The Saturday morning was very cold with some snow showers as I drove down from Köln to Vallendar bahnhof. Whilst waiting for the train, I looked around Vallendar station. It's buildings were scruffy and poorly maintained. With the exception of Neuwied's railway station, I've noticed almost all the other stations on the route are similarly decrepit. This seemed rather odd for Germany, especially considering the small towns they served were immaculate tourist destinations.  After 15 minutes, I caught the train to Neuwied, then the 101 bus to Rengsdorf to continue the Rengsdorf to Sayn stage of the Rheinsteig.

Due to the coldness and snow showers, Rengsdorf was deserted as I made my way back to the trail. Walking through the Westerwald alone and in complete silence felt a little eerie, but was a very satisfying experience. Again, the going was a little hazardous due to the wet, fallen leaves now having a thin covering of snow. During the hike it occasionally snowed quite heavily, but I never felt cold or uncomfortable as I'd dressed correctly in layers. I also had a flask of hot coffee made earlier at the hotel

I took very few photos because I had one of my Nikon SLRs instead of the Canon A570IS and didn't want to keep taking it in and out of the rucksack whilst it was snowing.  Almost all the trail was through the Westerwald and one advantage of having no leaves on the trees was that it was possible to see how hilly the region is. This area is where the boundary (Limes Romanus) of the Roman Empire lay. Various plaques and a rebuilt watchtower register this fact. This section of the trail had the most information boards, huts and benches seen so far.

The area around the Cuckucksberg and Vogelpfad appears to be a popular site for bird watching with many nesting boxes and hides, but nothing was seen on this Winter's day. Exiting the forest, the trail continued along an asphalt road, passing by a small zoo until returning to a final forested hill. I descended through the forest into Sayn, reaching the center and Schloss via a well-kept park. After a 10 minute wait, the #8 bus arrived and took me back to the station car park at Vallendar. After lunch, I drove back to the Hook of Holland for the overnight ferry to Harwich

I really enjoyed this stage. It was quite beautiful and I would like to walk it again and possibly some more of the Westerwald, preferably in Springtime

Through the Westerwald from Rengsdorf	View towards Gladbach
Nonnenley	Jonashütte
Haus am Pilz	Vogelpfad Hut