There are some very long trails of St James stretching into Eastern Europe. At Frankfurt on Oder, forty miles east of Berlin, an information board beside the bridge into Poland explains the pilgrimage. At Bautzen in Saxony the city map shows scallop shells dotted along the ancient route through the city. One of the gravestones in the city cenetery has these symbolic scallop shells. Which, surprisingly, also show up prominently at Reading University forty miles west of London. They are on the shields on the sides of university vehicles. The main Catholic church in Reading is dedicated to St James. As is the Cathedral in Riga in Latvia.
And at Zwickau in Saxony there is a bizarre and highly symbolic intersection. Direction signs point in different ways: one shows the Way of St James, the other shows the Lutherweg.
I first heard of the Camino from Micheners book Iberia the month before I started a study abroad in Madrid in 1998. Very few non Spaniards had heard of it, including most of my classmates. Crazy how big it's gotten now. Wish I had walked it back then before all the hype (copied from a tweet I sent in reply to the OP)
--> My daughter made the Camino (Portuguese Coastal Route) in August. She had a wonderful experience, and she would recommend it to everyone who is physically (and financially) able to do it.
--> Because I followed her virtually, I've set my sights on a different pilgrimage: St. Cuthbert's Way, which I learned about right here in these Pillar pages. (I'm anxious to combine the pilgrimage with trips to distilleries and a Celtic match.)
I was one of the Americans on the Camino in 2023. It was one of the most profound experiences of my life. Headed back this summer!
There are some very long trails of St James stretching into Eastern Europe. At Frankfurt on Oder, forty miles east of Berlin, an information board beside the bridge into Poland explains the pilgrimage. At Bautzen in Saxony the city map shows scallop shells dotted along the ancient route through the city. One of the gravestones in the city cenetery has these symbolic scallop shells. Which, surprisingly, also show up prominently at Reading University forty miles west of London. They are on the shields on the sides of university vehicles. The main Catholic church in Reading is dedicated to St James. As is the Cathedral in Riga in Latvia.
And at Zwickau in Saxony there is a bizarre and highly symbolic intersection. Direction signs point in different ways: one shows the Way of St James, the other shows the Lutherweg.
I first heard of the Camino from Micheners book Iberia the month before I started a study abroad in Madrid in 1998. Very few non Spaniards had heard of it, including most of my classmates. Crazy how big it's gotten now. Wish I had walked it back then before all the hype (copied from a tweet I sent in reply to the OP)
--> My daughter made the Camino (Portuguese Coastal Route) in August. She had a wonderful experience, and she would recommend it to everyone who is physically (and financially) able to do it.
--> Because I followed her virtually, I've set my sights on a different pilgrimage: St. Cuthbert's Way, which I learned about right here in these Pillar pages. (I'm anxious to combine the pilgrimage with trips to distilleries and a Celtic match.)
It's on my bucket list. If anyone is doing the pilgrimage in 2024 please swing by my house and pick me up.