Pilgern unter einem Hut
Unterwegs mit Sandra
Pilgrimage under one hat - on the way with Sandra
​
Bavarian Swabian Way of St. James
​
Stage 0: Arrival day Oettingen July 5th, 2020
​
​
Bavarian Swabian Way of St. James
​
Stage 0: Arrival day Oettingen July 5th, 2020
​
The sun is shining, light wind, about 22 degrees. A dream day.
My husband drives me by car to Oettingen and drops me off in the city center around noon. To keep me fresh To get in the mood for the Camino and to start the day with a little distance from everyday life, I had my first overnight stay in Oettingen planned where I wanted to leave on Monday morning. He quickly takes a photo of me, then we say goodbye with the promise that he would pick me up in Augsburg 6 days later.
I have a slight tingling sensation in the pit of my stomach. So now it finally starts.
​
Time to arrive
I can't get my pension until five o'clock. So I still have some time to look around Oettingen. As far as I know, the place is known for its brewing products. I had often seen Original Oettinger in the beverage store. But until now I didn't know that Oettingen was an old royal residence town in the Donau-Ries region.
So I stroll a little through the streets and alleys lined with pretty half-timbered houses. I even discover an inhabited stork's nest on a chimney before I decide to go to tomorrow's starting point and maybe already put the first stamp in my pilgrim's passport there to be able to press.
My first stamp - to stick in
So I take a leisurely stroll along Schlossstrasse in the direction of the Protestant Church of St. Jakob, the starting point of the Bavarian Swabian Way of St. James.
Before the church welcomes me a bronze statue with Pilgrim's staff, which is supposed to symbolize a pilgrim from the Middle Ages. I seem right here. Directly behind him on the church wall is a helpful information board about the Bavarian Swabian Way of St. James.
The church is open and I think a sticker with an Oettinger pilgrim shell motif, which can be stuck in as a stamp replacement in times of corona.
Somehow I am suspicious of this sticking-on idea for my first pilgrim passport and I still decide to go to the information desk on Monday morning and ask there for a traditional stamp with the stamp color.
After a sumptuous meal in an Oettinger inn, I spend the night in the only listed hostel in my pilgrim guide, the Golden Goose. Unfortunately, the golden goose is getting on in years. For a handsome price there is a sagging mattress, no WiFi reception and only the few public television channels.
​
Contemplation instead of television, that's how it looks!