Last week, a train traveling between Wiltz and Kautenbach broke down right outside Paradiso. It’s not unusual for a train to halt here, but normally it takes a raised hand to make it happen.

‘Paradiso’ is an on-demand stop: unless a passenger signals from the platform or requests a stop inside the train, it simply rolls past.

The location of Paradiso has been romanticised for decades. In the anniversary book ‘Welzer Skauten 1929-1979’, the place is described in poetic terms: “Where a hawk circles in the blue sky, where a river of flowers trickles down the rugged slopes or flickers against dark slate cliffs, where broom brightens every path around Pentecost, and where the railway still cuts through nature – there stands the house ‘Paradiso’, once the ‘best parlour’ of the Wiltz Scouts.”

A special stop

Since 1997, the train has officially stopped here on request, after decades of passing by. The only other request stop in Luxembourg is nearby in Merkholtz, on the same line. The stop itself dates back to the late 19th century.

“The house must be from around 1880,” explained Gilles Crochet, a long-time member of the Wiltz “Scouts St Sébastien”. “It was just a railway keeper’s cottage back then. The keeper, who managed the barriers, lived here with his wife.”

Today, the cottage is still largely preserved in its original form, though it now houses 28 beds, a canteen kitchen, and bathrooms behind its modest façade. It has belonged to the scouts for as long as Crochet can remember.

• If you want to get on the train here, it’s best to position yourself strategically so that the train driver can see the waving passenger in good time © Photo credit: Caroline Martin

• There are 28 beds in the building, which offers more space than you might expect from the outside © Photo credit: Caroline Martin

• The name of the station is quite appropriate given the surrounding nature in the Wiltz valley © Photo credit: Caroline Martin

The stop is not just used by scout groups staying in the house. Guests from the nearby Toutschenmillen and other camps also flag down the train, especially during the summer season.

In the past, the spot had another purpose too. “When the mail was still brought to Wiltz by train, the post for Paradiso was thrown off here while the train slowed down,” Crochet recalled with a laugh, whistling as if tossing a letter bag out the window.

The railway line is single-track at this point. No matter whether you’re heading to Wiltz or Kautenbach, the journey begins right at the cottage’s doorstep.

• The former railway caretaker’s house still looks the same – but now also has escape exits on the upper floors © Photo credit: Caroline Martin

• At the level of the Paradiso, the track is single-track. Regardless of which direction you want to go – it starts at the door of the “Paradiso” © Photo credit: Caroline Martin

Adventures before smartphones

Much has changed since those early days, not least how young people stay connected. Crochet is wary of how dependent today’s scouts are on their phones.

“I always suggest to parents that their children leave their mobiles at home. Usually it works. If they need to text or call, they can borrow ours. You don’t need it all the time.”

He remembers one of his own trips in 1983 to the Camargue in southern France. “The phone booths there were great. I gave my mum the number written on top, and she could call me back for free.”

Back then, without constant internet access, proper planning was essential. Even navigation was trickier. “We used a map wheel to measure distances, but it was set wrong. Instead of 40 kilometers, we ended up hiking 65.” At the time he wasn’t happy, but looking back he smiled: “But later you see it was a good thing after all.”

(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated, with editing and adaptation by Lucrezia Reale.)