Lumaj wandelt

Intro:

GR 122, GR 5A, GR 129 and GR VA, they were all there to keep us company during this hike. Not really a surprise, because after all the Flemish Ardennes undoubtedly are one of the most popular hiking regions in Flanders.

We had expected to see a lot of hikers and mountainbikers on this trail, but the freezing temperatures decided otherwise. We're not complaining though, we had the fairytale-like landscapes almost all to ourselves.

Back and forth:

It took us over two and a half hours to reach Brakel from Antwerpen. More than one hour of that was waiting time. In Gent Sint-Pieters we waited half an hour for our connection to Geraardsbergen, and in Zottegem we had to wait 40 minutes for bus 21 to Ronse. At 10.39 am we were dropped at Brakel Station. From there it's a 200 meters walk to where GR 122 crosses the Tenbossestraat.

We ended the hike in Ronse where GR 122 crosses the Kruisstraat. From there we walked straight into the town and to the train station. Distance: 1 kilometer. On Sundays there is a local train going to Gent Sint-Pieters every two hours.

The hike:

We knew more or less what to expect from this hike. For the most part this GR 122 hike coincides with the GR 5A trail, and during two kilometers it also joins the GR 129 trail. Some time ago we walked both trails.
For a while we also got the company of the regional GR VA trail (Flemish Ardennes). Judging by the number of GR trails that pass here, the region must be worthwhile, and indeed that is the case. On top of that, the landscape was covered with a thin layer of snow and that made it all the more special. In the northern part of our country we don't see much snow, so it was a good opportunity to watch the green region in a different colour.

(click the picture for more images on Picasa)

While closing the door behind us this morning, we were convinced that half Flanders would have the same plan: go out for a hike in the snowy country. But the freezing temperatures had frightened most people. We met surprisingly few hikers and bikers along the way. What we did meet were several 4x4 cars and SUV's. Sitting warm and comfortable behind the steering wheel they had taken the opportunity to finally test their useless investment. What a performance ... we could smell the burning rubber on the froozen surfaces. We quickly posted ourselves on the safe side of the road, because the driving expertise of the canned macho's couldn't be trusted. We also saw a lot of people at the wellknown places such as the youth hostel De Fiertel and the tavern Boekzitting. At the latter the cars were parked up to 200 meters from the tavern. The tavern itself was so crowded that we decided not to stop there.

Apart from that, we had the winter paradise all for ourselves. Once started, the cold couldn't hurt us anymore. We fully enjoyed the silent forests and the white landscapes. All we had to do was keep on moving. We even ate our lunch while walking. In La Houppe we found an almost empty tavern and a heartwarming soup.

The special atmosphere of this hike is best illustrated by the pictures. For more information on the hike itself we refer to the report Ronse - Wallekouter (a hike on the GR 5A trail we walked 4 years ago). There is also the report Oudenaarde - Ronse (a hike on the GR 129 trail we walked in May 2011). Just keep in mind that on those occasions we hiked the trail in the opposite direction.