En route to Exmouth

On the bus-- sorry, coach-- from London to Exeter I met a man who told me a few things about England and Devon: You can't drink alcohol in public places like you can in Germany.People in Devon are very friendly, and if they're not, they should be. "Real ale" is generally flat and warm, but I must drink it. And I should try 'cream tea' while in Devon, which is not tea, but a scone with jam and cream, which accompanies tea. Yes, please! I'll try to remember to post a photo when I do.

So far, England has it's own unique flavor. That's one thing I love about Europe, if you are in Germany, it just looks like Germany. The moment you cross into France, its the same: french. The English countryside is also unique. And its not the terrain or foliage, even, its everything, the style of the buildings and fences, even how the land is parcelled. I'm sure there are lots of finer divisions as well, within counties and so on, it's just lovely. And the livestock and crop varieties are different as well. I can't wait for a farmers market. And now that I've strapped my tent to the outside of my bag, I have plenty of room in it, which means I was right all along. Of course.

I arrived in Exeter in the evening 24 hours after my departure from Erlangen. It was really not that bad: all that time on a coach. I was welcomed by a couchsurfing host family who were amazingly generous. Karen, Paul, and their two little children. We had some very nice potato leek soup for dinner and after dinner, Karen walked around exeter with me a bit before it got dark.

The cathedral was very beautiful and the town is filled with small alleys, a roman bridge and old building, mixed in with the modern ones.
Exeter is bisected by the river Axe, and we walked by a lively and beautiful riverfront. Unfortunately we I was so engaged in our conversation about Karen's work with victims of domestic violence that I failed to take many pictures.

In the morning, I took a train to exmouth where I start my journey on the path.