, but the site was its master. As it thundered outside, I appreciated my temporary shelter...but I had to go out into the elements and find some man made shelter of my own.
I returned to the main building and started asking some questions, many of which I already knew the answers to.
"What is that other building in front of the Chapel?"
"It was made by Le Corbusier and is designated to house pilgrims who pass by."
"Oh, really? Does it still function?"
"Yes, of course...Le Corbusier wanted it to be so."
"Funny, because I am kind of a pilgrim. Can I sleep there?"
"No."
I left feeling kind of ripped off. I walked back down to the town, hopping a fence into an abandoned mine building on the way to check out a potential sleeping spot. After finding something to eat at the grocery store, I wandered out towards a campground to see if I could find a shower. If I slept outside, at least I would be clean. On the way, I found a little lake and went for a swim. It was after 6, and I had already given up on feeling stressed about being homeless. After my swim, I wandered into the campground to use a toilet, but before I could get to it I was stopped by a young man.
"Can I help you?"
"I hope you can."
After some talking, I got introduced to his boss Oliver at Les Ballastièrs, the campground outside of Ronchamp. It wasn't long before Oliver lent me a tent and gave me a spot to set it up. As I swam in the campground pool after closing hours I listened to the Amélie Poulain soundtrack playing over the stereo and thought to myself,
"Life really is that magical."

Day 40

Me and Jean Noel, originally uploaded by Ryan Runs Europe.

36.4 Kilometers.
It has been pretty rough finding a computer over the past few days, so I'm going to try to catch things up by making this one short. It was a pretty awesome day though. Since I left Paris, I have only had two days where I knew where I was going to sleep before I arrived in town, and the constant search in desperation thing was beginning to get a bit tiring...much more so than the running part.
This day, I decided to split my run into three legs of 10 to 13 km of running, with a 3k walk after the first leg and an extended stop at the first internet cafe I had seen in days after the second. I have been trying to vary the way I manage my mileage, as never before in my life have I done almost the same run every day, instead I have always alternated long runs with short runs and easy runs with hard ones.
I needed to spend some time in the cafe, writing my posts for days 38 and 39, checking up on e-mails and sending out some couchsurfing requests (something I hadn't done since I left Paris), so the Internet cafe in Saint Loup was a great find for me. Much to my dismay however, the entire town shut down between 12 and 2, and not knowing how big Luxeuil-les-Bains was, I decided to wait around town for things to start up again. After the cafe opened and I satisfied my addiction to the Internet, I did the last leg to Luxeuil.
I arrived into town not long before 6, and was pretty disappointed to see that there was a bunch of cool historic buildings that I could have seen the interior of had I gotten there a little bit earlier. Wanting to make sure I didn't miss anything, I went into the Office of Tourism, and asked if there was anything I should see that would still be open. After bringing up why I was in town, and that I didn't have a place for the night, the woman working there was happy to help me find a place to stay, and after a few calls I was put in touch with Jean Noël and his wife, who were happy to put me up. Everyone pointed to him when called for a place, because he happens to be the runner in town. The evening was awesome, and I was floored that not only did I not have to struggle to find a place to stay, but that I was staying with another runner. It was the first time in my trip that I stayed with someone who was also crazy about running, and it was great going over some war stories with him. It was cool to find someone who immediately recognized why I keep my calcium bottle stuffed full of toilet paper (to avoid the 'click clack,' and for the other, obvious reason). Jean Noël has run the same 73 minutes for the half marathon that I did in NY a few years ago, and has run the Marathon in Athens that I'll kind of be doing in a few months. We had a barbecue (with pasta) and had some drinks with some of his friends. I went to bed feeling much more happy with my luck, and knowing that I was in the home of another member of the cult that is running.