Another beautiful stage over the flanks of the Moselle valley. Sloping over hills and valleys mostly through a foresty area. Occasionally the route passes small sleepy, but always charming villages and ends in the larger town Pont-à-Mousson.
Today’s hike once again follows the western flank of the Moselle Valley. We start in Pagny-sur-Moselle and begin with a good climb. Halfway up the slope someone has been kind enough to turn some pieces of sawn tree trunk into chairs and it looks really beautiful. We continue uphill past fields full of orchids, including a very unusual one that we haven’t seen before. This one spreads the scent of nutmeg. It turns out to be the “buck orchid,” which is very rare. The woods we walk into next, turn out to be full of wild garlic here as well; it remains a beautiful sight.
At the top of the hill, we arrive at a medieval castle belonging to the Duc de Lorraine. More and more the sky above us begins to turn darker and the predicted storms seem to be coming our way after all. In the forest, the wind begins to blow hard and for a moment we fear we have to change our route: the trees are catching extra wind because they are full of leaves and the branches are making ominous noises. Fortunately, the wind dies down before we enter the next woods. We have walked quite a few kilometers by now and decide to take a good break in a hochsitz along the path while it is still dry, as rain is predicted for the next few hours. We want to prepare the sandwiches for lunch, but before the bread is unpacked, the first drops start falling. Too bad, a banana and on we go. For the first time this trip, our raincoats really come in handy, because it starts to rain heavily. After an hour it is dry again and we can still have lunch at a covered picnic bench near a playground, in the middle of a small village.
The second part of the walk we pass several remnants of the 1st and 2nd World Wars; monuments and crosses can be found here and there along the route. So in the past, the landscape here was a lot less lovely….
A wide path leads out of the woods and onto the main road to Pont-à-Mousson. We follow this road for another 2.5km to the station, where fortunately a train soon leaves, and head home.
On this last evening in Metz, we enjoy the vibrant life of the city. We dine in a cozy little square in the middle of the city, where the summer feeling is back in full force, despite this afternoon’s showers.
