During my run in the Ardennes forest of northern Luxembourg I got to see why, as Wikipedia puts it, how:

Allied generals in World War II believed that the region was impenetrable to massed vehicular traffic and especially armor, so the area was effectively “all but undefended” during the war. The German Army twice used this region to invade Northern France and Southern Belgium, via Luxembourg in the Battle of France and the later Battle of the Bulge.

My run on the 53k Escapardenne Lee Trail made it abundantly clear how difficult this terrain is to pass through. The track consists of steep hills, rivers and thick forest that is difficult to pass on foot, much less with motorized vehicles.

My trip started by landing in Luxembourg on a Saturday afternoon. I took a Taxi directly into Luxembourg City and then spent a few hours touring the city on foot. It was a lot of fun to go into the Casemates Du Bock and also walk the paths that cross the Adolphe Bridge. I also walked a short distance out of the city to see the Malakoff Tower to get a perspective of the city from a surrounding hill side. After my walking tour, I headed to my hotel to have dinner, about an hour drive north of the city.

I stayed at the Hotel Restaurant - DAHM in the small town of Erpeldange, just north of the bigger town of Ettelbruck. I chose this location since I saw I could have a nice dinner in their garden, which turned out to be a good choice. It is also located at the end of the trail, so was a good spot to run directly to without needing any other transport.

I woke up at 5:45am to get ready since my taxi was picking me up at 6:30am to drive me to the start of the trail in Kautebaach. For a long run, I normally like to start later so I can have some breakfast and plenty of coffee, but on this day I was pressed for time since I had to get back to the hotel by 4pm to catch my Taxi to the airport since my flight to Berlin was at 6pm. Not knowing what the terrain would be like, or the weather, I wanted to give myself a little buffer.

The taxi dropped me off on a small road just outside the town where I saw the sign for the trail. It is a good feeling to confirm the GPS map with a physical sign that you are in the right place. I hiked up the road about 100 yards and that is where the trail begin. It was an amazingly beautiful way to start the run since the trail ascended the ridge of the mountain that afforded a great view of the town in the valley to one side and rolling countryside to the other. The clouds were burning off from the rising sun and there was nothing but the sounds of nature, and then at 8pm, the ringing of the bells from the town’s church. I knew it’d be a great day from here.

The trail is remote and is mostly single-track trail and forest road. You never know what is coming next though since the trail pops out on ridges overlooking sweeping valleys, crosses straight through pastures filled with cows, traverses train tracks and also passes through farmland. I hadn’t expected such nature given the size of Luxembourg, but was very wrong since this was some of the nicest trail I’ve come across

Given the remoteness, there were few points to fill up on food or water without leaving the trail. I was out of water, but right at that point, nearly in the middle of the trail I came across the Hotel Dirbach Plage. This hotel is nestled into a valley, right on a small river and the track passes right across the porch of the hotel. The bartender was super nice and refilled my water bottles with fresh, cold water. I crossed the river and then spent a few minutes eating my Twix bars and enjoying the sound of the water going over the small dam. After resting up, it was straight back into the forest to continue my run.

One of the high points, literally, was a very steep climb up a mountain that had para-gliding signs at the bottom. At the top where the para-gliders take off from, was a fantastic view of the valley. After that, it was lots more rugged trail, many castles in the distance and smooth running.

This trip epitomizes the amazing nature that is so close to many cities in Europe. With just a little extra planning, if you are in Luxembourg, or nearby in Europe, you can get away for an ultrarunning destination adventure you will never forget. I highly recommend Luxembourg as a destination. There are also many other great long distance trails in Luxembourg, so I hope to return to see more of this beautiful country!