25.8.
Von Diest nach Bolderberg
Gewitter in der Nacht, Gewitter am Morgen und dazu Regen in allen Varianten bis zum nachmittag.
Jetzt ist gerade Regenpause und ich sitze im Garten meines teuren B&Bs und versuche alles zu trocknen.
Ich war schon am vormittag völlig durchnässt. Am schlimmsten hat es das Klopapier und den Reiseführer getroffen. Beides hatte ich in meiner kleinen Umhängetasche, von der ich glaubte, sie wäre wasserdicht. War sie aber nicht und jetzt ist nur noch einen Haufen Pappmaché übrig. Das Klopapier ist ja nicht so tragisch (obwohl kurzzeitig such das sehr ärgerlich war), aber das Buch brauch ich noch bis Schirmeck (Vogesen, noch 34 Etappen).

A thunderstorm started this morning right after breakfast. So, I waited for anorher 30 minutes and started in a promising rain break. It lasted exactly 65 minutes during which I hiked from Diest to the village of Zelem. It was a beautiful walk through the Hesterheide and along the Zwarte Beek. Only the growling thunder made me a bit nervous.

In the center of the village an open pavillon gave me shelter to the new heavy , but short thunderstorm. When the lightning stopped, I decided to change plans and not walk through the woods (along the GR 5) to Lummen but along smaller streets, because the book said the path is badly marked in this part of the trail and it is easy to get lost. Due to heavy rain that follwed for the next 3h , this was a smart decision. I walked through all kinds of fancy, flamish , endlesslly boring neighbourhoods with their bricked buildings and neat front yards.
In Lummen I was already so wet and cold that I did not want to stop anymore for a break but moved ahead. Slowly, the rain was getting less and even the sun came out. The walk to Bolderberg through a nature reserve of heath, marshes and ponds was quite nice apart of the millions of huge mosquitos that were thirsty for my blood. So, I was not able to admire the sanddune I was walking over.
Finally , when I arrived in Bolderberg again a slight rain started. Although the only B&B here was really expensive, I had not the energy to walk over to the camp site which would have been another 40 minutes in the rain.
So, I am staying in this Indonesian "House of Java", with a beautuful garden and a pond full of huge kois that look like they eat occasionally small dogs.