BELGIUM – GR126 (6) – Brussel / Lasne

Behind the cathedral of Brussels, there is an important intersection of walking trails. The Camino Brabantica goes South heading to Halle and next to Nivelles/Nijvel. There is a possibility to walk to Namur/Namen by following the GR126 and connect with the Via Monsana. The GR126 goes first through the Zoniënwoud, the biggest forest of Belgium. Next, it will pass through more green areas. I decided to leave the Brabantica. I had seen enough large towns and would like to walk in long stretches of nature.
07:00 - Brussel Centraal Station. Picture 1. I need to walk 8 km through Brussels to reach the first trees of the big forest. Brussels is cluster of 19 communes. In Ixelles, the GR126 passes the commune hall so I had the idea asking for a sello as in the forest, it’s hard to find one. At 07:15, the commune hall was already open but the counters were still closed. I took a queue ticket and waited. At 07:30 I asked for a sello but the lady didn’t understand why I needed a stamp as stamps in Ixelles will not be given without a valid reason. The supervisor helped me by stamping the credencial with an administrative stamp. Maybe you will not make the small detour for the sello but consider going to the toilets for free.
It took some time to reach the forest as the capital is built on hills.
Picture 2: Abbey of Ter Kamerenbos
Picture 3: Ter Kamerenbos: an old racetrack, now one the accesses of the capital.
The Zoniënwoud (picture 4) is a forest with mainly beeches. Many beeches are over 200 years old, so it’s like you are walking in a huge cathedral for hours. The forest has a surface area of 4421 ha - over 10.920 acres. Unfortunately, it’s splitted by the Ring R0, the railroad to Luxemburg and also the highway to Luxemburg. As in all forests, I met some dogs with their walker the first kilometer. After that, it’s a complete solitude for several hours. The Zoniënwoud has many concrete straight paths and some dirt paths. The GR126 follows a dirt path I didn’t know before. The forest ends in the French speaking part of Belgium called Wallonia. In my case, the GR126 will reach the commune La Hulpe. For many hours, you will see nice houses as this region is very attractive for people with many resources. Most cars have license plates from France and Luxemburg.
Following a GR path is sometimes challenging. You need to look carefully for the red-white sign. A change in direction is only mentioned once. Look at the next picture. On my navigator, I noticed that the path went straight, leaving the tarmac. I noticed the cross so I thought the path became private and the GR follows the tarmac. Wrong, because between the cross and the tarmac there is a small sign and the path goes into the dark forest. So for walking on GR routes, you better walk with two. One who is enjoying the walk, the other one for monitoring the signs on continuous base.
After La Hulpe, you will penetrate Lasne, one of the richest communes of the country. First there is Ohain with the most beautiful central place (picture6). I left the GR route because I wanted first to visit the church but in fact there was no need to leave the GR. There was no one in the church and I noticed there was any sound in the church. Absolute silence. Anything.
The last kilometers will lead you to the church of Lasne. I took TEC bus 36 till Waver/Wavre and will come back soon for the next stretch.