Leaving Belgium for the Grand Duchy - 10th September 2013
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| Sherman Tank Memorial in Bastogne |
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| Bastogne to Luxembourg |
Had a real struggle to get 'on course' this morning. I had downloaded a course for Eurovelo 5 before I left home. This so-called cycle route goes from London right down into Italy. My intention was to pick it up in Bastogne and follow it to Basle. Because it is one single file it is very cumbersome and Carmen takes about 20 minutes to calculate the route. I knew this before I left but I do not yet have the wherewithal to split a gpx file. So, I planned to have a stroll around Bastogne with the bike until the route calculated. That was fine. However, because it is such a large file it was difficult to scroll around on the screen to plan an entry point to the route. Admittedly a lot of the problems were due to my lack of experience. The good thing is that I now know my way around Bastogne pretty well! Not the prettiest place in Europe, it suffered a lot of damage in the war. Wonder what it looked like before?
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| Which road to take? |
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| Rue du Sablon in Bastogne |
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| In the Place General McAuliffe |
Anyway, it seemed like about an hour before I could pedal out of Bastogne on my route to Luxembourg City. The heavy rain had abated as I headed into the country. I was soon cycling on grass tracks and then cycle routes that follow disused tram ways.
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| On the bike route in Belgium |
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| Taking to the Grass track |
After yesterday's undulations I had expected more of the same today. Not a bit of it. There were some sharp uphills but in general it was a very gradual descending day. There was one long hill climb, out of Martelange, to take me into the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
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| Luxembourg Bike Path - smooth riding |
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| Luxembourg Farmland and my bike route |
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| The rolling hills of Luxembourg - empty bike paths |
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| On track through the tunnel |
Grand Duchy is a posh prefix for a smart place. Famous for its radio station, for those of us of a certain age, it now has the highest per-capita income in the EU. Good that they are spending some of their wealth on bike paths. It is about twice the size of Berkshire and I don't think I have been to a place with better cycle routes. Found myself powering around long sweeping turns, shooting downhill and whooshing up the other side. The surfaces were just perfect. There was also disused train line to steam along. The only downside was not many lunch stops to be seen. Then there was Luxembourg City. After the calm of the country and the manicured gardens and farms it was a helluva shock. Heavy traffic, buses and people of all nations to contend with on the cycle routes in the City. Nice Parks and beautiful old buildings.It looks as though it was built either side, and in, a Grand Canyon.
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| Luxembourg City |
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| Luxembourg City from the ramparts |
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| Luxembourg City to Schengen |
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| Into Grape Country |
I looked around the City for a couple of hours before heading for the large Youth Hostel, I needed to get back on budget after the recent nights in Hotels. Took a while to find the place and then surprisingly it was full! There was also a football match, a World Cup Qualifier against NI, on in the City so all the cheaper Hotels would be full of Ulstermen. My cycling was not over for the day! The next Hostel was near Schengen, another 40 km away. So that is where I headed. Having had no lunch I was getting decidedly peckish. Luckily I had some biscuits that sustained me as I headed down to the river at the bottom of the gorge and headed South. The initial route out of the City was very pleasant. By now it was the rush hour but fortunately my route kept me away from the worst of the traffic. I did end up pushing the bike over a cornfield at one point, all part of the Eurovelo 5 experience. Started to see plenty of grape vines as I approached the Moselle River so had a good feeling that I was making progress on my journey South. Eventually reached the Moselle and headed along a speedy bike path towards my bed for the night. With my head down and on the drops I only just spotted the sign for the Hostel off to the right just short of Schengen. Arrived at the door in the gathering gloom wondering if was open and if it had space for a tired and hungry biker. Happily there was room at the Inn and I managed to get a small dorm all to myself. I was too late for a cheap dinner at the Hostel but found a very nice Bistro up the road. A big day, a lot packed into it, but it turned out well in the end!
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