GR5: Days 15–21 from Retinne to Langsur | Hiking from Holland to Nice
The third week marks a shift in the journey. The heat continues, the walking gets hillier, and the hard surfaces begin giving way to forest tracks and more challenging climbs. Sarah keeps moving through Belgium and Luxembourg, finding places to camp, managing sore feet, and adjusting to the realities of hiking day after day.
Day 15 🥾 From Retinne to Creppe
ℹ️Stats: Weather: hot 34 degrees majority of the day - rain 🌧️
From: Retinne
Start time: 7.46am
To: Creppe
End time: 5.57pm
Accommodation:WTMG - but I got a bedroom 🛌
Terrain: forest, gravel, tracks, roads
Cicerone guidebook stages: 24
🥾Km:30.46
🥾Miles: 19
🦶Steps: 40,670
Ascent: 851m
Descent: 734
Total Distance 465/2,200 km 21% Done ✅
💰Costs: €35 food shop
€30 donation - bed, breakfast, clothes wash
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10 - starting to have a little more climbing and rocky descents!
⭐️Highlights: I was expecting to camp… but I got my own room, had a shower, laundry done and breakfast being cooked for me in the morning! What a result! (I do need to pay a donation amount - I’m never quite sure how much to do?)
🏔️Challenges: The heat during the beginning of the day, then the heavy rain at the end of the day. My feet are getting a few hot spots!
💭Thoughts: I keep waiting for the trail to become easier… but remember that doesn’t happen! I have to get Tougher & fitter!
Day 16 🥾 From Creppe to Ville du Bois
ℹ️Stats: Weather: dry and cloudy 29 degrees
From: Creppe
Start time: 8.06am
To: Ville du Bois
End time: 6.50pm
Accommodation: WTMG - camping 🏕️
Terrain: forest, gravel, roads road
Cicerone guidebook stages:
🥾Km: 36.44
🥾Miles: 22.77
🦶Steps: 48,711
Ascent: 975m
Descent: 956m
Total Distance 501/2,200 km
22.79% Done ✅
💰Costs: €5.30 apple juice & sprite
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 2/10 - just sore feet and one blister
Ease of terrain: 2/10
⭐️Highlights: lovely forest walking - got in a nice flow & before I knew it - it was 2pm! 20k done ✅
🏔️Challenges: the hills are starting to appear! The second half of the day was brutal. My feet were in so much pain. It was a real push to finish. The first WTMG person ghosted me! Luckily the village we were had another Home 🏡 we could go to which is only a few minutes walk.
💭Thoughts: tomorrow will be a much shorter day only 13 miles but then there are no more WTMG options available until Metz… but that is a problem for tomorrow!
Day 17 🥾 From Ville du Bois to Grüfflingen
ℹ️Stats: Weather: sunny ☀️ 28 degrees
From: Ville du Bois
Start time: 9.06am
To: Grüfflingen
End time: 4.46pm
Accommodation: camped WTMG 🏕️
Terrain: forest tracks, gravel, roads
Cicerone guidebook stages: 26 & half of 27
🥾Km: 26.55
🥾Miles: 16.5
🦶Steps: 35,190
Ascent: 473m
Descent: 372m
Total Distance 527/2,200 km
24% Done ✅
💰Costs: €24.40 food shop
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 2/10
Ease of terrain: 2/10
⭐️Highlights: nice forest walking, lots of shade, cute WTMG space, afternoon nap!
🏔️Challenges: the WTMG wasn’t exactly where it was shown on the map and added an extra 20 mins walks at the end of the day. It put me in a grump!
💭Thoughts: the next stretch seemed quite limited with shops and resupply options and also camping/accommodation options and there are no more WTMG options. I’ll just need to figure it out as I go.
