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St Geertruid to Luxembourg
  • Eugene Kertzman
July 2023

St Geertruid to Luxembourg

Picking up your son in Maastricht from Uni could not go without using the opportunity to do some serious exploring. To Luxembourg and back seems a worthwhile trip? Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 14, 2023
    Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    Eckelrade

    July 14, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Wonderful old Vakwerk holiday house in Eckelrade. Our base for a few day whilst we sort Jos out with his room and see Andre Rieu on the Vrijthof. Cycling around Zuid Limburg is just glorious, without feeling threatened or rushed but at the same time some challenging hills.
    Not sure how they managed it in Maastricht but they have totally reversed the priority for cyclist and pedestrians verses motorised traffic. One tricky problem remains! Where to park all those bicycles!!    Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    Zwartberg Criterium

    July 15, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    Taken Jos to a Belgium Criterium was an interesting experience. The Belgiums really are into their cycling and the location was an old mining area transformed into an industrial estate but with a few spare empty roads. 90km of a 2.7k loop makes 33 laps! The field split up quickly into 2 and later into 3 groeps. With 8 laps to go the last group was taken out and Jos was part of this group. Still he stuck with it for 25 laps and did his fastest ever 40k! Then there was just the beer and frieten to come......Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    Andre Rieu on het Vrijthof

    July 16, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Seeing this 72 year old entertain 110000 people for 3 hours with so much enthusiasm and drive is rather a special moment. The variation of music was quite vast. From classic to gospel to Scottish, jazz, opera, ballads and finally communal singing. The whole event very well organised with great community support!Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    St Geertruid to Monschau

    July 18, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Lovely day riding via Vaals (highest point in Holland) and Aachen. Then onto the Venn Bahn to Monchau, 83km. 500m elevation with a 2% incline, rather easy to cope with. The Venn Bahn runs from Aachen to Trousvierges in Luxembourg , 125km of fascinating landscapes, border country atmosphere, history and never knowing which language they speak! Turns out that the Venn Bahn itself is actually Belgium property and it runs through Germany! This has created 4 enclaves (see picture) with the cycle path on Belgium property and on either side of you Germany! That is just weird!

    Campsite was on a very pretty location but they charged a lot for everything in the shop so the pizza in the end was better value then cooking something ourselves. €41 for the campsite.    Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    Monschau to St Vith

    July 19, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We finished yesterday in Monschau, a rather quaint, old cobblestone town in Western Germany. Lots of half timbered houses and the red old merchant house from 1752.

    The streets were very steep and komoot send us down some of these with our laden tandem, Sally was petrified! Camped by a stream but also a busy road. Next day took us back to the Venn Bahn on a gravelled track through the woods. On the Venn bahn we soon got to a railway carriage were they served coffee and freshly made waffles, we had to stop! Some of the stretched were downhill at 2% and got us a good speed on the tandem!
    Lots of groups passing by on e- bikes doing tours and staying in local hotels but also lots of tourers with lots of panniers. The facilities along the path are truly good, with no barriers to content with and no rubbish to speak of. Frequent picnic benches and even reclining seats.
    We are travelling through 4 countries this holiday but also different regions, so you're never sure what language or dialect they are speaking, have a look at the photo! 65km Campsite most expensive of the trip €53    Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    St Vith to Wiltz (Lux)

    July 20, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    The campsit we stayed at was easily on of the best ever for touring cyclist. Seperate little pitch with a small shed in wich you could cook and shelter if need be, hang your washing and charge your devices! All for €17.00 p.p. (Even had a swimming pool!)

    The next morning we successfully negotiating the backroads back to the Venn Bahn and we managed to find our way to Troisverges but not without being diverted off the path because of a tunnel full of rare bats. This was only a few metres over the Luxembourg border that the local authorities decided to send you up a steep hill instead, batty I'd say!
    From Troisverges it was very lumpy but the scenery was great and the roads were empty. Food in Luxembourg is expensive with a €4.50 for a 1kg of bread. Luxembourg is not the richest country for nothing! Cheapest campsite of the trip! €19 for 3 of us.    Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    Wiltz to Ettelbruck

