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Friday, June 28th - Hans-sur-Lesse to Wiltz, Luxembourg, 5893 km
The rain has finally stopped. I am set to leave by 8am, but the hotel manager is in a friendly mood and wants to show me his collection of paper monies from around the world. I think he has chosen a strange time to show it to me, until it occurs to me that he doesn't have any Canadian paper money. I offer to send him some old Canadian paper money when I get home and he gushes with gratitude.
I am making good time because the wind is behind me. I love the rolling hills of the
Ardennes. My route takes me through the town of Rochefort where the beer I've been drinking is made. I try to get 50 km behind me before noon but my slow leak becomes faster. At 29 km I stop and change the tube. I have gone 5800 km before my first official flat. I ruin when the first tube when the pump sticks 
and accidentally snaps off the head of the valve. I am extra careful with my last spare tube and it holds well. I pass through Roche-en-Ardennes, a beautiful town that follows an oxbow bend in the Ourthe River. The ruins of an old chateau are visible on the hill. I stop for
a light meal at a street market but there are dark threatening clouds moving in. I set off again as fast as I can and manage to outrun most of the rain that I see falling behind me. By the time I reach Houffalize, the last town before the Luxembourg border, the sun breaks 
through the clouds. Crossing the border issues in a new world of sunshine. It has been raining most days since I left France but now that seems to be behind me for a while. The countryside
is beautiful and my spirits are high. I stop wherever I can to take photos. This northern third of the country is called Oesling and it is part of the Ardennes. Like the rest of the Ardennes it is rolling, half-forested and sparsely-populated. Wiltz is the only town in Oesling over 4,000 people, according to my guide. I reach the youth hostel in Wiltz by 4pm. It's not open yet but I drop off my bags outside the door and set off on a 50 km unloaded ride along the snaky Sure River south of the town. I pass several scenic villages and by a famous ruined chateau
that is being rebuilt. I return to the youth hostel at 8 pm and check in. Two Dutch teens, 15 and 17, are the only other guests and they share my dorm. They are fascinated by my trip. They are doing a week-long cycling tour of their own, but carrying all their belongings in backpacks instead of panniers. The oldest has just had an argument with the matron manager who he claims wouldn't make them a dinner they had pre-arranged. It's a standoff. He says she lied about the reason why, but she is very nice to me and lets me stay beyond the curfew to eat a proper meal. When I return to the dorm the two kids chat with me until well past midnight. They really are nice kids. They have come up from the south and they are sure the Luxembourg hostel will be full on a Saturday. The hostel will not take reservations, even same day, so I will have to take my chances.
I am proud of how much I have accomplished today and excited about exploring this little country. I covered 162 km today, and Luxembourg is my eighth country.
PHOTO 1: Rochefort
PHOTO 2: la Roches en Ardennes
PHOTO 3: bend in the river at Roches
PHOTO 4: the Ourthe River
PHOTO 5: WWII tank in Houffalize
PHOTO 6: farm near Luxembourg border
PHOTO 7: town of Wiltz, Luxembourg
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