After about four hours of driving, we arrived in Einruhr, near the Eifel National Park. It's warm, the sun is shining, and we're eager to explore the nature and surroundings. We chose a leisurely, not-too-long route to start with, as we plan to check into a campsite on the Rursee lake later that day.

We park in the generously sized parking areas along the road, put on our equipment, and set off to gather our first impressions of the Eifel National Park. After about a kilometer, we reach a bridge over the Rur River, which we cross, getting our first glimpse of the green forests of the Eifel.

In contrast to the Harz National Park, nature here looks much more untouched and the forests seem to be more intact, having only been partially attacked by the bark beetle.

After about 2.5 km, we reach another wooden bridge and cross the Rur River a second time. The bridge is a great place to take some photos, as there are also several dragonflies around, which would certainly look beautiful in pictures if you could manage to catch them. So we content ourselves with the lovely flora along the Rur and the flowing water without dragonflies – at least for the photos.

Return journey and refreshments in Einruhr

We're now on our way back, walking through a dense forest at an altitude of about 330 meters, occasionally catching glimpses of the Rur River. At kilometer 4.6, we find an inviting spring with a small fountain – we take the opportunity to cool our wrists – it's about 34°C when we start the hike.

Our hike ends at the "Zur Post" café-restaurant with a cool, non-alcoholic wheat beer, a refreshing white wine, and a cup of ice cream. After this hike, we continue by car to the campsite at Rursee.