Last night, we agreed to set off a little early. We wanted to beat the afternoon heat as we walked through Luxembourg on our way to the river Mosselle that separates Luxembourg and Germany.
When it came time to depart, I quickly came to realise that Mitchell wanted to continue on his journey along the Mullerthal trail which headed somewhat in the wrong direction of the accommodation. When considering my options, I was a little concerned I did not have enough water for a 35° day. Yesterday’s trail did not have any water refilling stations. Which presented a bit of a problem if I was going to be walking an hour in the wrong direction. I only had 2 x 500ml bottles that I had reused from previous purchases.
The additional factor for me was that if I walk an hour in the wrong direction we will then need to walk in the right direction through the heat of the day through what I imagined to be roads and farmland. From our accommodation it was a 3.5 hour walk directly to the river Mosselle that separates Luxembourg and Germany.
I could not bring myself to follow Mitchell. I really wanted to. Additionally, my love for Europe was its small close together towns and farmland separated by rows of trees and walking tracks throughout the farmer fields. This was the scenery that I very much wanted to experience. The Mullerthal Trail was lovely, but it was more nature that I feel I got to experience yesterday to a satisfying degree. I therefore set off, offering for Mitchell to come with me.
As a side project, we considered writing our own blog posts for the day. Each from our own perspective. Mitch has completed that now and his post can be seen on this site as well at the below link.
I had learned from Mitchell that the right app to use for maps and walking tracks was AllTrails. This proved invaluable and kept me off the roads almost the entire walk.
I cut through parts of farmland and forestry tracks. All of which vehicles were not permitted on. I also followed some horse and bike tracks which were paved. These paved walking roads would be incredible in Australia but the towns and communities in Australia are just too far apart. I saw some people riding their bikes between towns but the forecast for the day of 35° is just too high to see too many people.
I stopped a small town called Herborn and refilled my drink bottles. Making sure to down full 500mls before I set off again with full bottles. Took a selfie by the church.
One of the things that I very much love about this rural farmland scenery are the dear stands. I know this does not likely make a lot of sense as they are more or less very basic. But I love seeing them at the corner of every forest that meets the farmland.
I climbed up into two dear stands to take a look. One was a mighty tall one and the other one was a bit more shallow. I ate my last remaining apple inside of one before sitting on the track once again.
On our last trip to Europe, I saw many dear stands from a distance and took photos of them. On this trip, I got to get close to them to take a look.
My journey, as can be seen below, was a mix of forests and farmland.
As the sun got higher in the sky, I started taking less photos. Like Mitchell, my phone battery was not doing very well. I had the utilities to charge my phone (unlike Mitchell) but this was a lost cause as it was so hot that at best the battery was just staying in the same percentage. If anything, I think I saw it drop 1%.
Like my phone, I was also starting to feel the effects of the heat. Especially as the time past midday. What started off as a 26° stroll had turned into a 35° sweltering walk.
I started to take more and more breaks. I was down to my last half of a drink bottle. I was quite close to the end destination. But there was a moment along a long stretch of farmland in the sun, that I had to sit down.
I sat in the shaded spot for 20 minutes. Wondering what I needed to do. I knew that if I went straight to the accommodation via an Uber I would not have the chance to get supplies. Our accommodation was out of town in the mountains. I therefore caught an Uber to the nearest shopping centre called a Lidl. These are similar to Aldi’s.
I am very glad I took an Uber, as I am afraid I may have brought back up some of the water I drank earlier. Luckily realising I had plenty of spare ziplock bags to utilise. My Uber driver did not speak English so there was not much point of asking her to pull over. Luckily, she did not notice what I had to do in the backseat..
I entered the air-conditioned supermarket, not knowing what I really needed other than to cool down. I purchased a punnet of grapes, a doughnut, and a bag of lollies. I purchased a new cold drink from a neighbouring petrol station.
I visited a small park to lay down in the shade on top of my rain jacket. I did not move from this position for quite some time. Many hours passed. Within 20 minutes, I could feel an improvement, but I decided to remain here as the hot city streets were not to my liking.
In communicating with Mitchell, I suspected he was in a similar situation. He let me know that he would be at the accommodation within an hour as he was catching a train. He also added my name to the accommodation so that I could check in if I so wished. A very kind gesture. 
As the time approached 5 pm, I was feeling much much better. I revisited the Lidl for some additional supplies for the night. Sadly, supermarkets, petrol stations, and other minimarts do not stock Panadol. I visited a pharmacy to discover that they were closed due to the heat. This had been an ongoing issue in our time in Luxembourg. I had taken my two last painkillers today and would’ve liked some more.
I am pleased to say, I do not have any lasting pain or headaches. The amount of water that I drank was no doubt as saving factor here. I crossed the ferry, paying my 1€ fee.
Mitchell beat me to the accommodation by perhaps 20 minutes. Feeling much better, I decided to walk the last 3 km which was not hard at all after my long rest.
Mitchell had eaten, but I had some dinner and below is my German meal Nussbraten.
Tomorrow, we have concluded our walking adventures. I think this is a success, despite the heat. I think we have walked enough for a few days. I do believe we are returning to Luxembourg city to explore some of the tourist attractions.