Uncategorized – Page 2 – Carbon Conscious Travel

Snowtrain to the Alps – Briançon

January 12, 2019December 15, 2019Posted in UncategorizedTagged alps, briançon, Brussels, innsbruck, nighttrain, puy-saint-pierre, serre chevalier, ski, sleeping train, snowboard, traintravelLeave a comment

This one will be rather short, so just enjoy the images and scroll down for some practical information or ask me if you want more details on the trip.

Nighttrain:

I took the thalys from Brussels to Paris (25 EUR one way if you book early) and than a nice bunkbed in the nighttrain from Paris Austerlitz leaving at 20h50 to the alps (98 EUR one way, I booked only a couple of days in advance, so I’m sure you can get it cheaper). At 8h30 the next morning you arrive in Briançon, a 10 minute hike away from the closest ski lift of Serre Chevalier.

Note of december 2019: This year we booked a ski trip again to Briançon and managed to buy a one way ticket for 50 euro from Brussels to Brainçon: 25 euro from Brussels to Paris and another 25 euro for the sleeping train with a bunkbed from Paris to Briançon!

Next to that it’s worth checking out the new sleeping train line from Brussels to Innsbruck that will be operating as from January.

Hiking or ski?

Since I was staying in Puy-Sain-Pierre I had to rent my material in Briançon at the bottom of the main lift. You can just rent your material by the day and get your ski pass for as many days as you want. It’s rather expensive so try to group the ski days together and maybe plan some hiking before and after.

For hiking I did multiple hikes that start in Puy-Saint-Pierre: look on the Visorando website and do (1) (part of) the Notre dammes des Neiges hike in the snow (deep snow hike, requires some material and enough food). (2) Circuit des chapelles, which can be done mainly without hiking on deep snow.

Sleeping

I can only recommend the exact place I stayed, since it was absolutely perfect: Maison de Catherine. A room costs around 90 EUR per night for 2 people. Don’t worry about not having any other restaurants closeby, because the own cook provides plenty of variation and impressive food for a very reasonable price (normal 3-courses menu for 23 EUR or more gourmet for 30 EUR per person). The picture below was the view from my room.

Visiting Briançon

Since Briançon itself is at a strategic point in the Alps, it has plenty of military constructions and buildings around. The old citycenter is built within a fortress. Truly worth spending at least half a day visiting. If you go to the office de tourisme they give you a map with a nice 1-2 hour loop and some background information. If you’re cold an looking for gluhwein and pancakes: L’armure (the food was good, service medium friendly).

Into the wild – Dinant by train

January 12, 2019February 10, 2019Posted in UncategorizedTagged ardennen, ardennes, dinant, hiking, trainLeave a comment

If you need a quick break in nature, take the direct train from Bruxelles-Luxembourg to Dinant. In 1.5 hours you’re in the heart of the Ardennes and ready to go wild on nature. And that’s exactly what we’ve done in the days between Christmas and newyear. We booked a hotel at cycling distance from Dinant and spent 6 days hiking and relaxing.

Day 1

With a picknick breakfast on the train we left to Dinant on the day after Christmas. By the time we were in Dinant we did some shopping in a local supermarket to have food for our hikes, and after that already felt like a good lunch and went to the Italian restaurant Ostaria La Piave: impressive food.

Twenty minutes by bike and we arrived in our hotel (Castel de Pont-à-Lesse) in the middle of the woods. (you can also take a local train to get closer and then walk to the hotel if you don’t want to take your bike). After dropping our backpacks we did a short walk to the Walzin castle and went off to the spa.

Day 2

On the Komoot hiking application we found the “Dréhance Freyr” hiking route, fifteen kilometres and a big four hours without breaks. About halfway we passed the restaurant “L’atmosphère côté Meuse” where we had lunch (recommended!) and continued our tour. The evening was filled with spa, reading and chess.

Day 3

No hike, but only reading and playing chess. That was the plan. But around two o’clock in the afternoon there was an urge to go into nature, so we took a two hour walk in the woods behind the castle. In the evening we cycled back to the L’atmosphère restaurant where we reserved for fondue.

Day 4

Big hike! The hike called “Twee kastelen”, which took us about twenty kilometres starting from the hotel. By far the most beautiful hike around, with impressive views from the Aiguilles de Challeux.

Well past halfway, after passing the two castles we were lucky to find a restaurant: Auberge de la Lesse. I’m not sure the auberge itself is nice to stay, but the food is great and the open fire (though not low carbon) brings well deserved heat.

Day 5

Another relaxing day where we did part of the Dréhance-Freyr walk again and strolled through the woods. Spectacular nature all around.

