Around the Adriatic Sea
The challenge: cycling round the Adriatic Sea. Will I manage it before the weather in the Balkans gets too rough? I’m curious to find out myself….
After the exhausting bog trek, I wanted to take it easy for a day: a short 13km walk to the beautiful Lake Butgenbach.
To get out of Sourbrodt, I had to walk for 2.5 km next to an N-lane. Not much fun, but I did pass a fruit and vegetable shop where I consumed a nice amount of fruit on the spot. Check vitamin C for the day.
I noticed how many vacancy there was in the village. I passed several big hotels, past glories which have apparently been neglected for years. Pity, the village is nevertheless a good base for Peatland walks.
This concrete process was followed by beautiful forests interspersed with meadows.
Just before Butgenbach it went normally for several kilometres over the Ravel to Worriken campsite by the lake, but as I needed to do some shopping, I took an earlier turn through the village. This allowed me to take the 30-metre-high viaduct to photograph over which the Vennbahn railway line ran. That one was made on 1 July 1912 opened by the Prussian State Railways for military reasons. On that former railway line, during WWII, the Allies also bombed a train with more than 100 young people returning from a proclamation. Black pages in Butgenbach's history.
In camping Worriken, I met Tom Van Dyck from Brecht. He was cycling the Venntour and joined us on the tent meadow. I lived in Sint-Job-In-'t-Goor, a borough of Brecht, until 1990. The world is small....
Sourbrodt: past glory
I did not enjoy a good night's sleep at Worriken campsite. There were a six noisemakers who were partying with music until well into the night. This does happen more often on large campsites during weekends. At the Baalse Hei campsite in Turnhout, I also had this happen.
In the morning, as usual, I had walked up and down to the sanitary building several times and everything was OK. I said goodbye to Eric and Sientje Mielissen from Hoeselt, who had lent me an electricity plug of their own accord the day before to charge my devices. I hoisted my bag on my back, started walking, and from the first pass I felt pain in my left front ankle. Where did this pain suddenly come from? I thought it would disappear after a few dozen metres, but this turned out to be vain hope. The ankle continued to nag. After 3 km, I stopped to stretch and lubricate it, but I continued to feel the pain throughout the trek.
The walk departed along the beautiful Lake Butgenbach and then joined the Ravel direction Büllingen. I arrived there a little before noon, just in time for a salad at an Italian restaurant.
After Büllingen, I ran for a long time on a dead straight road next to the edge of a forest, in the sun. It was a little too hot there again. Fortunately, in the middle of that long road there was one bench hidden in tall grass on which I had a power nap could do. The last part was long uphill, including several hundred metres through a meadow with tall grass. Tiring.
At the entrance to the hamlet Medendorf, which consists of only one street, I rested for a moment on a bench by a low stone cross, the Croix des Flins, from the early 17th century. There would be a few more like this in the area.
Croix des Flins, Medendorf
Snowview Lodge is a B&B, group accommodation and very rudimentary mini campsite. A smoothly mowed little plot with a few toys and wooden stumps as seating, but with a beautiful view over the hills. The sanitary is in a WC trolley which was built into a barn. One lovely solar-heated shower and two sinks with hot water. Campers may stay in the sitting area of the B&B and charge their devices there. A fridge with various drinks at very reasonable prices. All this for only 7 euros. Definitely recommended for undemanding tent campers.
Lovely walk, almost entirely along gravel paths through majestic forests.
The tour began with a long descent to a little bridge over the river, then of course followed by a equally long climb out of the valley. Then the heavier climbing was over and it was on gently rolling paths.
After 14 km I passed the hamlet of Wallerode. I was hoping to find something to take a break there, but the only café left was for sale. There was a church and..... the door was loose. 20 minutes of silent meditation and in the meantime recharging my phone I saw fit. Sunk in deep silence, suddenly the clear GPS woman's voice echoed: 'The GPS signal is weak. The route is being recorded, but your position may be inaccurate.' Hilarious. Fortunately, no one else was in the church.
As I left the church, it began to drip and over the hills came jet-black clouds drift. I put myself in rain mode and wanted to continue walking, but when lightning and thunder joined in, I turned right around to take shelter in a little chapel in front of the church. Right choice, because a few minutes later, the water fell from the sky in buckets. How lucky I was to have spent 20 minutes in that church. If I had continued walking, I would have been in the middle of that thunderstorm.
