a chapel and a gracious colonnaded space,
honouring a staggering 130000 unknown fallen soldiers. The year long battle in Verdun must have been a hell.
As we come down off the hill on our way to Nancy, we pass memorials showing where villages were completely wiped from the map.
We halve the journey to Nancy, stopping at a campsite in forested hills. It seems a quiet idyll, full of bunnies, until the peace is shattered by what sounds like a plane landing bedside our tent. We had failed to notice the TGV passing close by on a bridge through the tree tops. Fortunately it turns out they do not run overnight. The next day is a blissful classic cycle route down a road through a river valley surrounded by wooded hills, which then joins Moselle. Coming the other way is a convoy of a dozen Morgans, all with their lids down as the drivers enjoy the early morning sunshine.The villages now are rendered cottages with tiled roofs and great stacks of logs outside. Each bridge we cross was destroyed by the retreating Germans in 1944.
We pause at the large town of Pont a Mousson to buy provisions. The ancient colonnaded central square is filled with a fair and the side streets were overflowing with market stalls. It is a very jolly bustle with every spare inch taken up with cafe tables thronging with folks enjoying the Saturday morning sunshine. We are delighted to pick up an email from cycling Steph, in their WiFi hotspot. Mike has done a great job keeping the iPhone charged with the front dynamo and solar panels.
There is an easy tarmaced cycleway into Nancy. We are astounded by the gorgeous ancient centre, especially Stanislas Place, gloriously restored to its 18th century glory. We cannot think of a better square anywhere in N Europe, it is surrounded by a museum, cafes and the Hotel de Ville. Wedding photos are being taken of a couple posing on the gilded balcony, with onlookers cheering from below. The square is full of other activities too; cyclists, Nordic walkers, roller-bladers, and promenaders.
Our "Warm Showers host" this evening is Marie, a dentist, who lives in an apartment not far from the centre. She arrives home from work and we get to know each other over a cup of tea on her large terrace which overlooks the cityscape. It soon becomes obvious that Marie is a marvellous cook, not only preparing a lovely evening meal, of local ingredients and dishes, but she also sends us on our way next day with mouthwatering chocolate buns for our elevenes.
The 55 miles to Epinal are all easy, either down the side of a canal or the river Moselle. As it is Sunday there are people out enjoying fishing, cycling or just strolling. There are lots of locks being negotiated by pleasure craft.
The following day is another holiday so there are no lorries on the road. There are few shops open so the first boulangerie we find that isn't closed is very busy, with 2 bakers working flat out trying to keep up with demand, steam billowing out of the windows. The rest of the cycle is so peaceful, up a valley, former railway, cycle route. It all looks very Swiss now; wide-eaved houses with enormous piles of logs for fuel. There is a big problem here with acres of the invasive Japanese Knotweed.
Mike spots his first ever Red-backed Shrike alongside the path, and Red Kites are common.
We are overnighting in the small town of Le Thillot, where we have been invited to stay with friends of Christine and Bruno. Anne has spent the morning out mountain biking in the surrounding forests. She is an English teacher at the local school, with husband Daniel recently retired from teaching history at the same school. They have lived all their lives in this area. The view from their garden terrace is a 360 deg panorama of forested high hills. In the winter the temperatures regularly drop to -20 and they get heaps of snow, so they are skiers as well as cyclists. They show us photos on their computer of the wonderful snow scenes in Le Thillot, and their cycle trips in the Alps.We also are delighted to pick up an email from our neighbours Dick and Marjorie, keeping us up to date with home news.Anne's twist on the home jam is rhubarb and banana- delicious.
We are now at about 1500 feet.
Anne is off to teach, we wave goodbye to the cat "Pussy", then Daniel cycles with us,the next morning,to get us back on the cycle track. We pass several small sawmills. By 10am, we have gained another 1000ft and, following a steep village road, reach the source of the Moselle.
Map covering this section of tour to follow with next blog. Miles to date 1,053
Location:Verdun to Bussang
