Day 6 – to Zwiesel

Some features of the van are particularly appealing in winter. For example, the ability to switch the heating on if only briefly, with remote control while still in bed at -7C. Despite me being concerned about wet dog and wet shoes coming in and out the problem is much less than I expected, as the floor is easy to clean, and the mat system I have gets rid of most. The dog knows to stay on the mat until he is dried.

But the weather was bright this morning, though well below zero again, but it wasn’t to last, snow was predicted this afternoon. We were parked close to the Rewe supermarket, which I was interested to see, as it is the German equivalent of Waitrose / Booths, and it was indeed enticing.

Up here at 500 metres asl it’s very easy to find walking trails in the considerable Bavarian Forest. At the place I chose, the was a golf course vulgarly cut out of the trees, and I attempted to navigate the forest around the outside of it. Easier said than done if course, as with the snow cover, and no footprints, way finding is more tricky, but fun.

I headed then up towards the Czech border and National Park Falkenstein. I’ve actually been on the other side of the border, in Czech, a few times. When I worked in Prague in 2006 I ran a couple of outdoor adventure trips here, in the forests and hills to the west of Český Krumlov. I also cycled through the area from the Polish mountains, headed for Nuremberg at the end of my Carpathians bike trip in summer 2019.

I pulled over for lunch on route, to coincide with the time that Scott was finishing his Northern Traverse run, and watched him finish on the webcam live at Robin Hood’s Bay. He had hoped for a top ten finish and sub 60 hours for the 300 km run, but managed an incredible third place, and just over 50 hours. A great effort, and as i messaged him, the third greatest achievement of his life..

At Falkenstein the snow was still deep, and with more forecast tonight, I parked up lower down at the town of Zwiesel. We wandered into town for a beer, though the place wasn’t as I expected it. Though it is a hub for outdoor activity, it looks on hard times, with a quite a few bars and restaurants closed down, a sign of the times I guess. We were back at the van just as the evening’s snow began.