I thanked the little German man for his effort and was about to leave when he said for me to come with him. He told me that he would take me to another grocery store in the next town back. He pointed in the direction that I had just come from so I said that I was going the other way. But he insisted that I come with him and he would bring me back. I was very grateful and we walked back to his garage where I left my pack and poles. He drove me about three or four miles to a supermarket and then back to his house. We weren�t able to talk much but it was a very pleasant excursion. When we got back he walked with me for a while and then shook my hand and headed home. I walked to the river and feasted on bread, cheese and some type of meat of which I couldn�t read the label. Oh, and I also had pudding. I washed it all down with a Coke, which was the first thing other than water that I had drank since I left the airport in Frankfurt.
After lunch I kept walking. I soon came to a small village named Lorely. It was a welcomed sight because I had just run out of water. I stopped at a small kiosk to get water and postcards and the saw a sign for camping. The funny thing was that it showed a picture of a man walking up stairs and it said thirty minutes. I thought that thirty minutes of hiking uphill with a pack on after seven hours of hiking in the humid heat didn�t sound like too much fun. But I knew that thirty minutes was a �sure bet� to camping, and going straight was not. I was sure wishing that they had a sign with a man walking upstairs with a backpack on and telling how long it would take someone like me. I decided that I would start climbing. To remain consistent with most other signs I have seen in Germany, the thirty minutes sign was pretty inaccurate because I made it in about ten minutes. Once on top I was in another village and I could see one off in the distance. I couldn�t believe that they were up there hiding from me all this time. I felt cheated� almost betrayed. I started walking to look for the camping area but couldn�t find it. I realized that I must have missed it so I just decided to keep walking to explore a little. I walked along a road with trees covering it like a tunnel and finally made it to a neighborhood. I had walked about two miles up on top when I came to a school and a dead end. It was a little discouraging but I figured if I had to I could set my tent up in a field near this farm that I had seem. It probably wasn�t the best idea because there were a lot of cows and people around but at least I had the option. I decided to turn around and go back to where I started but on the way back through the neighborhood I saw a little trail running between two houses. I decided what the heck and started off down the trail. I was hoping that it wouldn�t be a dead end because coming back up would be rough since I was already worn out. Well, it did turn out to be a dead end but it was well worth it. At the end of the trail was a gazebo that overlooked the entire Rhine valley and over to the villages up on top of the other side of the river. There was also a view of two castles and the town of St. Goarshsn (abbreviated). I was in awe and stopped to get a picture. Later that night I looked at the map and saw that it was marked as a panoramic overlook. I headed back down the tree-covered road and saw a trail leading through the woods. Of course I can almost never turn down a good trail through the woods so off I went, once again, into the unknown.
The trail eventually brought me out to the fields that I had passed when I had first got on top. I looked over to the area where the trail that brought me up here was and noticed that the campground was right there. I had walked within about fifty feet of it and I can�t believe that I had missed it. But, I was glad that I did because I had seen something that I probably wouldn�t have otherwise. I saw another trail leading into the woods so instead of going back to the campsite I started hiking again. This trail went back into the woods and then became very steep. I ended up back at the bottom near the river again. I found a tunnel under the train tracks, crossed the highway and walked over to a little grassy area next to the river where there were some small campers sitting. I thought maybe this was a campground but it wasn�t. I went and set on a bench I decided that I didn�t care, I was camping here. If they can stay here, I will too.
I walked over to a van where a man and woman were sitting in lawn chairs finishing their dinner. I asked the man if it was alright for me to pitch a tent here. He said, �I don�t mind.� This was the beginning of the second payback to the small favor I had done this morning. His name was Garist and his wife was Tryn (pronounced Train). They were from Holland and traveled through France and Italy for four months each year. At the end of their trip they would come back through Germany for a few days. I asked Garist if he thought I was a good idea for me to just pitch my tent somewhere. He said that he thought it would be ok but that I should probably wait until it got a little darker. He suggested that the spot right next to their van would be as good as any. I agreed and said that I would cook my dinner while I was waiting. I dropped my pack next to a tree and began digging for my cooking stuff. Garist insisted that I use their table to cook on and sit in his chair. I declined the chair because my shirt was soaked in sweat but again he insisted. So I changed shirts and then accepted the offer. They had finished eating and were about to clean the day�s dishes. I sat at the table and cooked rice with some of the meat I had bought earlier in the day. Then I was told, �And after dinner, there will be coffee.� I ate and visited and when I finished they insisted on washing my dishes. Then came the coffee and cake and more great conversation. Garist told me that the town we were camped by was named after �The Loreley�. At first I didn�t know what he was talking about, but after he mentioned the singing I realized that he was talking about the sirens I had read about in literature classes. I asked if the Loreley was a siren and he said that it was �THE� siren. And the best part was that we were sitting right across from the statue of her image.
