These Holy Bones: Vol. 2-Episode 12: Tips for a Successful Pilgrimage-Sven from Berlin

Sven is a German journalist who has traveled the Camino de Santiago five times, twice on the Norte and three times on the Camino Frances. In this interview, Sven shares his love for Spain and the outdoors. He also shares simple but important advice on how to prepare for your Camino and how to enjoy the simple pleasures of the pilgrimage. If you are interested in walking the Camino de Santiago, you will want to listen to this episode. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Hello and welcome to another episode of These Holy Bones, a podcast about the ancient pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago, where the bones of St. James are interred beneath the high altar. I'm your host, Robert Nurney. This episode is being sponsored by Ocean Magic Surf and Skateboard Superstore in Jupiter, Florida. Whether you're dropping in on your first wave or you're a seasoned shredder, Ocean Magic has everything you need, from high-performance surfboards and skate decks to premium wetsuits, beach wear, and all the gear in between. Skaters Ocean Magic has trucks, wheels, bearings, complete setups, and all the latest brands. Surfers check out Ocean Magic's epic selection from Firewire, Lost, O'Neal, and more. Heading to the beach, grab stylish swimwear, sun protection, and flip-flops, all in one spot. So you'll get advice from people who know what they're talking about. Swing by Ocean Magic and Jupiter, just minutes from the water. Ocean Magic Surf and Skate. Florida's home for all things surf, skate, and stoke. Check it out. Welcome to another episode of These Holy Bones. I'm sitting in the plaza right in front of the cathedral. And uh it's Saturday. I'm not sure if it's August 22nd or 23rd. I think it's the 23rd. 24th, 25th. Yes, it's the 23rd. And I'm sitting with Sven. Sven from Germany. He's from Berlin. And uh he was so gracious to say yes to the podcast. So welcome. And could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Yeah, I'm Sven from Berlin. I'm a journalist. Uh 60 years old. And I'm doing my fifth Camino. Uh uh this is my third Francise. And I already did uh two uh Camille Note.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

That's amazing. Okay, so you're fifth, and um I have a great interest in journalism. Is it broadcast or is it written?

SPEAKER_00 2:11

It is written.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Oh, excellent. You work for a newspaper? Yeah. Oh, that's wonderful. That was my uh I aspired to be a journalist, but I ended up being an English teacher. So that's all all English teachers are frustrated writers. So five Caminos, that's amazing. So uh can you tell us about what got you started on your Camino journey?

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Oh I read a very interesting book by very popular German comedian, Hapek Herkeling. Oh, I read that, yes. And uh I'm off then. It's uh it's the English title. Yes, and it inspired me to to walk because I uh I love I love moving, I love traveling, I love Spain, and that that fitted.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Excellent. Okay, so on your first Camino, uh actually let's talk about all five. What are some of the biggest challenges you face on the Camino?

SPEAKER_00 3:03

The biggest challenge is always the first stage. Uh the part between or the climb up to the climb up to uh Auresson, it's still in France, is the toughest part of the whole Camino. If you're doing that, there'll be no problem afterwards. That's true. It's so beautiful though.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

A lot of times it's overcast and you've far.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

I had beautiful sun.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Oh, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

This time it was a bit special because uh my flight from Frankfurt to uh um to Bayonne or to Biarritz was cancelled. So I had to fly the next day to Bordeaux, then taking the the train to uh Saint Jean. And to keep my to keep my timetable, I had to finish the first stage right after arriving with the train in Saint Jean. And I arrived in Saint Jean at uh 3:30, and I made uh I made it through the Pyrenees in in six hours because I had to be at uh at Ronces Valley the latest at 10 o'clock because uh the Alberta closed to 10 o'clock, and I managed it to arrive at uh 9 30.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Well, six hours that's that's an amazing time. I mean, my best time over the mountains was like eight hours, and uh that's that's amazing. So I had I had to run. You're no, you were moving. You were really moving, that's amazing. Um, okay, so on this particular journey this this year, 2025, um what did you have any uh interesting encounters? Oh actually you had the fires. Maybe you can speak a little bit about the fires in Spain.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

