This is quite a dramatic day!
I pack about 35 km in 36-degree heat, I’m helped by a few good Samaritans, I get lost in the woods (in the recording, I’m angry at the waymarking but with hindsight, it was probably my own fault), and stress over a possible wild boar encounter.
But I also have the time to contemplate one of the more beautiful monuments on this trail, St. Stephanus Church in Gartz.
Then, as if the day had not been eventful enough, the weather turns and I have to make a lot of tough decisions as soon as I get to my destination in Schwedt.
As always, if you’re interested in the more technical details of the trail—the terrain, the mileage, the prices—this is all available in my thread on Ivar’s pilgrim forum. This is not a well-known trail, and I wanted to get the word out that it’s definitely worth doing, despite the difficulty.
Meanwhile, ultreia.
Via Imperii Day 3: Mescherin to Schwedt