    July 21, 2023 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today was billed as a 'rest day' but we still did 33km with 500m of elevation. One of the 2 hills was a totally traffic free cycle route. Steep but no traffic, that's how I like them!
    Coffee stop at Esch-sur-Sure, a very nice old town surrounded on 3 sides by the river Sure; hope it doesn't flood!
    Food prices are a lot higher then in the UK, Aldi's bill yesterday was €23 and Lidl today was €18. Cappuccino €3.50, cake €4.50, loaf of decent bread €4.15 plus €0.30 for slicing! Campsite was reasonable though! €30 for the 3 of us.    Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    Ettelbruck to Radelange

    July 22, 2023 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Following the Euro Velo 5 gave us some very nice cycle path to go on. Some were obviously old railways with plenty of information boards. They must have had their own Beeching's railway cuts but at the same time the fore-thought to preserve the old railway beds for cycleways. Only one small issue with a 'route barreé'. Quite often we pass these barriers and find a bicycle and even a tandem can get through. Not this time! Some zealous council worker firmly attached the barriers top an bottom to the bridge. Only taking all bags off and lifting the tandem over would have got us through! In the end the detour was only 3km, not too bad.
    We got to the Belgium border at Martelange, quite an awful little town, too busy with traffic and cars shopping. Quick exit after losing €28 at Delhaize. Packet of chickpeas €3.50. The last of Luxembourg shopping! €35 for 3, 2 tents.    Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    Radelange to La Roche Ardennes

    July 23, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    A bit of a wet ride today so had coffee break in a bus shelter. Sunday closing meant we didn't have lunch till we got to La Roche. Very touristy town. Chips and croquettes were very welcoming though. Camping Club Europe (400 pitches!) was turned down, went on to Camping de l'Ourthe, much better, even found a party tent for the bikes and a covered terrace to cook under! River very beautiful! €33 for 3 with 2 tents.Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    La Roche en Ardenne to Sy

    July 24, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    Drizzly start turned out into a mixed weather day. One minute you're eating an ice cream the next you're sheltering for the rain. The Ardenne are far more beautiful then I remember from my youth. Wooded valleys, rushing rivers, rock faces, castles and wonderful cycle paths! The roads in Belgium are not as good as in Luxembourg or Germany but the traffic is generally light.

    One bad mark I must give for a river crossing on the Euro Velo route. The steep steps and ramp must have been close to 40%. We had to unload our bags and push the tandem!
    The campsite at Sy was run by a Dutch family, nice atmosphere in the canteen when we were hiding from the rain and enjoyed a nice Belgium beer with Jos. What did puzzle me is that why this Dutch family didn't provide soap, hot water and toilet paper on the campsite as they do in the Netherlands....?

    One interesting activity going on in Belgium is that there are youth camps all over the place. Packs of scouts are walking from place to place and small tent villages are around every corner in the Ardenne. Great character building! Campsite €38    Read more

  • Eugene KertzmanTravelerSt Geertruid to Luxembourg

    Sy (Hamoir) to St Geertruid

    July 25, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Today was a day of 2 extremes, the first half through beautiful wooded valleys, rivers, rock formations and with lots of wildlife. We saw 3 kingfishers within minutes, several herons, buzzards and a gaggle of geese ferry gliding across the river. The river Ourthe starts as a small stream but gradually becomes a wide and deep river. As we got nearer Liege the urban sprawl took over and we joined the river Meuse (Maas) with large cargo barges making their way up and down stream. Plenty of Dutch barges too in which people were making their homes.
    We passed the old steelworks on the other side of Liege where once 40.000 people worked and producing 6000 tons of raw iron. Now derelict and half demolished a sad remain of the industrial revolution!

    Once we passed Liege we got to Vise and made it up the hill into Limburg and back to where we started. A great trip with better then average weather!
    For the last night of our trip we stayed at the 'Kersengaard' (the Cherry Orchard), a lovely small campsite on a farm with only 15 pitches. Lovely facilities and a quiet site with very friendly owners (Wilma and her son Michael) would recommend! Only £20 for the 2 of us with 1 tent. Tomorrow on to Zeeland to check out a campsite for the 2024 tandem rally and then on the Hoek van Holland ferry overnight to home!    Read more

  • Trip end
    July 26, 2023
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