I moved up to uh to the Cruz de Ferro, the highest point on the Camino. It's 15, 17 meters above sea level, I think. And the sky was beautiful, blue. Then I went down on the other side of the hill, and suddenly you could see brown clouds. Brown clouds are something special, never seen that before. It was the fire in the next valley, and it uh yeah, it was a tough, uh tough descent to uh to El Acebo, the next city, and at the end of El Acebo there was the Guardia Civil with the two cars blocking the road, nobody was allowed to pass. I actually wanted to stay in El Cebo the night, so that was no problem for me, but I was afraid that I wouldn't wasn't able to uh to finish the Camino because nobody knew what's gonna happen next next day. I asked the Guardia Civil and they said, Oh the night will decide, we don't know. So I slept quite quite long on this night because I couldn't pass in the morning until 7 o'clock. Then I went down uh to the police, to the Guardia Civil, asked them how's the situation? They said, Well, at the moment it's fine. Can I pass? Yes, you can pass, but stay on the road, don't go off-road. Yes, sure, never off-road. So uh I was allowed to pass and made it to uh to close to uh what was the city's name? Something behind Ponferada. And uh stayed the night there, and uh the next day uh saw on the internet that uh they closed uh the whole route between Astorga and Pontferada, and I was probably one of the last who was allowed to pass.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Oh, it's amazing. That's amazing. Yeah, the fires have been uh you know definitely uh an issue this this summer. Um and uh I I actually started in Burgos, went from Burgos to Lyon. So let me talk a little bit about that's my favorite uh section of the Camino, uh the Meseta. Yeah, what what's your take on the Meseta? Well, how do you do you enjoy it?

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Do you I enjoy it? I especially that part between uh Carrión de las Condes and uh the next one, the 18 kilometers when you walk straight to no services. Uh yeah, I always do that very early in the morning. I left uh I left my alberga in the morning at four. Wow. Arrived in uh Carrión de las Condes at six and passed the meseta in three hours. Wow. Uh before the sun came. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

No, it was definitely warm this summer. Yeah. Uh yeah, um close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah. We don't speak in Celsius in the States. We don't speak in a lot of things. Oh, that's awesome. Now um, give me three tips for a new pilgrim. So you've done it five times. So, what would you tell a pilgrim just going out in the Francaise? Give them three tips, maybe what to take or how to approach it.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Yeah. Uh start smooth. The first stage is not too long. Your feet will get used to it, but they need some time. So uh the first stages have to be the shortest. First tip. Second, uh always stay in the albergas, don't go to hotels and enjoy the cena comunitaria. The uh dinner with all the pilgrims in the hostel. That's fantastic. You got to know so many people from so many nations, that's amazing. Don't go to eat on your own, just uh stay in the alberge and eat uh with your pilgrims. And the third, enjoy every minute. Right, enjoy the sun, enjoy the beautiful landscape. Please don't uh don't get music in your ears. It's an experience with all your senses. I enjoy that. Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Now, um is for you is it spiritual, religious, cultural, historical, physical? It's part of everything. Okay. No dominant.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

No.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

No, you take it all in. Yeah. That's beautiful. All right, I love it. All right, thank you so much. Uh any takeaways? I always ask this, okay. So you're in a pub back in Berlin and a friend comes in and they say, I've heard you, Sven, I've heard you've done uh you've done another Camino. Uh, should I do it? What would you say?

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 9:05

Definitely.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Definitely. But prepare for it. Don't uh if you never did some walking, you gotta train, you gotta train. Right, right, right. I uh always trying to do uh 1,000 kilometers before I do my Camino. Wow. Yeah, but I've got three or four months or for that uh start, usually start in in April or May. And if you if you walk 10 or 50 kilometers each day, that's that's perfect, and your feet will get used to it.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

That's true. Back home, if I walk 10, I'm a hero. Yeah, you know, 10k. Um let me ask you this as a journalist, have you ever written about the Camino? No. No. Is that something that you might do? I'm not sure. You're not sure. What do you focus on back home? What kind of sports. Sports, oh yeah, excellent. What's your favorite sport? Football. Of course, of course. Not American football. No, no, no, no, European football. Soccer. All right, very good. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Buen Camino.