Pleasure tour 24 – Hertogenwald

No sooner have you turned your back on Eupen than you find yourself surrounded by a forest in dramatic autumn colours. The broad hiking trail runs along the Weser, which feeds the lake at Eupen. We go through three different woods. Successively, beeches, oaks and firs flank our route. At the dam, some steps take you to the Weser dam visitors' centre, a restaurant with a panorama worth seeing and thus also a good reason to stop off for a while and let your eyes do the wandering for a change.

Holding back such volumes of water has made lots of little bays and zigzags in the hilly shores of the Hertogenwald. Indeed, you feel reminded of some Canadian lakeside landscape. We walk away from the shore and proceed towards a beechwood. After a bend, a house appears, looking quite other-worldly in its remoteness. Further down, the trail becomes firmer again and is paved with pebbles. We go back to Eupen, a town that lies right in the middle of precious nature.