The Important Things

Written in Waxenberg, Austria, am 15.10.2010

From Western Austria to Bavaria and home to Waxenberg, Upper Austria

Most people begin too early in life to start off too late with the important things. Stanislaw Lec

“Couldn´t we take the rubber boat to go from here to Landshut?”, I ask Hermann and smile ceremonially. We sit at the “Flaucher”, the wonderful local recreation area at the Isar river near the centre of Munich. Half of the city has come into the idyllic waterside landscape to enjoy the sun on the gravel banks and to splash in the cool and slowly streaming water. My old friend has just told me about his rubber boat ride on the Isar up the river from Munich. “Mhh, I don´t know, how things look like down the river, but we can try it anyway.” Our eyes light up like a shopping mall at Christmas time. I know, it´s settled then.

An old dream
The break in Munich is well deserved after a couple of intense hiking weeks. The changing weather conditions did not allow me to dander after I had left Bludenz in Vorarlberg, Western Austria. I had walked through the Great and the Small Walser Valley up to Oberstdorf, Germany, then had let fall behind the Alps soon after Sonthofen and continued in giant leaps through the Bavarian lakes region to Munich. My former university mate gave me a warm welcome, in order to join me for a week of hiking.

Hermann has been living and working for five years in Bavaria´s capital, where he dedicates most of his spare time to his big passion; music. The creative all-rounder plays some 10 instruments, above all, he is a blessed saxophonist. Since our years of study we have not played music together, now a long kept dream comes true; to roam as musical vagabonds over the land. Yeah! We prepare guitar, saxophone and the rubber boat and set out to the English Garden, the huge park in Munich.

Go with the flow
Hot sun is beating down, as we set sail below the big Isar weir. “We look like a boat from the urban waste department”, Hermann states and laughs. In order to protect our backpacks and instruments we have packed them into trash bags, because according to the assessment of the experienced Isar seaman, the probability is not small that we will shipwreck. The big challenge is the small weirs with a drop in height between half a metre and some metres. In the course of renaturalisation the old walls with abrupt waterfalls have been replaced though by less steep water slides made of stones, but the problem is the sharp-edged rocks at those spots.

We go easily with the flow, just as the raftsmen in middle age times, who shipped wood and goods on the Isar river. Soon we arrive to the first two weirs. Harmless! So far so good. At the third is gets serious. We have to carry the boat around it, but we had expected that. But at the next dangerous weir we get caught. Hermann wants to stop at the river side, as a sharp branch cuts a hole into the rubber. Pfff. “After applying the patch wait 24 hours”, I read on the repair manual. Knocking-off time. But no worries: we are in the best mood and enjoy the sunny afternoon swimming and rehearsing. The loud noise of “Low Voltage Rock´n´Roll” rings out of the bushes. It feels like as we have travelled far, but in fact we are still in the inner downtown area of Munich.

The boat keeps the air, as we depart the next morning. We achieve to override a couple of weirs (on water or on land), but it rains and on our drifting garbage island it gets more and more uncomfortable. That’s not the way we imagined it! A sharp stone makes the decision for us: Man over board! We abandon ship and hide it under the next bridge. Experiment successfully concluded: we have made four kilometres in total.

Roaming on foot
Well, let´s walk then. Hermann and I experience a couple of funny days on the Bavarian countryside. At the town of Freising we enter the “Hollertau”, the biggest hop growing region worldwide. On the way to Regensburg we gain interesting new insights into wheat beer and garden gnomes, into Da Vinci, Hundertwasser and the Bavarian Baroque, or into the irresistibility of 34 queens of victory. But that´s a long story. It´s just unbelievable what you can still discover out there on a hike…

What we are still missing is a good opportunity for a concert. Finally in Kelheim the moment has come, we are well prepared. Under the autumn afternoon sun we let our music spread over the main square. It is a big pleasure to have Hermann on the saxophone. Due to his virtuosic solos some people even donate, although we did not prepare a hat. Also a beer offering is made. Yes, realizing small dreams can be a big joy. Dear people of Kelheim, we will be back!

