A showery bike ride along the River Our

It was raining hard when we woke up this morning. Oh well… lazy day it is, I thought, quite looking forward to a rest. I decided to take my umbrella and wander into town to the bakery to pick up some treats for breakfast and lunch. The bakery in Vianden is highly recommended online, with a huge range of bread, cakes and pastries… yum!

I wandered along the river, watching a graceful heron, which kept flying ahead of me. The castle and hilltops were shrouded in mist, but everywhere was still very pretty. Arriving at the bakery, I was disappointed to find a sign saying closed between 10th and 17th April… today being the 12th! Typical… at least a little grocery store was open so I could get some basic supplies.

Back at the van, we deliberated whether to stay in Bertie and read and watch DVDs or brave the rain for a bike ride. By the time we’d had breakfast, the weather had improved, with the sun peeping out between rain showers. We decided to have an easy bike ride along the River Our valley to Stolzembourg.

We followed the Ourdall Promenade from Vianden, across a barrage and then over several sections of board walk above the water. The path then went through pretty woodland as we went around a huge loop in the river.

Shortly after passing a pumped storage power station, we crossed the river into Germany, later crossing back into Stolzembourg in Luxembourg. The old border crossing here made history because it was the first place where Allied Forces stepped on German soil after D-Day. There’s a castle in Stolzembourg. The most recent one is the third built on the site (1898).

From Stolzembourg, we retraced our route to Vianden. As we went round the Our loop again, we could see Falkenstein Castle high on the hillside on the other side of the river in Germany. Then, soon after, Vianden Castle appeared high above the town and river.

It was a pleasant ride and, thankfully the weather was kind to us, with only occasional showers. That said, I was glad I had my waterproofs on! The journey back was much faster than the journey out because my confidence riding on muddy, slippery tracks and board walks increased.

Back at Bertie we’re sitting with the door open, enjoying the view over the river and some sunshine, contemplating doing the washing up and having a shower. The facilities here are lovely and clean so we might as well take advantage before we move on again tomorrow.