The Belgians invented French fries. There's no doubt about that. And the Walloons have invented something else. It's called RAVeL (Réseau Autonome des Voies Lentes), which translates as "autonomous network for slow-moving traffic". These RAVeLs are set up all over the country, they are well signposted and their routes often run along former railway lines or rivers. This includes Eurovelo 3, a long-distance cycle route that begins in its entirety in Trondheim, Norway, and leads over more than 5,000 kilometres to Santiago de Compostela. In other words, to the "I'm-going-on-a-pilgrimage" place in north-west Spain that Hape Kerkeling popularised once again with his book. Numerous paths lead to the tomb of St James, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. And one of them is the Eurovelo 3.
Eurovelo 3 - The section through Wallonia
We didn't want to drive all the way to Spain, so we decided to take a trip through Wallonia, passing numerous churches and monasteries. From Aachen Cathedral to the former Abbaye d'Aulne and the oldest surviving church in Belgium in Lobbes. The Herver Land is a landscape made for pilgrims. And since there is no car traffic on the RAVeL, just this "slow-moving traffic", it makes things even more relaxed.
If you don't want to call it a pilgrimage, there is certainly something spiritual about it. We cycle along the L38 railway track through a green and extremely lovely landscape. Lots of fruit is grown here, the typical hedgerows in the Pays de Herve frame pastures where stately cattle are enjoying themselves. Their milk is used to make Herve cheese, a savoury soft cheese with an orange-reddish rind. A delicacy and one of only very few types of cheese in Belgium that are allowed to bear the AOP seal (Appellation d'Origine Protégée).
Near Aubel, where the syrup that is ubiquitous in Wallonia is produced, we make a detour to the Abbaye du Val-Dieu, the abbey in the Valley of God. Cistercian monks founded the abbey back in 1216, although most of the buildings in the impressive complex date from the 17th and 18th centuries. Incidentally, Val-Dieu is the only abbey in present-day Belgium that "survived" the French Revolution in its current appearance. The monastery in the Valley of God was run by monks until 2001, but today a Cistercian lay community lives and works in the abbey, looking after the pilgrims who pass through here, among other things. We manage just fine and learn in the monastery garden how best to enjoy the rather austere Fromage de Herve: namely together with the "Sirop" made from apples and pears. The question of what to drink with the cheese platter is superfluous. Not only here in the Abbaye du Val-Dieu, where the monks brewed beer for centuries, but throughout Belgium.
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Belgian beer culture
Of course, neither the Flemish nor the Walloons invented beer itself. It is assumed that the first beer-like drink was brewed somewhere in China, Mesopotamia or modern-day Israel around 10,000 years ago. But of course, the Belgians can boast of being the "inventors" of the diverse and magnificent Belgian beer. And it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016.
To briefly explain the speciality of Belgian beer, you have to go back to 1919. Jean-François, brewer at the small private brewery Angélus in Erquelinnes, explains: "The socialist government under Émile Vandervelde had passed a law that made it illegal to serve high-proof spirits in bars. So the brewers started brewing beer with a higher alcohol content due to the increased demand." All based on the centuries-old beer brewing tradition of the monasteries, of course.
Belgian beer usually only starts at seven per cent. Special varieties with an alcohol content of more than ten per cent are often given names such as "Grand Cru", based on the top products in viticulture. Unlike their German counterparts, Belgian brewers do not have to adhere to a statutory purity law. They are allowed to use more than just hops, malt and water - and do so with a great deal of dedication and expertise, especially in the small private breweries. Flavours such as liquorice or cardamom are sometimes added. Everyone in our small group of pilgrims found this exciting, whereas we all agreed that the Belgian brewers could do without the cherry, raspberry or other fruit flavours.
