Day 3, Osterode to Riefensbeek, 9.5 miles - it felt like much more

We got away by 10 am which was to be the usual time, sometimes earlier. I asked if Angelo had brayed and Frau Linnemann told us that indeed he had, late at night, bringing round the neighbours to complain. They thought it was the children with a trumpet but on being introduced to Angelo were delighted with him and said no more about the noise. All the family turned up to give us a good send off. The weather was still very good and lots of people stopped to chat.

The first part of the walk was through the forests above the Soesestausee. We passed a beautifully-situated campsite so stopped for a coffee. In front of the caff was a buddleia which lived up to its name with red admirals, fritillaries and cabbage whites flying around.

We also learned something of Angelo's dislikes. Small wooden bridges being one of them. We had just been talking to a man, Herr Linke, in an electric wheelchair who had been buzzing about and said we should be in Riefensbeek in no time. When we were almost in view of the rooftops we came across a small wooden bridge at which Angelo absolutely refused to budge. We tried everything, love, hate, bribery, threats. We also found out later, rather embarrassingly, that a man who had jogged near us during the pantomime was a friend of Barbara's who had phoned her to describe me on the other side of the bridge holding tempting handfuls of grass out and Jack trying to push the beast. All to no avail. We had to turn back and go down to the main road and come in that way. It wasn't the first time we had had to turn back that day as Angelo had also refused the narrowest concrete drainage runnel across a path you ever saw as well as a tiny brook which is why the walk was longer than expected. Herr Linke found us on the road as he had been concerned when we didn't turn up so came looking.

We finally got to Landhaus Meyer and a lovely welcome with lots of help from the Meyer grandson. Also some very welcome beer as we waited for a friend of Barbara's to turn up to show Jack Angelo's quarters up the road in Kamschlacken. Herr Linke came and stayed for a drink and a chat. He told us he had been a woodsman until nine years ago when he had fallen at home and become paralysed from the neck down. It made us particularly careful in the showers in all the places we stayed as often they necessitated a bit of an awkward high step up and into the tray which was rarely non-slip. I always put a small towel down for security.

The evening was warm enough to eat on the terrace and our delicious dinner was venison for Jack and wild boar for me. There were never many puds offered in Germany, usually you can have anything you like so long as it is ice-cream, but I had something called rote gruetze (a kind of red fruit compote) with ice-cream which was extremely good and which I plan to try. It seems that we were lucky enough to hit on a place with a reputation for good food.