I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago

I had been planing this pilgrimage for 13 years had read the books been through the area by car. This is the best book I read to give the experience of the trip, too many of the books tell of the writer not knowing why they are going at the beginning of their trip, during and after it was done. His was the most enlightened book if not the most enlightening as to what you see, should bring etc. Finally took the trip two weeks after reading it wish we had been on the road together. Noel

This is my favorite book so far this year. Perhaps because I wish I could have written it, perhaps because I've always wanted to be one of those pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela after experiencing the long walk from the French Alps through Spain. This often arduous journey to the Shrine of St. James in Galicia, on a route that is 1,200 years old, is followed by over 100,000 people per year. And it is popular German TV comedian Hape (Hans Peter) who has paved our way. His road trip diary is engaging and hilarious - sore feet, sore knees, big angry dogs (or dogs that just look dangerous), blazing sun, filthy hostels, unusual encounters, breathtaking landscapes, and all. You get a feeling for what you might or might not do. Maybe you'll do what he did, treat yourself to special hotels on occasion, stay more than one night in one place, and every now and then take the train instead of walking. What matters, as he shares, is what you experience, what you learn about yourself, what you may or may not learn from meeting other pilgrims, how you bring yourself to the events, the feelings, your thoughts, your soul. He braved much to bring us his charming story. (Thanks Hape, I feel happy reading about you and your friends). You'll understand why this book is a bestseller in Germany (kudos by the way for the stellar translation by Shelley Frisch), how it won the Bruce Chatwin Prize for Best Travel Book of the Year, and how it has sold over 3 million copies. Highly recommended.

Imagine Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (a very funny romp along the Appalachian Trail), but set in Europe and with a little bit of a spiritual dimension to it. Well, a couple of years ago, Hape Kerkeling, a well-known comedian in Germany, decided to go on the Camino del Santiago, a centuries-old, 400-some-mile pilgrimage across the top of Spain. The charming result is I'm Off Then. On the plus side, Kerkeling comes across as a genuinely charming, funny person. He's great at descriptions of places along the trail, off-the-cuff musings, and portraits of some of the crazy, interesting, and charming people he meets along the way. On the negative side, the book is a little solipsistic. Up to the last few days on the trail, where he teams up with a charming Brit and Kiwi, the book is mostly about him, his sore knees, his moods, his musings ... He's a very interesting fellow, so this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I would, though, have liked a little more on the trail itself - history, length, elevations, culture, weather, flora, other famous hikers. Not a guidebook at all, but a little more Camino and a little less Hape. I was also rather disappointed in the spiritual aspect of it all. Perhaps it was all too subtle for me, but he could have put a lot more into this aspect. I was particularly disappointed with his little moment with God. He tells us it happened, it was great, but he refuses to say anything about it. I know stuff like that tends to be rather ineffable, but ... There were a couple of things that were missing in translation, but overall the translator did a very nice job. All in all, a charming book, but really not 5 stars

I just returned from a most memorable 500+ mile long journey across the French Alps to Camino de Santiago and I never left my chair except to refill my wine glass. German comedian and author Hape Kerkeling took me along on his pilgrimage through the pages of I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago. Right from the start Kerkeling confesses to being an unlikely pilgrim...more of a couch potato than an adventurer. I too must admit that when I began this literary trek with Hape, I had serious doubts about whether or not I would stick to the journey. For me, a walk means circling the mall three times or a sunset stroll on the beach. I do not relish the thoughts of "roughing it." I was not at all certain that this was "my kind of travel book." I was wrong. As we traveled the pages across the snowcapped Pyrenees, through Basque country, Navarra, Rioja and all the way to Galicia, I discovered that this journey was really about self-reflection and self-discovery. The more I read, the more it reinforced my strong belief that when we travel with an open mind and an open heart, we quickly learn that different cultures, beliefs and traditions are not wrong...simply different...and we embrace the differences. We also discover that as human beings we are much more like our fellow pilgrims than we are different. And, as Hape point out: "Sometimes even the most annoying people mean well." I particularly enjoyed Hape's self-deprecating humor, his keen perceptions about the people he met and traveled with along the way and his pithy insights (some profound, some playful) the end of each chapter. My personal favorite; "Open your heart and canoodle with the day." (Looking up the definition, I quickly figured out that canoodle is a hip way to say "Make love to the day.") First released in German, I'm Off Then quickly became a best seller. No doubt, the English version will also reap awards and significantly increase Hape Kerkeling's fan club. Review by Lynne R. Christen Author: Travel Wisdom

I LOVED this book. As a Santiago pilgrim myself (2008, from St Jean), I've been awaiting the English translation of this famous German's camino book. Nearly every German I met on the Camino had read the book. For some, it was the reason they were walking the 800 km journey. I'd heard from some that they'd read it and were unimpressed, too. So I was very pleasantly surprised when I couldn't put it down. It's a page turner - mostly due to the humble, self-effacing style of Hape Kerkeling, but also due to his unfailing ability to describe with truth and pathos what his eyes see. A refreshing aspect of the book is that Kerkeling does include details about the camino itself. He clearly walked most of it (unlike our dear Paulo C) and endured the hardships (though he skipped all but a few albergues). His Camino starts in solitude, but as he walks he opens himself to the scenery and the people and you can feel his soul expand. I've recommended the book to all my Camino friends and would recommend it to anyone who's considering walking the Way of St. James. A thanks to the translator (though I'm still not sure what she means by a "Spanish biscuit." Hopefully she's not referring to the omnipresent Spanish tortilla - hardly a biscuit). For good measure I'm off to read this great book a second time. Thank you, Hape, and buen camino.