View of Vianden Cas tle from Vianden, the s tar ting po in t fo r m y h ike .

Hiking the Luxembourg Ardennesmonkeysandmountains.com /hiking- luxembourg-ardennes

Youknowit’s

going to be a good day of hiking when your trail includes a visit to Luxembourg’s most f amouscastle and a jaunt into Germany. I love my two peak hiking days, but a two country hiking day? This would be a f irst.

My hike starts in the medieval village of Vianden. I will be hiking the Nat-Our Route 5 Vianden-Falkenstein trail for atotal of 12 km and 684 meters of elevation gain. The elevation is not gained all at once as is typical of hikes in the Alps,but over the course of the hike as the route goes up and down the rolling hills.

The trail is part of the NaturWanderPark delux, named not for its luxurious or elegant features, but because the trail is inboth Luxembourg and Germany (in German, Germany is Deutschland, hence the de part of the name).

The first part of the trail leads up a steep hill to Vianden Castle, Luxembourg’s most famous castle. I didn’t stop, butreturned to it later. The castle with roots back to the 10th century is also one of Europe’s largest west of the Rhine. It’sdefinitely worth checking out.Travel t ip: I tested an audio guide that had just been released and really enjoyed it. Iwould recommend purchasing one as it will make your visit to the castle more meaningful.

I continued on along a ridge with views overlooking Vianden Castle:

Then

Looking down at Vianden Cas tle

View of the Our River and va l ley

Thenit wasa

gradual decent into the forested slopes and back up again where my reward was views over the Our (pronounced Or)River:

I

A s ign a t the Germ an/Luxem bourg border .

crossed a bridge and found myself in Germany, indicated only by a small emblem:

WhileI lovetheideaof atwo

country hike, to be honest, this part of the hike, looked more or less identical to the part in Luxembourg. Still a twocountry hike sounds rather impressive, especially to this Canadian.

The Löctges berg, m y favor i te par t o f the h ike

Without a doubt my favorite part of the hike was walking along the ridge of Löctgesberg. This part of the hike is at theedge of the forest and you are offered views of the Our River snaking along in the valley:

Iendedin

Vianden where the hike had started. Viaden is a village that was known for its’ craftsmen in medieval times. The villagefirst referenced as far back as 698 is worth exploring in its own right – or at least grabbing a drink at one of the severalcafes/restaurants that line the Our River.

I

Our River s een from Vianden

I

enjoyed my hike in the Luxembourg Ardennes. It’s much different from hiking in the Alps – my usual terrain, butoffers its own rewards: i.e.: castles, medieval villages and views of the idyllic country side. It’s very peaceful, but youcan easily work up a sweat should you choose to. The 23 different trails in the NaturWanderPark delux ensures there issomething for everybody’s ability. The Luxembourg Ardennes is not just of interest to hikers either. There are also plentyof mountain bike trails. There was a mountain bike enthusiast in my group who was itching to come back and try outsome of the trails.

In addition the Luxembourg Ardennes also offers numerous thematic trails. There is the the Remembrance Path whichtraces the different places of confrontation during the Battle of the Bulge or Geological Paths, which point out places ofnature and geological interest. There’s even a Cultural Trail in the town of Wiltz !

The

Chapel s een whi le h iking.

The

Luxembourg Ardennes would not be the first place I would think of when it comes to hiking, but I was pleasantlysurprised by the number of trails, the thematic trails and the condition of the trails. It’s definitely worth exploring.

See the Luxembourg Ardennes for further info.

Travel t ip: I stayed/ate at Hotel-Restaurant Dimmer, in Wallendorf-Pont which is a great base when hiking inLuxembourg. The dinners were especially delicious!

Thank you to the Luxembourg National Tourist Office for making my visit possible. As always, all opinions expressedare my own.