Bettendorf

30 May 2015:  We joined the Marche Internationale de Diekirch today!  Diekirch had, in fact, been our goal today, but we were unable to get a hotel or B&B room there.  Today we found out why:  The Marche Internationale is a weekend of walks around the city of Diekirch that are organized by the Luxembourg Army.  (There is an international association that organizes such walks in countries around the world.). Most of the thousands of participants are soldiers or ex-soldiers, but anyone is welcome to participate – even GR-hikers!  Some of the soldiers march together as units; others walk individually or in small groups more casually.  These were serious walkers, but the atmosphere was casual and good-spirited.  Happily, the weather was excellent for a walk in the country. 

So we had lots of company on the road today.  We were pleased to pause at the refreshment area that was set up along the route.  Eventually, we turned away from Diekirch (which finally put us on dirt trails), and indeed we left the GR5 itself in order to walk to Bettendorf, where we had managed to find a room.  And what a room!  The recently-opened Terrace Hotel is comfortable and beautifully designed.  We enjoyed chatting with the friendly staff here.  Dinner was excellent, accompanied by a fine Pinot Gris from Luxembourg.

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Departure from Vianden:

This German Army unit sang while they marched:

Refreshment area, selling food and drink:

Eventually, we returned to the quiet solitude of forest trails:

Two types of grain growing in adjacent fields:

Blown gracefully by the wind:

The Hotel Terrace:

Vianden

29 May 2015:  Today was a very sluggish day on the GR5!  There were shiny orange slugs, inky black slugs and plain brown slugs; there were big ones and small ones...  We saw a lot of slugs on the trail!

We ourselves were not sluggish, but we did underestimate the time we would need to hike from Kohnenhaff to Vianden.  One kilometer in the hilly terrain here can take a lot more time than a flat kilometer.  So, at 5:00 pm, we found ourselves in Stolzembourg (about 15 km from our starting point), more than 9 km from Vianden – and those 9 km included a lot of road walking.  We decided to take a bus from there to Vianden, where we had reserved a room at the Auberge de l'Our.  

Well, we're obviously not purists on the GR5; we don't feel obliged to hike every kilometer of the trail.  And we're not inclined to grind out many 30-km days.  Our priority is to enjoy the experience – and we're succeeding.  We really enjoyed today's hike, notwithstanding a couple of hours of rain around midday (one hour of which we spent in a perfectly-located restaurant in Wahlhausen).  The trail was hilly and rugged for much of the day.  Trails in Luxembourg are carefully maintained; one encounters benches at convenient locations, and there are even steps embedded in some steep slopes.  But the trails retain an air of wilderness as they penetrate dark forests.  It's great hiking country!

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Departure from Kohnenhaff and looking back at the Kohnenhof Campground:

Hilly forest trails:

The GR5 (E2) met another long distance European trail, the E3.  Maybe next year?...

Two benches, traditional and modern:

Happily, there is a restaurant nearby...

After lunch, Carroll has the impression that it's brightening up...

A small sample of the slugs we met today:

There were also some big snails on the trails:

The trail climbed with switchbacks up a steep slope:

Our timing was perfect:  We arrived at this bus stop about 10 minutes before the arrival of a bus going to Vianden. 

Vianden castle:

The Auberge de l'Our:

A new beer for Carroll's collection:

Kohnenhaff

28 May 2015:  We started today's hike with a short walk from Ouren to the point where the borders of Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg meet.  Belgium and Luxembourg are on one side of the Our River; Germany on the other.  Nothing marks the actual border between Belgium and Luxembourg, apart from a change in the road markings, but there is a monument commemorating the signature of the Treaty of Rome (1957).

Entering Luxembourg, we began following a new trail marker: a yellow disk, instead of the standard white & red GR-marker.  Our trail will be marked with other Luxembourgois symbols (yellow triangle, etc.) before we meet the GR-markers again in France next week. 

Once in Luxembourg, our trail followed the winding Our River – sometimes close by, sometimes high on a ridge above the river.  This was a great trail!  We enjoyed tramping through the woods, occasionally climbing up and down some rocky sections.  This felt more like real hiking than some of the walking that we have done north of here. 

Our destination was the Kohnenhof campground in Kohnenhaff (about 21 km from Ouren).  We had reserved a little "hikers' cabin".  It's a comfortable campground that is very popular among Dutch vacationers.  The folks who run the place are very friendly, and they served us a good dinner.

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Leaving Ouren:

Memorial commemorating the signature of the Treaty of Rome:

Mary in Luxembourg, photographed from Belgium:

Our trail is now marked by yellow disks:

The GR5 winds through the forest, following the Our River:

Clover on the trail:

We still follow the yellow disks, but there are alternatives...

A good bench by a gurgling brook for our picnic lunch:

If there is one dessert that can rival Dutch appelgebak, it's German Schwartzwälder Kirschtorte.  We found this one in a café in Dasbourg-Pont, just across the river from Germany. 

South of Dasboug-Pont, we climbed to an open plateau:

All of the trees in one small area had been blown down:

Arrival at the Kohnenhof Campground:

Our little cabin: