The hike begins and ends flat for about 2.5 kilometers, on paved hiking- and bikingtrails along the Sûr. The route then enters the forest and the first climb starts.
Despite the altimeters, this hike isn’t very difficult or strenuous. It runs mainly through wooded areas and along meadows, and at the end the trail goes under the impressive Sauertal Bridge.
We get up before dawn and have breakfast among the daisies. Today’s stage will be over 28 km, so we leave extra early. The packing goes quickly and at 7:30 am we walk out of the campsite. In the morning sun, over the old bridge over the Sûre and back into Luxembourg. The first 2 kilometers run on a path along the river, it’s nice to start flat. This is followed by another steep climb into the woods (well, it’s still the Ardennes). It turns out to be just as fairytale-like as yesterday’s forest and it’s wonderful to walk here, having the forest ‘all to ourselves’. We walk along, over and between the rocks. After about 8 kilometers the trail leads us through a village, Rosport. By now it is 9:30, we buy a cup of coffee and a pastry at the local gas station and walk to a nice little park by the water. What’s nice about Luxembourg is that the parks are very well maintained and in this one there is even a “book exchange library” in tree trunks. Super fun!
After the break, we follow the trail back into the woods and through the meadows. Because we left so early, our tent is still wet and therefore heavy… By the time we make our lunch stop, it’s so warm that we set up the tent to dry. In no time the water has evaporated and we can continue our journey, well rested and lighter. In the distance we see the impressive Sauertal Bridge; we need to pass under it at the end of the hike. Today’s destination is already in sight, but we still have almost halfway to go. We’ve already done most of the climbing, so the rest of the hike is pretty easy and leads us along flowering fruit trees, fields of wild orchids and other floral displays. What a wonderful season to walk in and how lucky we are having this lovely weather!
It is the longest stage we have had so far and the last few miles on asphalt roads are tough on our feet, but fortunately the campground is right on the trail. It is a small campground with many large RVs and among these giants we pitch our tent.
We’ll stay here for a couple of days; tomorrow is Mark’s birthday and the day after we will visit Luxembourg to fine-tune our gear. Its’s nice to take it easy for a while, but we’re already looking forward to the next stages…
