This turned out to be another long hike because of the lack of accommodation in Mirbach. I had booked a hotel in Hillesheim, the destination for day 8, for two nights. Because it was Sunday, there was no bus between Mirbach and Hillesheim and I had to walk the extra 10 km. However, a bus first thing Monday morning would bring me back to Mirbach to do day 8 and I would be walking with a much lighter pack for once, as I could leave all my unneeded gear at the hotel in Hillesheim. It’s a little odd that a stage should end in a village like Mirbach where there’s next to no accommodation and poor transport connections at the weekend.
It was a cold morning, just 6 degrees, and, as I was eating breakfast, I saw that the woods around the hotel were shrouded in mist. I was eager to get started and seize the opportunity for a few good photos before the sun burned the mist off.
I headed back into Blankenheim to pick up the trail on the main square. There was a Kneipp bath that I hadn’t noticed the previous day just before the square, but my feet weren’t yet tired enough to use it. From the square, it was a steep climb up flights of steps and a road before the trail levelled out, with great views back over the town…
…and then the surrounding fields…
…with some great photo opportunities now and then.
Once again, the trail was part in the woods, part in farmland. The damp conditions in the woods, along with the rain from a couple of days ago, meant that there were toadstools and mushrooms sprouting all over.
There were a few more people about as it was Sunday, notably a young couple who seemed to have camped out overnight (the guy said something about being frozen and needing to get to Ripsdorf for a coffee to warm up) and two very noisy German ladies whom I had seen the previous day and who didn’t seem to understand the concept of the silence of nature.
I stopped just before the final climb up to Ripsdorf to change into shorts, as the day was getting warmer and warmer. Just as I arrived in the village, I saw a huge group ahead of me. They occupied the whole width of the trail and were moving fairly slowly. Just as I was trying to figure out how to get past them, they turned off the Eifelsteig to follow another path, much to my relief!
After Ripsdorf, there was a long section across the fields around the village. All of a sudden, I saw two familiar figures coming towards me: the two German-speaking Dutch guys who seemed to be heading in the wrong direction. From what I could understand , they were coming from Mirbach and going to Blankenheim. I think they had managed to get a ride to Mirbach that morning and were doing this section of the trail in reverse. This was their way of dealing with the lack of accommodation in Mirbach where, they told me, there were only four beds available each night. Hopefully, we shall meet up again, and I can question them a little further to make sure I understood rightly.
I was approaching the village of Alendorf when the bells started ringing to mark midday. Oddly, after the first four chimes to mark the hour, they rang three times in a row, took a break, then rang four more times, and stopped. There was clearly a problem somewhere!
On leaving the village, the trail climbed a steep hill, marked with sandstone carved stations of the cross. There were great views from the top, where a rather despairing looking Jesus marked the final station.
Then there was was a steep climb downhill before the trail began to follow a beautiful valley that would end up leading all the way to Mirbach. It was sunny, not too hot, the sky was blue with a few wisps of cloud, and the birds were singing. Ideal conditions.
Mirbach was a tiny little place, with one small B&B (no doubt with the four beds mentioned by the Dutch guys), but it did have a terrific hikers’ café that was doing a roaring trade on this sunny Sunday. I took an outside table, and when I ordered a traditional flammkuche (a lighter version of pizza very popular hereabouts), the owner suggested that I try the day’s special made with pulled pork from their own smoker. I took his advice and didn’t regret it: it was delicious!
That set me up for the last 10 km into Hillesheim via a route that Komoot prepared for me in a matter of seconds. But before leaving the village, I went to take a look at the Chapel of the Redeemer on the hill behind the café. Dating from the early 1900s, the exterior vaguely reminded me of what remains of the Gedächtniskirche, the bombed out emblem of West Berlin. This impression was confirmed inside by the mosaics that resembled those that remain in the church in Berlin. It was a very ornate chapel for such a small village.
The route prepared by Komoot at first followed the Eifelsteig, but then veered off to cross some beautiful woods for a distance of about 8 km. There was no one else around, and the only sounds were my footsteps and the singing of the birds. I really enjoyed this section that I would never have seen if I hadn’t needed to leave the trail to get to Hillesheim and my hotel. There were some very impressive hunters’ hides along the way but thankfully they were not in use today. Indeed, on my way through these woods, I saw only one other person.
With one final section through open fields, the Komoot trail descended to Hillesheim and led me right to the door of my hotel, the town’s former prison. Fortunately, cell number seven turned out to be a very comfortable room, even though the door was that of the old prison cell.
When I went out for dinner and to scout the location of the bus stop for tomorrow morning, I discovered a pretty little town, which, bizarrely, seemed obsessed by crime. There was a Sherlock Holmes café, a hotel and restaurant with a crime thriller theme and a few other places with crime-related names. I shall try to find out more tomorrow.
Footsteps 