Around 17:30 I arrived at Camping Weisenbach in St. VithBut there was a restaurant next to the campsite that was also open. For breakfast in the morning, I bought some sandwiches, which I immediately took with me
And the ankle, it nagged on, but the pain was bearable.
Fluorescent moss
Sunday evening it had rained heavily in St Vith and Monday morning the tent still soaking wet. Just when I had wiped them dry a bit, the sun came through, and 20 minutes later the tent was completely dry. As rain clouds were coming again, I quickly packed up. A stroke of luck, a little later it started raining again.
As I was completely without provisions apart from the six sandwiches shaved in the restaurant, I asked the campsite manager if the local shop in Maldingen was open on Monday. He thought they didn't sell food, so I went just to be sure walked around via St Vith.
When I got there, it started to pouring rain. I managed to take shelter in a bakery with a hot latte just in time. This is already the second downpour I narrowly escaped. Dark rain clouds regularly appeared today, but apart from a few splashes, I was spared the wet.
Forests did not come into play today. Komoot sent me mostly along small asphalt lanes through open terrain. Normally I don't like that, but with the aching ankle, this worked out well. Not too many lateral tilts of the sole of the foot. Successively I passed the hamlets Neundorf, Crombach, Weisten, Braunlauf, Maldingen and Aldringen.
In Neundorf, I walked across a raised grass verge - a former railway line I suspect - on which the 14 stations of the cloister were depicted.
From Braunlauf to beyond Maldingen, I followed a wide gravel road, but then I faced a Komoot surprise. With 500 metres to go to a turn-off, the gravel road unexpectedly came to a dead end at a impenetrable wasteland. The road curved off to the right on a narrow path with tall grass between two meadows. I thought I could get to the turn-off in a wide arc around a large meadow with cows. To do this, I had to pass several fenced meadows with lush grass growing to hip height. The farmers here apparently participated in #MaaiMeiNiet.
I got over the first barbed wire using a small wooden step like in England. That was fine. At the second, four wires one above the other, there was no step in sight. The wire was too high to get over it unscathed - and when you only have one pair of trousers with you, that's tricky - and too low to crawl under. A little further on, I found a patch where the bottom sunk in a bit and Flat on the belly I just got under it. Twice I had to struggle that way, but then I fortunately reached a better grass path which brought me back on the Komoot route. Due to the many bumps in the tall grass, my only however start glowing and hurt badly. Now I had to pickle further, the pain was no longer nagging but stabbing. After the comfortable cross walk in Neundorf, I was allowed to walk my own cross walk with two 'belly traps' here.
After some downhill on the Komoot route, the tarmac track went over a brook. Cold running water, I couldn't let that pass. Left shoe off and foot 10 minutes in the fresh water. It's incredible how healing running water works: after that cold session, I was able to get back on with the mild nagging pain from before.
Just past Aldringen, the last German-speaking village, I passed a house with a ridge-high unusual Christ Cross from 1804. An old woman sitting by the house said that people with pain or problems come there to ask for relief. So that cross came in handy for my sore ankle. If it doesn't help, it doesn't hurt. I believe Blaise Pascal also said this about whether or not you believe in a deity. Wonder if the pain will be better tomorrow. Subite I will become (super)religious in my old age.
Soon after, I was at my final destination Beho - I thought. However, the farm campsite I needed to go to was still 2.5 km outside the hamlet. 2.5 km via two main lanes with no foot or bike path. Half an hour of balancing on a white line and swerve to the grass verge when a wide truck came thundering past. There are more pleasant ways to end a long day of stepping...
Around midnight, the heavens burst open in Beho and nature unleashed a noisy thunderstorm. My little tent withstood the deluge, but the thunder and rain splashing on the tent canvas seriously disturbed my sleep, so I didn't wake up until 8 in the morning. The birds were singing and the sun was shining.... A young Dutch cycling couple that had joined me on my square late in the evening had also stayed dry. They are on their way to Marseille.
Quickly swept the tent a bit dry so the sun could do its work faster and then packed up at my leisure and had breakfast.
The first part Between Beho and Gouvy was beautiful, through forests with regular scenic views. The ankle continued to nag, and even gradually worse as the stepping hours ticked by. My prayer at the healing cross yesterday was not answered...