Day 18 🥾 From Grüfflingen to EuroParcs Kohnenhof
ℹ️Stats: Weather: dry and sunny
From: Grüfflingen
Start time: 8.15am
To: EuroParcs Kohnenhof
End time: 8.35pm
Accommodation: campsite
Terrain:forests, gravel, roads, concrete
Cicerone guidebook stages: 2nd half of 27
*2 GPS tracks
🥾Km: 33.87 + 1.77 = 35.64
🥾Miles: 22 miles
🦶Steps: 45,953 + 2654 = 48,607
Ascent: 810m
Descent: 1,013m
Total Distance 544/2,200 km
24.7% Done ✅
💰Costs: €27.50 (should have wild camped!)
€8.89 drinks, wine gums, chewing gum
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 6/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10
⭐️Highlights: amazing breakfast, everything home-made bread, apple juice, goat, cheese, strawberry jam. Eggs from the hens. What an amazing start. Plus signs for luxembourg! 🇱🇺
🏔️Challenges: Walter dropped his sleeping pad. So I picked it up and carried it - but it’s not his!
💭Thoughts:my feet are throbbing! My right heel especially when my blister is. I had the option to wild camp and I should have wild camped. I don’t know why I continued walking. It was a bad decision. Especially as it cost so much to camp.
Day 19 🥾 From EuroParcs Kohnenhof to Youth Hostel Vianden
ℹ️Stats: Weather: sunny 25 degrees
From: EuroParcs Kohnenhof
Start time: 7.54am
To: Youth Hostel Vianden
End time: 6.24pm
Accommodation: Youth Hostel - bed
Terrain: steep climbs, forest tracks, roads, gravel
Cicerone guidebook stages: 29
🥾Km: 24.76
🥾Miles: 15
🦶Steps: 35,874
Ascent: 1,126m
Descent: 1,118m
Total Distance 567/2,200 km
25.7% Done ✅
Total Distance miles 354.5
💰Costs: €36 bed & breakfast
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 5/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: 4/10 - the climbing has started
⭐️Highlights: getting to the youth hostel, having a shower, charging electronics and being able to reset everything
🏔️Challenges: woke up in a grump.
lost the tip from one of my hiking poles. Today was a really tough day. I thought I was gonna walk a lot further!
💭Thoughts: I am really not moving very quickly at all. Every time I see a bench, my brain goes - sit down- have a break. And I do!
Day 20 🥾 From Youth Hostel Vianden to MM376
ℹ️Stats: Weather: hot 29 degrees ☀️
From: Youth Hostel Vianden
Start time: 9.14am
To: MM376
End time: 9.03pm
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: forest, past rivers, concrete!
Cicerone guidebook stages: 30 + 31
🥾Km: 35
🥾Miles: 21.8
🦶Steps: 48,903
Ascent: 914m
Descent: 860m
Total Distance 601/2,200 km 27% Done ✅
💰Costs: €19.84 snickers, cheese, crisps, water, sweets
€5.50 drink + strawberries 🍓
€2.60 snickers ice cream
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 2/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10
⭐️Highlights: stunning forest walking, amazing geology and rock formations.
🏔️Challenges: long concrete sections through fields in the middle of the day - Amazing scenery but brutal in the sun.
💭Thoughts: can’t believe I’ve been in the trail for 20 days! The time is flying by!!
Day 21 🥾 From MM376 to Langsur
ℹ️Stats: Weather: sunny ☀️
From: MM376
Start time: 8.11am
To: few miles out of Langsur
End time: 9.13pm
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: forest tracks, roads, concrete, grassy fields
Cicerone guidebook stages: 32 + 33
🥾Km: 35.10
🥾Miles: 22
🦶Steps: 47,551
Ascent: 1,159m
Descent: 1,212m
Total Distance 635/2,200 km
28.8% Done ✅
💰Costs: €7.40 drink, blueberries, berry sweets
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 4/10
⭐️Highlights: stunning forest section, big climbing area
🏔️Challenges: mid afternoon drop in motivation, lots of people out and about - no other hikers though.
💭Thoughts: will I ever find a good camping spot in the woods. Also girl math - every time I camp. I save just under €30 so wild camp 3 nights and i can pay for a hotel room and it doesn’t cost me anymore!
Comments