Following Monday, I will leave for my very first multi-day hike. Together with my brother-in-law and a close friend, we will walk the “fake” Santiago de Compostela portion of Luxembourg.
I say fake, as I don’t know if anyone ever walked this path in the past. Quoting the official Camino Luxembourg website:
When choosing the pilgrimage route, the “Frënn vum Camino” opted for a compromise between the past and the present. For this reason the path is practical and authentic at the same time. So it runs along places where the cult of St James was practiced in the past, such as the localities of Münschecker, Roodt / Syr and the Jakobsberg near the village of Berbourg, but it also joins the high places of pilgrimage of Echternach and the city of Luxembourg, giving the possibility to profit from the marvelous nearby caterings and accommodations.
The plan is to walk for six days and cover approximately 180 kilometres. Here is the map of the walk we will be doing:
Some practical information
If you want a zoomable map of the walk, click this link.
For a Komoot-URL, click here. In case you want to walk this yourself.
And for the official map on the governmental database, click this.
The different steps look like this:
- Step 1: Lieler - Vianden (40,8km)
- Step 2: Vianden - Echternach (27,5km)
- Step 3: Echternach - Grevenmacher (21,5km)
- Step 4: Grevenmacher - Luxembourg City (34km)
- Step 5: Luxembourg - Dudelange (25km)
- Step 6: Dudelange - Schengen (31km)
We are, however, kind of cheating.
While we initially planned to sleep at every stop on this list, we quickly realised that financially this would be madness. Luxembourg is expensive as hell, and so are the hotels. So instead, we will use my apartment as a base and either get there by car (if my fiancée is willing to drive us) or by public transport, which is free and abundant in Luxembourg.
Also, because Luxembourg is so tiny, the furthest I'll ever be from my apartment is when I'm in Schengen, and that's 50 minutes from where I live.
I don’t know what gear I will be packing in place yet, but I don’t think it’ll be too much, as I can travel very lightweight since I don’t need to fill anything too heavy like clothes or coffee gear. I will post an update on the blog!
One thing I know I am packing, however, is my camera. I might even decide to create a pop-up newsletter for the walk and either post pictures only or accompany them with some essay. In either case, I will be announcing the newsletter here, too.
I am both stressed and excited about this walk. It's the longest I've ever walked and like previously said, my first multi-day hike.
At least I will be sleeping in my bed every night!