According to GoogleMaps, everything is closed in Gouvy on Tuesday, but I luckily found another organic shop open where I bought some goodies to devour immediately. I asked if I could go to the toilet there because all the catering outlets were closed, but they wouldn't let me. Not sympathetic. I actually thought this was required by law.... Fortunately, across the street there was a dense hedge and some bushes.
When I took off again, they were there again, the pitch-black clouds and the rumbling in the distance. However, it took over an hour before it started raining. Fortunately, this time it remained 'normal' rain that did not turn into a torrential downpour.
After the long route through Gouvy my ankle started to hurt seriously. To avoid forcing it any further, I decided not to follow the - probably very muddy - Komoot route along the eastern Ourthe and bravely took the small asphalt lanes to keep walking. A kilometre before Rettigny, I saw a victim of killer traffic lying beside the road: a beautiful red fox. Such a shame...
Meanwhile, it had started pouring incessantly. As I am taking a rest day on Moulin de Bistain campsite and wet and cold weather is also predicted tomorrow, I decided to make one hiker's hut to rent. I already camped here four years ago to participate in the annual trail run of Rettigny. Meanwhile, the sanitary facilities were modernised. In terms of peace and quiet and location, this campsite is highly recommended. It is located along a very quiet lane and the hiker pitches are on a meadow on the banks of the Ourthe.
One drawback this time: when I went to check in, all wifi networks at the campsite turned out to be down due to a lightning strike the night before. And there is no mobile coverage either because of too far from a village and its location in a valley. I walked in the rain to a slightly higher pasture hoping to notify the home front that I had been without coverage for two days, but no avans. A very small E-triangle did appear, but that was insufficient even to send a text message. Back to the pre-mobile era for a moment. Very odd that the little box doesn't respond to what you ask. What is inconvenient is that I cannot plan the route to Houffalize now.
During my rest day at Moulin de Bistain, I went standing in the fast-flowing water of the Ourthe River four times for more than 15 minutes to decongest the ankle. That helped well, but my shin still remained slightly swollen. Therefore, I decided to use the heavier artillery of a anti-inflammatory put in.
Threatening clouds in Gouvy
My day started with a 15-minute 'Ourthemassage' and then pack up. At departure, it was still drizzling a little, but soon it stayed dry for the rest of the day.
Very nice and quiet route up to Houffalize: first over plateaus with wide views, then through an imposing (actually forbidden) private forest, partly along a small stream. The ground under the firs was completely covered with an almost fluorescent moss. Magical.
A little after one o'clock I arrived in the centre of Houffalize, nicely in time to eat a trifle.
Then it was another spiteful hill climb - with tough MTB routes - until Camping du Viaduc. I don't see a viaduct anywhere here though, but soit. The campsite is again on the banks of the Ourthe, I can't find my cold-water massage therapy continue.
A +20er to Bastogne awaits me tomorrow....
The last stage was anything but the prettiest, but a good one to get used to traffic again. The first 4 kilometres were nice and quiet, but after that I was jostled between the E25 and N30 motorways.
But not to fret too much: I also take that motorway to drive to the Ardennes or the south. In a car, that route even gives me a pleasant holiday feeling. Perception is context-sensitive…
Twice I had to walk quite a distance alongside the E25. Actually three times, but I managed to avoid that last time by finding a shortcut myself, via the village of Savy . I wondered why Komoot kept sending me to the noisy E25 route. The reason was that the last 500 metres of my route on a private road walked that left through a farmyard. I put on my naughty shoes, walked quietly through it and kindly greeted a woman I passed. She greeted me back equally kindly and let me go.
I had been walking for a long time. Savy is an elongated village and I needed a rest and pee break. I saw a little chapel - I thought - but that was a covered spring. A little further on I turn a corner, and there stands me a bench and a WC cabin, including toilet paper! What a luxury.
After the private road, I was near Camping Renval. I am again in Bastogne, but now from a different step direction. It is complete, my step tour around our country for Street Nurses ASBL.
On Saturday morning, July 3, before my departure by bus/train back to Antwerp, I walked up to Julien and his family, in whose garden I camped last year. I thanked them with a good bottle of wine because last year, after receiving bad news about a terminally ill friend, Julien had brought me by car to the station in Libramont.
The challenge: cycling round the Adriatic Sea. Will I manage it before the weather in the Balkans gets too rough? I’m curious to find out myself….
From 2026, Eva will be raising funds for the International Campaign for Tibet Europe, the world’s largest Tibetan advocacy organisation.
