Kronenburg to Prüm, 25Km
The day started with an alert for thunderstorms and I wondered whether to stay in bed. Fortunately they never materialised because it wasn’t the kind of walk for lightning strikes.
That’s a handy poster, above. It’s all about this Camino from Köln to Schengen and onwards through France and Spain. I saw it outside the church in Ormont and I went inside, mainly to see the church and to get my credential stamped but also because it was raining hard. Most churches have a stamp for pilgrims and this one also had a visitor book. I inspected the last few entries and saw they were getting a pilgrim every couple of weeks. It looked like another one was due today or perhaps that was me.
What a difference the weather makes. Most of today’s walk was through wet spruce forest along a path over the Schneifel ridge. It seemed quieter than normal except for the rain. The path climbed into the clouds which hung among the trees. The visibility was so low that when I came to a wind farm I could barely see the first windmill just a few metres away.
Prüm is a delightful little town with an abbey founded in 721 which milked half of the Holy Roman Empire dry. I hope it’s open in the morning so I can look inside.
You’ve probably gathered that there’s no pilgrim accommodation on this Camino which is understandable. What comes first, the pilgrim or the accommodation? The pity is that the likelihood of meeting another pilgrim is zero and that’s a shame because by far the greatest memory of my walks is the wonderful people I’ve met and walked with. Anyway tonight I have a really good hotel opposite the abbey and my room has a fabulous leather sofa facing a giant TV. And there’s a refrigerator full of beer. It would have been the place to watch the football.
Pilgrimage 
I remember on your past pilgrimages that you lamented times when you didn’t see pilgrims every day. Seems that you’ve settled into the rhythm of solitary walks (in spite of still enjoying the company of other pilgrims).
My current peregrina mentee arrived in Santiago on Tuesday. I’m very excited to hear about her Camino (she did the full Frances starting in St. Jean, like we did)
The most valuable experiences of all my pilgrimages were the pilgrims I met. The majority of pilgrimage routes do not have many pilgrims and they can be a solitary experience. I knew this route is rarely walked but I still wanted to do it and I’m glad to be on it. I still prefer human company.