Hey:

I have not done the pilgrim thingy to Santiago de Compostela - but this roots to medieval times. I have been in the city and main square with all the religious buildings and sacred objects. It is really an impressive square and beautiful cathedral.

In any case walking around Galicia is really nice - you will enjoy it especially if you head towards the coast, where rivers blend so well with the Atlantic.

Sure you can start walking from Germany or France - but I guess Galicia today is about natural landscapes and amazing old architecture.

Well - for a religious person...then only each individual can decide on the length of their effort/walk...

There is a great film from Luis Bunuel about the pilgrims on their way to Santiago...finding prostitutes and other temptations on their way...

I actually read about it a while back and then it turned out a friend did it last year. Her brother lives in Spain and did it the year before that, so on a whim she decided if he can do it, she can do it too. She did the whole route and said it was an amazing experience.
As I like to do my research beforehand, I did some digging and well I think I have to build up my muscles if I plan to do the whole route. I mean you can do shorter routes too, but for something like this I would like to go the full hog :)

Roberta

If you budget enough time then you'll find that you get a lot fitter as you start the "camino". We went straight into a week of walking having done little preparation and by taking it easy the first few days we eased ourselves into it.

So the main advice I'd offer is to make sure that you have some decent walking shoes and that they are worn in i.e. you're not likely to get new boot blisters.

TravelKevin

I´ve only walked a section of the "Camino de Santiago" (Pilgrim´s Walk) but my brother, who is an expert, did it three times. He started in France and it took him a month to arrive to Santiago de Compostela. He walked 25-30km a day, which after a week did not seem so hard. He did not like his trip in summer as all the Official Hostels are crowded with tourists that are only doing sections or doing the route by car. He found hard to find a place to stay which after 30km of walk is the last thing you wish to happen. Also everyone else seems to be for a party, which really disturbed the rest of "real" pilgrims who needed their sleep! Also, you need to watch for some hostel owners who may want to take advantage of not having anywhere else to go! But his favourite walk was in May. The weather was excellent and the Camino peaceful and he found loads of great friends along the way. My brother always says that the "Walk" changed his life! It is not advisable to do it in winter as , apart for being freezing the walk will probably be covered with snow and the majority of hostel are closed. Hope this was helpful!