Luxembourg: Day 2

A short drive over the border to Germany to view the Saarschleife from a completely new perspective from a height of 42 metres.

After our usual breakfast rolls we disconnected the van from the awning and drove the 45 or so kilometres to Orscholz to visit The Treetop Walk Saarschleife. Unlike your typical treetop challenge this wasn’t a strap-yourself-in climbing, swinging, sliding affair. This was a fully accessible walk through the treetops culminating in the lookout tower giving a unique panoramic view over the landscape of the Nature Park Saar-Hunsrück, including the valley of the Saarschleife and, on clear days, all the way to the Vosges Mountains.

Facts and figures about the tower:

Height of the tower: 42 metres
Gradient: maximum of 6%
Surface of top platform: 70 square metres
Length of walkway inside the tower: 450 metres
Height viewing platform over sea level: 407 metres
Diameter of tower: 32 metres
Number of tower supports (glued beams): 9
Number of screws installed: approx. 100,000

Once we’d parked up – and Steve had taken a picture of the sign that said Ausfahrt (exit) for obvious reasons – we paid and took our walk through the tree tops to the lookout tower. Along the way we all tried the swinging steps, but Steve and I had a go at the wire tunnel which took us down a level. Shelli didn’t do it as she’s not the best with heights.

As promised the views from the tower were pretty spectacular. It was windy up there but it wasn’t cold so we hung about for a bit taking in the views before making our way back to get a drink and some fries. As I was driving I had a 0% Bitburger and we all agreed that it was the best alcohol free beer we’d tried. As Shelli and Steve had the real thing we compared the two and to be honest, there wasn’t much in it at all. So, if you’re on the look out for a decent low/0% free beer I highly recommend 0% Bitburger.

Fed and watered we got back in the van and headed down the road a short way to visit Höckerlinie, otherwise known as the “hump line”, part of the West Wall as a concreted anti-tank obstacle. To protect the western border of the Reich, the German government had the West Wall built between 1938 and 1940, the main rampart stretching along the right bank of the Saar from Saarbrücken via Konz near Trier along the Sauer to the north.

It was difficult to appreciate what it may have been like back on the 20th February 1945 when Orscholz was captured by the Americans as it was so peaceful there. Really glad we took the time to go and check this out.

We took a stroll round the lake opposite the tank defences, where we say what we thought was a beaver or muskrat, but having checked with the experts (Niki and Andy) we’re all pretty sure it was actually a coypu, an invasive alien species in Germany, native to South America and introduced for fur farming in the 19th century. They are now established throughout the country and are considered a major pest due to their negative environmental impact.

Another great day, and one that’s given us ideas for future road trips as the treetop lookout towers are all over the place, each one being a different design. They’re in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ireland, and even Canada. Now that’s a road trip!