On the evening of September 11, 1944, just fourteen weeks after the Normandy landings, the 1st US Army stood on the German border and on the Siegfried Line, a line that was not actually to be reached until May 1945.

A hiking trail through Nitztal, around the Bleiberg to Kürrenberg and back. An ideal half-day tour with varied scenery.

Start at the town hall in Newel. Along typical ``Eifelhäuser`` the route leads through Newel and then to the fields. The path leads past meadows and through a hidden forest. This absolutely untouched part of the forest can be described as an insider tip. Along the stream, you feel calm and relaxed. In the summer, the trees provide cooling shadows on the steady ascent. The tour continues to Kreuzerberg, where a small climb is rewarded with a view over the whole town. Crossing the summit it goes through forest and fields back to Newel. This varied hiking trail is particularly suitable for a family hike or a trip with dogs.

Until a few decades ago, slate mining shaped large parts of our region as far as the Moselle. The population in Kehrig also lived partly from work in the slate pits.

The first stage of the wilderness trail as a family hiking tour leads from the Monschau-Höfen National Park Gate 9.5 kilometers through the natural landscape of the Eifel.