This is the 4th stage of the GR5 from Spa to Nice by the Mediterranean Sea.
This is a nice open and easy trail, mostly on small asphalt roads. A tough climb after Burg Reuland, where you can visit a nice ruin. From Ouhren, the route follows the small river Our.
Last night an unexpectedly heavy thunderstorm with lots of rain came over. The tent passed this test gloriously and the awning turns out to be big enough to cook in 🙂.
Today we’ve a long stage ahead of us, so we wake up early. We also hope to beat the rain that’s is predicted for the morning, to take down the tent and pack as dry as possible.
We’ve already figured out a nice rhythm. Malou packs the clothes and other things that go into her backpack, while Mark makes the coffee and cleans up a few things in and around the tent. Once the coffee is ready and Malou’s pack is full, Mark rolls in the air mattress and sleeping bag, while Malou packs the food for the hike and prepares the bottles of water with lime juice.
Once the last items are packed, the coffee is cool enough to drink and we have breakfast. The only thing remaining is folding up the tent before we walk all packed to the washroom, to get ready for the hike.
This runs so smoothly this morning, that we have to slow down at the end to pick up the fresh bread and pastry’s at the reception at 8:30am.
At the reception the owner tells us that we don’t have to walk back along the busy road. Instead we can walk through a field across the road, that will take us more quietly and safely back to the GR5.
Today’s route easily runs on quite a bit of asphalt and wide forest trails. We make a small detour in Burg Reuland to see the ruins, just before we have to make a tough climb uphill. Many thanks to whomever put a bench at the top of the mountain; it was VERY welcome!
The trails continue through forests and fields until Ouhren, the last village in Belgium. From here we walk along the river Our into Luxembourg; the second border of our hike. We follow the river to the Tintesmühle campsite, nice to finally visit this site together! Mark told many stories about the 90’s when he came here more often with family and during a school camp. The campsite has become a lot more civilized nowadays, but fortunately it’s still a lovely place.
Here ends the first part of our trip (Belgium) and tomorrow we will start the second part; Luxembourg. We have now walked 150 kilometers: a nice distance but still a lot to go….