Sleeping

In wintertime camping will be a bit too chilly for most, but in summer there’s plenty of campings around. We stayed at Hotel Castel de Pont-à-Lesse, which is a rather big hotel with spa facilities and a good breakfast. The restaurant for dinner is overpriced for the quality of food, but the location and spa are perfect!

If you go during the weekend on very hot days you might find the Lesse too crowded, since it’s exactly that part where hundreds of tourists kayak down the river every weekend. So either go off-season or avoid weekends.

Day 6

On the last day of 2018 we packed our bags and dropped our folding bikes and backpacks in Café Leffe and did part of the city tour “Stadswandelin Dinant” as listed in Komoot. We went up to the heigths of the citadel and around the small streets, before taking the train back to Brussels to celebrate newyears’ evening.

A five day hike in Belgian backland – Transardennaise

June 27, 2018February 10, 2019Posted in Uncategorized2 Comments

A seven day hike from La Roche-En-Ardenne to Bouillon through the Belgian Ardennes. It might sound like being a long hike, but the track is very diverse. From mountain-like landscapes, to grasslands, into pine woods, through small villages… It’s a 160 kilometres dream hike.

In this post I want to convince you to make this your next holiday! I will not be talking you through the whole route, since you can find that in the guide book “De transardense route” published by Grande Traversée des Ardennes, or via the instructions below.

The track

Your most important tool will be the detailed maps shown below, and a gps track (gpx) for the Transardennaise. The printed map can be bought online and the gpx can be downloaded for free (contact me for instructions).

The track is indicated for most part of the route, but I did find myself looking for traces or doubting along the way. So that’s where the gps track comes in very handy to compare your exact location with the track.

What (not) to do

I learned a lot while hiking this route, so I’d like to share some of my key take-aways with you:

Pack light: don’t take too many books, camera equipment, tablet or laptop etc… I packed in a hury and realized only during the hike I was carying a 23kg backpack with me. Since I was hiking alone I had to carry a lot of camping gear on my own -> Don’t do it! 13-15kg should be your maximum, including camping equipment and food/water.
Take food and water: make sure you always have some light weight food for 24 hours and enough water… a lot of the lovely villages you pass don’t have shops nor restaurants. You can always ring a doorbell and ask water, but asking for food is a little more complicated. I was well prepared and used almost all of my food multiple times on the hike.
Don’t rush it: I only had 5 days but really wanted to do the full hike… so with a heavy backback and doing 20-30% more kilometres per day made it challenging.
Test your gear: only in Saint-Hubert you might have the chance to buy some new/extra gear, but for the rest of the trip you will not pass any shops. So make sure your camping gear and hiking boots are working fine. (my boots started to take up water after 2 days)

Basic packing list

Oh well, you probably know what to take… make sure not to forget to pack LIGHT!

Walking: (not new) hiking boots, well parametered backpack, at least two pairs of socks to switch, compeed, phone (+charger) for gps and pictures, raingear (jacket, pants, garbage bag inside your backpack + raincover over backpack)
Camping: super light tent, matress, light sleeping bag, use your clothes or backpack as a pillow, pocket knife, small headtorch, lighter, candle
Clothing: comfortable hiking clothes, just go for the smelly modus and take enough to switch 3-4 times in 7 days.
Eating & drinking: see below

Wild boar

Chances are big you will run into wild boar or other wildlife. Make sure you don’t find yourself between a mother and her babies… step back where you came from if needed, or lay flat on the ground if they would attack.

After meeting plenty of them with babies I started whistling or singing to make sure they would hear me coming, since I was hiking on my own and thus would not be talking to anyone.

Hunting season! Be carefull to read the panels at the entrance of every wood if you’re hiking around hunting season. It wouldn’t be funy to get involved in a hunting accident.

Camping

Being on my own, I always asked a farmer if I could place my tent somewhere not too far from their house. That way I could charge my phone or take water at their place. Behind wire you’re also “safer” for wild boar or deer. So something between camping in the wild and having a bit of basic security.

Food

There are some restaurants on the track, but try to call them in advance to check if they are open at your time of the year.

The culinary highlights of my trip: L’auberge du Prevost

The culinary low in my trip: canned fish and parovita for breakfast and lunch on the same day. Typically I would take muesli bars, canned fish, parovita, boiled eggs, breakfast cookies with chocolate and bananas. Enough for 3-4 basic meals in a row. No food that should be cooled or prepared, since I don’t take a stove or cooking equipment. Picknick all the way!

The arrival at Bouillon is truly impressive. Don’t miss the viewtower to get the view as shown below. Bouillon has plenty of cultural places to visit, so take some time to visit some of the musea.

Before heading back to civilization the next morning (and straight to a baptism party) I had to make sure to remove two ticks and wash myself properly. I booked a room in the “Hotel De La Poste”, one of the cheaper places around, but very nice “Ardennes” atmosphere.