The Eifelsteig – Day 12 – Manderscheid to Himmerod

On the paper, or rather in the guidebook, this looked like one of the shorter days of the whole trail, with a distance of just 18 km to cover. However, the guidebook had been systematically underestimating distances from the very beginning, and, as usual, there were an extra three or 4 km on my Garmin watch and my apps when I finally arrived in Himmerod. Moreover, this turned out to be the most technical section of the Eifelsteig so far, mostly on narrow paths, and with some steep climbs and descents over root-filled and rocky sections of trail.

After another good night’s sleep, and an excellent breakfast, with some amazing scrambled eggs that seemed to be flavoured with powdered porcini mushrooms (or maybe just Maggi), I set off from Manderscheid at around 8:30. The trail first took me through the town’s Kurpark, which was smaller than the one in Daun, but with some fine trees.

On leaving the town, I found myself on a trail similar to the one by which I had arrived in Manderscheid the previous day, a narrow path high above the Lieser river. But this section of trail was even more beautiful despite being a little more technical – there were stretches with fixed cables at several points.

About one kilometre from Manderscheid, there was a small hut with the perfect view of the two castles.

This wonderful trail continued to follow the river from on high for about four kilometres. It was certainly one of the most beautiful sections of the Eifelsteig so far, with the silence of the morning broken only by birdsong and the sound of the river below.

After four kilometres , the trail crossed the Lieser and the climbing began.

And it was a steep one, along a narrow, muddy trail (mud when it hasn’t rained for a week?), complicated by recent logging work. At the top, there was the ideal picnic spot.

The trail stayed above the river for a short while, but then plunged back down to it before crossing it on another bridge and then heading very steeply up to the Burgberg. This was where I had my first rest stop, after leaving the trail proper to go to a terrific viewpoint high above the Lieser.

Shortly after, the trail left the Lieser to follow another river, the Ilgenbach. Just before veering off to follow this second river, there was a fairly hairy section that was actually marked in the guidebook with a warning sign!

The trail continued to pass through more beautiful woods, steadily heading uphill…

… and then finally emerged into the open for the first time since Manderscheid, above the village of Großlittgen. At this point, I was only a few kilometres from my destination, but a welcoming bench was the perfect place for my second rest stop.

The trail then passed between cornfields as it descended slightly. For a while, it followed a narrow country road that was lined with apple and pear trees. The air was sweet with the scent from the fallen fruit that wasps were gorging on.

The trail entered the woods again before a final descent to Himmerod Abbey, the day’s destination. It had turned cloudy for the first time in days and I even sensed a few light drops of rain on my head, but the sun was out again shortly after.

Before going to look around the abbey, I went to check into my hotel, which was quite an unusual place. As far as I could tell, there was only one little old lady running it. The corridors were full of various electrical appliances (a kettle, an industrial vacuum cleaner, etc.), the decor was a throwback to the 1950s, and I honestly think I was the only guest that night. In any case, I had a very comfortable room, and the little old lady was able to muster up a decent dinner later.

After freshening up, I went to take a look around, stopping off first in the bakery opposite for a good slice of apple cake and some tea. I then went to explore the abbey church and grounds.

Himmerod Abbey was founded in the 12th century, but the current church dates from 1751 when the original wooden church was replaced by the one you see today. The interior was very plain and sober. The walls were lined with old tombstones, but they were more or less the only decoration.

There had recently been a harvest festival of some kind, and the offerings were still on display, including a tomato plant and a couple of bottles of wine!

And then it was back to the hotel for a decent enough dinner and an early night because tomorrow will be a big one. The trail leads from Himmerod to Bruch, where I was unable to get a room in the one small place that takes guests. Himmerod to Bruch is already 20 km (says the guidebook!) and I shall have to go off the trail by another 10 km to reach the town of Wittlich that had the only accommodation available. We’ll see how I manage!