I have chosen another grey day to do a stage of my E8 hike.

Leaving the ancient city of Xanten I pass the village of Kamp-Lintfort (ancient monastery with garden next to the trail, it looks impressive) and continue to the village of Rheurdt. Only in the final kilometers of this stage the area that I am crossing is getting prettier and wider. So far, the landscape is very boring; it’s flat and the view is blocked by trees that are everywhere along the roads and between meadows. On a hill just above Rheurdt I am confronted for the first time with a typical E8-phenomenon: the signs on the trees tell me to go right, the description of Gert Trego tells me to go left. As I can see the village of Rheurdt in the valley, the choise where to go is not so hard for me (n.b. the section of the E8 between Kleve and Aachen is newly setup in such a way that the trail hardly crosses any villages anymore. This is not for the benefit of Long Distance Hikers, who have a desire for a shop, a restaurant or a bus stop every now and then).

From Rheurdt I take busses to get back to Xanten again, and drive home again. It’s not so far anymore to where I live.