The Belgian Eifel

Go to the village church of Rodt, district of Sankt-Vith (V). The church dates from 1956 and replaces the village church which was completely destroyed during the Battle of the Bulge at the end of World War II. Leave, back to the church, turn right and after 50 meters, walk to Tomberg. The track climbs sharply. Leave a first secondary road on the left, turn left 150 meters further into Buchenberg and choose again 100 meters further left at the fork. • Ignore a left turn. Once at the top, you will see a modern chapel with a beautiful beech tree five hundred years old1, with a trunk circumference of up to nine meters. Ignore a secondary road on the right and an exit on the left and continue straight until you reach the main road (N675). The views are incredibly wide. Cross the N675 and continue straight. The old grey building 2 on the left was the toll booth when the border between Belgium and Germany was close (until the First World War). At the next intersection (with rest bench and devotional cross), walk to the right on the country road. Go more than 800 meters further to the intersection (there is a photo with the number 54 on a tree) to the left and away from the forest. • Ignore two left turns and a side road to the right and continue straight into Neissenweg at the intersection. At the next intersection, turn left in front of another bench with a devotional cross. After more than 600 meters, ignore a secondary road on the left and another 150 meters you will arrive at the church of Hinderhausen 3. Pass the church on the right in the Kretelsweg, direction Kapellen, then at the fork on the left into the Weisterweg. It takes you after 750 meters past a young forest. At the crossroads, turn left, continue along the forest. Below you see the Ferienresidenz Crombacher Mühle on the right and 100 meters further you walk on a stream. Climb 50 meters after the stream on a paved road. The views remain particularly beautiful. • Once at the top, the road makes a right-angle turn and 200 meters further a right-angle turn. Immediately after the turn, turn left and you will walk on a bridge over an old railway track. In the first half of the twentieth century, railway line 47, a railway link between Sankt-Vith and Troisvierges in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, was located here. Line 47 was part of the Vennbahn which connected the industrial centres of Aachen and Luxembourg through the Eastern Cantons. Nowadays, a tourist cycle path has been built on a large part of the route. Walk a little further at the T-junction on the left towards the village church of Crombach 4. Pass the church straight into Schmitzgasse. On the left you can go to the Dorflokal O Schulmarjanne for a well-deserved refreshment. • Now keep walking along the wide asphalt track. After 600 metres, ignore the exit for Sankt-Vith and Neundorf and continue straight on Zum Kreuz. A little further you have a rest bench with a devotional cross and a beautiful view. At the T-junction, turn right, then immediately left over a bridge over the old railway line 5. Immediately after the bridge, you have four right-angle turns shortly after the other. Walk 200 meters after the fourth right-angled turn into Weiβstein and immediately after this left turn at the T-junction. After 350 meters you have one of the many rest benches with a devotional cross in a right-angled bend. Turn left onto the asphalt 50 metres further and skip the country road straight. • At the end there is a row of windmills and the large white buildings on the right are those of the industrial area of Sankt-Vith. More than a kilometre away, you walk between Rodt's first buildings. Abruptly ignore the exit to the right and turn left. Leave the Vosengasse on the left 50 meters further and turn right. At the junction on the wider asphalt track, walk straight ahead and 50 metres further on the N675 turn right towards Sankt-Vith and Rodt village church.