Beaufort to Rosport: Day 129

A day climbing up and down, along gorges, beside sandstone cliffs and among large blocks of rock.

Last night, trying to go to sleep, I felt very hot in the triple glazed very modern Youth Hostel. Opening of windows was only possible to a very limited extent. So I was surprised after eventually falling asleep that I slept through to 7:00 am.

After breakfast and a chat with my companion in the dormitory (an American backpacking around Europe) I walked into town, admired the "infinity" pond reflecting the streets buildings and then continued into an area of sandstone outcrops. Initially I walked down a wooded gorge with rock rising each side. The rock formation was a sandstone where the grains of sand were cemented together by calcite (a type of calcium carbonate) it weathered in places to give a characteristic "honeycomb" appearance, elsewhere it was nicely layered reflecting how it was originally deposited. Massive lumps hung above benches on which I would be reluctant to sit for fear that a few tons of sandstone would suddenly fall on me. Wooden and rough stone steps were provided to help you over steeper sections. Climbing up the side of the valley from the low gorge, the path led me to a line of cliffs. On the taller cliff faces, rock climbers were making slow progress up the massive expanses of rock. The sandstone was split into large blocks by wide cracks, some wide enough to walk up, formed when a huge block of rock had tilted or slipped down the valley slope a little. Paths through these gaps had names, one was called the Labyrinth, although I had no difficulty finding my way through its two bends. In one instance the path took me to the top of the cliffs but the view, a thin strip of wooded hills beyond the trees immediately in front of me, was disappointing. There were also some caves, albeit manmade, where round millstones had been cut out of the rock long ago, you could see the circular gaps they left. All was surrounded by trees, mainly beech, their leaves made luminous by the sunlight shining through them.

Sandstone Cliffs in the woods.

A gap in the rocks to walk through. 

After about 11 am there were many people about: people with dogs, couples with babies strapped to their chests, elderly groups, younger backpackers walking with even bigger rucksacks than me, single men and women out for a day's walk. Repeatedly rising up and down, the path was tiring to walk. I hoped for a rest and coffee at the village of Berdorf, but the only place of refreshment was a busy restaurant with a sign saying "Please wait to be served". The menu had things like Nordic burgers. Not the kind of place for coffee and cake. Opposite was a café that had clearly been closed for some time, maybe one of many that ceased operating as a result of Covid. If open it would have done a good trade today.

Approach to Echternach. 

By the time I had reached the town of Echternach I was ready for a light lunch. A pedestrian street had many restaurants each side, many advertising Italian cuisine (pizza, spaghetti) but with Turkish and Chinese as well. I settled for a goats cheese salad with a bottle of Radler (a non alcoholic beer with lemon or lemonade), less cloyingly sweet than a soft drink. Echternach also had a Basilica I visited. Modern but built to a traditional design, it replaced a structure largely destroyed during the Battle of the Bulge. Germany is at the edge of the town, on the other side of the Sûre (or Sauer) River.

Tonight I am camped at Rosport on a campsite on the banks of that river, contemplating options for tomorrow.