Falling stars

August 12th is the day when the Earth again crosses path with a meteor shower of a broken comet. As they seem to stem from the constellation Perseus the are called Perseids. To get a good view on this event we venture out into the Eifel region where we can avoid light pollution. We were lucky to find a hinterland camp that offered marvellous views, and not only into a clear night sky.

Back road surfing

The two hour drive along back roads is nice. First we visit the rather unspectacular city of Bitburg (famous for the beer of the same name). Downtown was heavily destroyed during WWII, hence there are not many historical buildings left. However, some Roman remains are still standing strong. One can follow an archeological trail with signs explaining that an antique road lead by Bitburg (then: Castrum Bedense) which served as one of the ancient travelers' roadhouse.

On the road to Bitburg

Speaking of WWII: The Eifel region is plastered with anti-tank-barriers along the border. The so called "Westwall" had been built between 1936 and 1940 as a concrete barrier to protect against attacks from the west. The structure was so well and strong designed that it took the allied troops an extra four months to break through, and to finally end the war.

Speaking of borders: Our trip leads us into the Our valley, where the monument of the border triangle Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany stands. The country frontiers meet smack the middle of the creek. Some weathered and rather pointless boundary stones can still be found, but you are able to bounce back and forth between all three countries today without repercussions, except for getting your feet wet.

The weather is improving significantly on our arrival at the hinterland camp where we are blessed with a prime spot for cloud watching and later for star gazing. So the plan stands for the rest of the day.

Star gazing and counting falling stars went well that night. We sleep in and wake up to a misty morning. After breakfast we take the slow way home and stumble across a cute little castle we never seen or heard of before.

Bertrada castle

We stop for second breakfast after collecting croissants from an artisan bakery shop in Gerolstein and find a spot for a second breakfast.

Then we travel north and arrive at the town and castle ruin Nürburg. The area is also famous for the racing track with the same name. But this is not of interest for us. We have a mission: first ice cream, second a castle ruin from the 12th century.

1st mission accomplished

Castle Nürburg had been built on a 676 m high former volcano, but never played a major role in history. It was ransacked by Swedish troops during the Thirty-Year-War and later on further destroyed by the French.

View on race track and facilities