Bilbao effect on the Meuse
Our route continues to Liège, Luik in Dutch, Liège in French. Liège was once one of the major centres of heavy industry in Wallonia. Most of it is now history; mines, steelworks, all gone or visible as a backdrop on the banks of the river. The town has reinvented itself: the well-kept centre Cœur historique with the Montagne de Bueren staircase, backstreets with nice cafés and hotels, museums and a modern railway station building. People like to talk about the Bilbao effect in this context. The once grey industrial city in the Basque Country was the first city in Europe to make the transition to an exciting cultural metropolis with equally exciting architecture. What the world-famous Guggenheim Museum by Frank Gehry is to Bilbao, Liège-Guillemins is to Liège, perhaps the grandest railway station in Europe - created by star architect Santiago Calatrava.
We continue along the Meuse via Huy to Namur. We meet Christian from Hamburg near Tihange. He started there on the German Way of St James and is actually making the pilgrimage to Spain. The man is spindly, almost two metres tall - a true ascetic. He only eats at lunchtime and only drinks water, as the picture-book pilgrim tells us. Somehow impressive and somehow strange, as the man can't taste any of this fantastic beer and the regional delicacies. Nevertheless, he really likes Wallonia. "Beautiful region, really idyllic and very friendly hosts," says the pilgrim cyclist, adding: "I've only ever really known the illuminated motorways of Belgium."
Namur, our next destination, may be smaller than Liège and Charleroi, but it is still the capital of Wallonia. The small town at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers is also much prettier. Pub after pub are lined up in the picturesque old town, and the Citadel of Namur watches over everything. When Napoleon Bonaparte once inspected it, he called it "the termite mound of Europe" due to its imposing underground labyrinth of corridors. You can walk, cycle or take the cable car to the top. There you can take part in a guided tour of the citadel's catacombs or simply enjoy the view over the city, countryside and river.
Our journey continues along the banks of the Sambre via Charleroi to the Abbaye d'Aulne. While the region around the former industrial city of Charleroi is known as the "pays noir", the "black country", the Sambre valley further west is known as the "pays vert", the "green country". The Benedictine monastery, which dates back to the 7th century, is located on a picturesque bend in the river. It is impressive, even if not much remains. Here, too, the mob did a great job and destroyed many things in 1794, including around 40,000 valuable books. There are now plans and funding to turn the abbey into an even bigger tourist attraction. But the history of this monastery is exciting enough and the walls impressive enough to warrant a visit.
The hanging gardens of Thuin
A few pedal strokes further and we reach Thuin with its impressive belfry and hanging gardens below the medieval fortress walls. Belfries can be found all over Belgium; although they look like church towers, they are secular buildings that symbolised the power of the bourgeoisie and whose bells once warned of enemies or fires. They are also included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Wine grows in the hanging gardens, the grapes of which are processed into a very special liqueur wine in the Distillerie de Biercée.
We don't bother, after all, you shouldn't drink too much, and we still have a visit to the small but excellent brasserie in Erquelinnes, a few metres from the French border and the end of our pilgrimage. When we arrive, people are already socialising, cooking - and drinking. Cooking and eating is a good idea to lay the foundations. Because, of course, we can't avoid tasting the beers. Founder and master brewer Alain Brootcoorens has named them "Angélus" after the Angelus bells ringing in the church opposite his home. The unfiltered beers are available as "Blonde" and "Brune" with around 7 % each, as "La Sambresse" with 8 % and as Abbaye de la Thure with a whopping 10 %. Alain and his second master brewer Jean-François are not exactly stingy when it comes to beer tasting. Somewhere, Alain finds more bottles that don't go on sale. "We don't have customers, we just have friends," the two master brewers explain their philosophy. And we are among them after the second beer at the latest.
General information and tips on the pilgrimage route on the Eurovelo 3
Eurovelo 3, the pilgrimage route, runs for a total of around 5,400 kilometres from Trondheim in Norway to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and connects several long-distance cycle paths in seven European countries - including the Ox Trail in Denmark and the Via Mosana from Aachen to Namur. The section we cycled on the Walloon section of Eurovelo 3 leads from Aachen via Namur and Charleroi to the Belgian-French border and is around 200 kilometres long. There are countless impressive churches and monasteries along the way and almost as many breweries to ensure that you don't go thirsty en route.
