This is the first of three stages from Heerlen to Spa. From there we will follow the GR5. This is a short walk with quite a bit of climbing and descending over paths and small roads through the hilly part of Limburg.
Woke up this morning in hotel van der Valk Heerlen. The past few days, we have said goodbye to so many people and things, that it feels like we are tourists in our own city. A strange experience that is… but it makes us feel more and more eager to leave.
We woke up early, packed our last things and checked the gear. Then it was time to enjoy the luxurious hotel breakfast one last time, together with Malou’s parents. At 10.00am we collected our gear from our room, checked out and took the time to say a last propper goodbye. We are leaving, finally! After months of preparation we finally walk the first metres, with our (overfull) backpacks on our backs. On our way to freedom and sunshine! It’s so nice to start our journey in this region where we have lived for so long and hiked so much.
Although the weight presses heavily on our shoulders and hips, we enjoy it. We walk 17km from Heerlen via Kunrade, Ubachsberg, Overeys, Wahlwiller and Elzet to Cottessen, with 3 short breaks. How lucky we are with the weather! Easter Monday and along the way we even seek the shade now and again. It is sunny with 19°C and we enjoy the beauty of the flowers along the way. After a lot of climbing and descending, we are glad to arrive at the campsite. There we test our gear for the first time in “real life”. So far so good, let’s see how the evening and night go… 😊
