Mullerthal Trail – BabyPenguin

The trip to Mullerthal was a bit of a mixed bag, but ultimately very rewarding. The first reaction was disappointment in just how built up the area is. Such a trail system elicits images of remote forests and a sense of accomplishment for those who complete the trek. The reality was passing by a busload of Dutch tourists making a short trip from a parking lot to one of the most attractive waterfalls. Seniors, children, and small dogs were all able to make the journey.

On the plus side, the scenery is quite beautiful, and the density of the forest makes it easy to forget how close the road is most of the time. As a result of being extremely well developed, it’s safely accessible to a broader range of people who wouldn’t be capable of something more extreme. By the end of the day, the initial disappointment had been overwhelmed by satisfaction, and upon reflection, the trade-off is worth it to let more people experience this place.

The main sights for the chosen route were Schiessentümpel Waterfall and Kallektuffquell, which is somewhat of a rock formation/waterfall/pool combination that’s better described with photos. The route was intended to be longer, but construction interrupted buses and trails alike. Even the available bus let visitors off on a street corner with an uneasy feeling that disappeared after a short walk toward the trailhead. “Trailhead” is also an interesting word to use for a place with a crowded restaurant and other establishments appealing to tourists.

The Hike in Pictures

In the interest of time, this series is a bit less curated. Hopefully the views don’t get too repetitive. There was a bit of backtracking to the bus stop at the end, but it was mostly a one-way trip, and the photos are at least in chronological order.

It was a long-ish bus ride, so here are a few photos from the window to show the countryside mentioned in the previous post.

This was a full-sized bus, but the driver clearly fancied himself a Formula 1 driver.

Is this really the right spot to get off the bus? Where’s the trail?

This sign is in Luxembourgish (one of three official languages along with German and French), but it’s indeed the right place.

That’s more like it, except for the detour sign.

W6 was on the agenda to start. On to Route 3 then!

A trail closure moved things over to the nearby road.

It doesn’t even look that bad out there. Why is it closed?

The staircase and the views from it are actually pretty spectacular, but it does take away from the outdoorsy experience.

It’s across the street. Welcome to “nature.”

Workers were clearing trees in this area, so again with the detours.

At least one of the felled trees made a home for these striking fungi.

Seeing less than 1 km on this sign was encouraging, but problematic given that it pointed in an ambiguous direction. Taking the wrong trail for a few minutes, then checking GPS at least made things clearer, and even provided a stream crossing over some rocks (three times while getting oriented on the trail map).

Water trickles down all over the front side and collects in this pool.

A look at the surface gives the best view of just how widespread the flow of water is.

That was the furthest destination, so the rest is on the way out.

Twenty-five minutes early to the bus stop is better than too late. Though there’s a parking lot and a bus stop, there isn’t actually service to check for alternate bus routes.

It was time for a sigh of relief while looking out the bus window on the way back to Diekirch for one more night.

Leaving Luxembourg

The two days outdoors provided a welcome contrast to the earlier city visits, but they were also the most difficult to plan. The opportunity for things to go wrong is too great when consecutive days involve hikes of imprecise length, multiple transit connections across various services in three foreign languages, and interruptions in internet access that make last-minute adjustments difficult. There were delays, detours, and unexpected route changes, but it all worked out. Fortunately, the worst that happened was boarding a hot bus on a frozen morning, which resulted in leaving a beanie behind. It’s been too warm to worry about it over the last few days, but there will certainly be a shopping trip in Antwerp before heading toward the Swiss Alps.

There’s still more to tell about Luxembourg though. After a night’s rest, a day of transit toward Dinant, Belgium included a stopover in the city of Luxembourg for just long enough to take a two-hour walking tour. The photos from the city still aren’t sorted yet, but that doesn’t preclude a teaser!