The route: Mainly tarmac and well signposted
There are only notable climbs at the beginning at the German-Dutch-Belgian border triangle, after which the route runs through the Herve country, the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut (Hainaut), often on old railway tracks and along rivers - on the so-called RAVeL. The paths are mainly asphalted, occasionally the route leads over concrete slabs with somewhat bumpy transitions, and only on a few short passages do you cycle on unsurfaced paths. The cycle path network is well signposted, and Eurovelo 3 is marked on almost all signs with the number 3 and the European symbol with the yellow stars on a blue background.
GPS data of the bicycle pilgrimage tour through Belgium
The GPS data for the cycle tour through Wallonia can be downloaded directly from the Delius Klasing tour portal.
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Arrival and departure
You can get to Cologne by IC or ICE train, from there you can continue by regional train to the starting point in Aachen. You must make a reservation to take your bike on the IC or ICE (www.bahn.de). The parking spaces for the return journey from Belgium cannot be reserved. On the website of the Belgian railways (www.belgiantrain.be/de), the only information on this subject is the terse note that travellers must take the next train if the bicycle spaces are already occupied (but they rarely are). Some trains are equipped with comfortable bicycle compartments, while others only have a small bulky luggage compartment that has to be opened and locked by the train crew, which is a real challenge, at least for e-bikers. A one-way day bike ticket in Belgium costs four euros.
Overnight stay
Liège:Hotel Mercure Liège City Centre (Bienvenue vélo), Rue St Leonard 182, 4000 Liège, mercureliegecitycentre.com-hotel.com
Namur:Château de Namur (Bienvenue vélo), Avenue de l'Ermitage 1, 5000 Namur, chateaudenamur.com/homepage
Ragnies: B&B Gentilhommière du Château de Ragnies, Rue du Tambourin 6, 6532 Ragnies, chateauderagnies-bnb.be
Other recommended accommodation along the cycle routeall of which have been awarded the "Bienvenue vélo" label as bicycle-friendly accommodation.
Food and drink
French is spoken in Wallonia, but the cuisine of the southern part of Belgium is also based on the grande cuisine of the neighbouring country. In any case, eating and drinking in Wallonia is just as important as in France. You feel a bit like "God in Wallonia" on the pilgrimage route. Enjoyment is definitely a top priority. Word has probably got around that the French fries are the best in the world. The real fries in Belgium actually have to be fried in beef fat, but they are rarely fried, which should reassure vegetarians.
In Liège you should try the special meatballs (boulets à la liégoise), which are served with a "sauce lapin" (with Sirop de Liège), in Herver Land you can enjoy the local cheese (also with syrup), and along the Eurovelo 3 you can also get the finest Ardennes ham. Some wine, the quality of which is now impressive, is also grown in Wallonia. However, the national drink in the southern part of the country is beer.
MYBIKE tip: The Restaurant at the Château de Namur high above the city is home to a hotel management school. So the service is still practising a little, and that certainly has its charm. There is also training in the kitchen, but don't worry: the dishes that end up on the plate are strictly controlled by the chefs and trainers. In summer, you can sit out on the marvellous terrace. chateaudenamur.com
Maps & cycle tour books
- Cycling map of the ADFC, Belgium, Wallonia, scale 1:150,000, bike-book-maps.com
- Bikeline cycle tour book, Eurovelo 3; Pilgrims' route: Aachen - Paris, 1:50,000
- ADFC travel guide Eurovelo 3, Aachen - Paris, 1:75,000, 14.95 euros
At the local tourist information centres you can get the regional RAVeL maps (Province de Liège, Province de Namur and Province de Hainaut).