From Bavarian Woods towards home into the Mühlviertel
After the historical town of Regensburg I continue to walk alone again. It has carried me rather north, but as a reward I get the wooded hills of the Bavarian wood as surroundings for my way home. One morning I find ice on my tent tarp. Time to go home, no doubt. I enter Austria at the green boarder, right into the “Upper Mühlviertel”. Sun is shining such as my smile does, so I give myself a couple of extra days to do a lap of honour. Also my home region wants to be explored on foot. But then I cannot let my godchildren Mara, Anna and Carina wait anymore. I pick them up for the last three kilometres from the village of Oberneukirchen.

The girls come towards me shouting loud and carrying welcome signs. “We have missed you”, is written on one. I am deeply touched and immeasurably happy about our reunion. Big teachers of love they are, my nieces! It is a beautiful feeling to have such a home. Together we walk to my home village Waxenberg, also my parents and my sister join us. A funny and emotional finish!

Setting out and coming home
It feels strange still: I am back home. Slowly my soul is catching up and the circle of setting out and coming home is closed. The many months alone on the road have reminded of the value of family and friends. I have learnt that in our life, only the quality of our interpersonal relationships counts, all other things are secondary. Therefore I am looking forward to sharing experiences, thoughts and dreams soon.

For extensive conclusions it is too early, but some impressions accompany the joy of being back. In the world of everyday life and accepted customs seemingly nothing has changed, while I return with sharpened senses. I am more serene, more open and maybe more hearty than before. Some of the daily habits among people appear strange to me, coined by velocity, superficiality and missing humour. One who has travelled for some length of time knows this feeling for sure. I think that is the big reward of travelling; due to a different angle of view, we see ourselves and the context in a new light. It is up to me now to take the spontaneity, the joy of living and the clear head safely home from the hike.

The courage to dream
“Most people start way too early in life to begin the important things too late”, the polish writer Stanislaw Lec wrote. Why is that so? Perhaps we do not think carefully enough about what is important to us and what really makes us happy. I am convinced that the solution is not complicated; as long as we cultivate the courage to dream, and as long as we trust our inner voice and follow its calling, we will be on the right path, just to become what we already are.

I am happy that I followed the calling of my inner voice. It is almost incredible to myself, that I walked 7000 kilometres on foot. A dream – ah, what am I saying – many dreams have come true. It was not so difficult. What it takes is the courage to let loose, to overcome one´s limits and to break-up with the habits. In trying lies is certain uncertainty, sure, but it is of crucial importance, because only there the creativity of life starts to prosper. “You miss 100% of the shots, you never take”, the Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky said once.

On my hike I have been rewarded with a lot of new ideas and perspectives, some things have changed irreversibly. I have put together many stories and experiences related to the topic of “living simply and ecologically”. Some of them you find in my travel reports, some have to mature slowly until I will write them down. “How shall we live in the future?”, is my big question that I will keep in mind for further study. Next year I will do presentations, where I will share my insights with you. I am happily looking forward to this.

Everything is here
For the upcoming months I wish that I will keep that all-embracing trust, which I could create on my wanderings. Therefore I only need to take a look into myself to bring to mind the important things. With great gratitude I carry the moments, which have anchored deeply and inerasably in my soul. I can still sense how the sun and the salt is burning on my skin, sense, how the cold rain runs over my face. I hear the nightly whispering of the wind, how it touches the leaves on top of the forest, hear, how the mighty waves wander up the rocky coastline. I taste the liberating freshness of the cold sip of water, how it drives away the huskiness of pestering thirst. I see the splendid light beam, how it resurrects the world in the first hour of the morning. Ecstasy! I feel huge humility before the thousands and thousands of ants, how they create masterly a work of art out of the forest soil. And I feel the cosy warmth of a hug, how it makes all difficulties forgotten.

All the important things are there. I just listen to the voice. And then I know who I am.

All the best, Reinhold.

Some Impressions