Beautiful stage through the French countryside. At the beginning uphill, passing the chateau of Sierck-Les-Bains. Then through forests and open landscapes along meadows. The white-red markings are sometimes hard to find, but it’s an easy route to walk.
After two days of no walking (or at least a whole lot less, because our rest days always seem to get a lot more active than we plan), it’s great to head out with the backpacks again. We walk out of the campsite, through the town of Sierck-les-Bains. A beautiful old town with a rich history, with many houses and streets from the 15th and 16th centuries. At the time the town was known for its clothing crafts, trade and magnificent castle, which is really worth visiting. Much has been preserved, but that its heyday is now far in the past, is evident. Half the houses are uninhabited and many have fallen into half-ruins. It has a bit of a ghost town feel to it. Nevertheless, the old gentlemen in the village come out of the houses whistling, to water the plants and to straighten the small statues on the windowsill in front of the house. The facades of the inhabited houses are truly gems.
We follow a small river out of the village through a forest and after a few kilometers we enter the French landscapes that’s so recognizable to us; farmland, mostly grain and grasslands, interspersed with a forest and small villages in hilly terrain. We don’t have to ascend or descend much anywhere today, so the kilometers go easily. During lunch break we set up the tent in a meadow to dry. It must be thoroughly dry, because tonight we’ll sleep in a hotel, since there is no campsite nearby. The drying goes fast; by now it is 27°C with clear blue sky.
A little after 3 o’clock we arrive at our hotel in Kedange-sur-Canner. A hotel with a “motel” feel, but it’s clean and it’s really nice to have a private shower. We do have to get used to being inside in this lovely weather, after 3.5 weeks of camping. Fortunately there is a picnic bench in front of the hotel, where we reminisce about the day in the evening and briefly review tomorrow’s route. We have is a 36km stage to Metz on the program. A long trip, so we crawl into our (hotel) bed early…
