"CYCLING TRIP IN LITTLE SWITZERLAND " a Luxembourg Travel Page by B_Caro

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I spent Whit Weekend in Luxembourg to do some cycling.

I know it must sound unbelievable to those who know me – but it is true! - I didn’t take any photos during that trip.
Imagine, you are cycling in a group, with several people, about 80 km a day. That makes it almost impossible to stop every 5 minutes to take a shot of the beautiful scenery or one of the many scenic, medieval ruins and castles. That way I never would have made it through the first day :-)
So you’ll have to be content with a brief report about my adventures in Luxembourg.

Point of departure was<b> Echternach</b>. It is situated in an area called <b>“Little Switzerland”</b>. According to the brochure, most of the tours would be along the banks of rivers or old railroads (transformed into bikeways). After all, it couldn’t be that hilly, could it ???
So I decided to participate in this cycling trip, together with a friend of mine, Hélčne.
Actually I wasn’t convinced 100% that it would be that easy. The last few months, I have only gone out twice for an afternoon of cycling. And to be honest, I prefer hiking.
But anyway, we decided to go for it. And I was there with my own car and I also took my walking boots with me, so I could always skip cycling and start walking or doing some sightseeing ;-)

<u><b>Day 1</b></u>

At 11 AM the whole group (15) met at the Auberge. We picked up our bikes and decided to have our picnic on the terrace of the Auberge as it had started to rain. And then our cycling trip started. The first day a trip of about 60 km was planned, as a warm-up. We followed the river to Vianden and back. We also passed through woods & meadows and some parts were really hilly, indeed a warm-up!
A short break in Vianden and admiring the beautiful castle there.
And on the way we had also plenty of rain showers. The first time you think, oh sh…, this can't be true. But after a few showers we just keep on going. Everybody had decent rain gear so actually there was no problem.

<u><b>Day 2</b></u>

On Sunday a trip of 80 km was foreseen. We rode from Echternach to Berdorf, Larochette, Reisdorf and the back to Echternach, following the river.
The first part of the trip was really tough.
The way to Berdorf was a climb of about 8 km. With only 7 gears on the bike it was just impossible to stay on this vehicle. So more then once I had to get off the bike and walk next to my bike, and in the meantime admiring the beautiful scenery. It is also a great hiking area.
In Berdorf everybody was waiting and before going on we had a coca-cola in the local pub to get back some more energy.
This was a day of a lot of climbing (both cycling and walking) and the inevitable rain showers and some more pub-stops.
But the last part of the day was again more relaxed as we followed the river back to Echternach.

<u><b>Day 3</b></u>

And on Monday we did another 60 km. This time we had fine weather. The sun was shining. It was still windy and cold, but at least no rain.
This time we were heading to Wasserbillig, Wecker, Biwer and then somehow back to Echternach. And this last day it was possible to have our picnic outside.

Again we saw beautiful landscapes & scenic castles & villages. It is certainly a beautiful walking area. Next time I come back here it will be for a few walks (and then I will take some photos)

At about 5 PM we were back at the Auberge. After a hot shower we all felt well & satisfied.
To end this trip, we went to an Italian restaurant, nearby the Auberge for a pizza (they were delicious !!!!). And after exchanging phone numbers and email addresses we went back home.

<b>It was a great weekend and I enjoyed it very much!</b>

<font size=1>This photo at the top was taken a few weeks ago when I was for business in Diekirch </font>