Beautiful varied route along meadows, through forests and along lakes. There is a detour from the original route between Assenoncourt and Fribourg, but it is well marked. The route ends at Etang de la Blanche Chaussée.
We slept wonderfully in this quiet spot. At the picnic table we enjoy our breakfast, after which we repack our belongings without haste. When the backpacks are ready to leave, the owner comes to say ‘good morning’ and asks if we might like some spring onions and garlic from his own garden. That would be tasty! We follow him and get an extensive tour of the ecological vegetable garden and the rest of the plot. Next to the house is an little old church from 1702, which was used as a chicken coop by the previous owners (in France, anything is possible…). It’s clear that the owner is proud of his little paradise, really nice that we were able to stay here.
With fresh onions and garlic in our backpack, we set off in the direction of Dieuze, where we pick up the GR5 again.
This stage runs pretty flat through a lake area. In the middle of a small village we see a stork nesting on an electricity pole with 2 young. Along the way we also see several storks flying over and some hopping behind a farmer, mowing the grass to get a good meal. Besides storks, we also see one black kite after another in the sky, really beautiful.
We follow large forest paths and later more and more asphalt roads. We pause in a higher meadow with a view of the Vosges Mountains. This flat landscape is clearly quiet before the storm, as the mountains tower impressively on the horizon above the plains. The best is yet to come…
After 22 kilometers, we arrive at a small village next to one of the larger lakes. Around here, the focus is clearly on water sports and it’s Ascension Day, so it’s pretty busy everywhere. We walk to the campground and for the first time on our trip we see the dreaded “Complet” sign, which means as much as “full.” Oops… the next campground is 13 kilometers away. We try anyway, but it really turns out to be completely full. The lady at the reception calls the owner, who will be there in about 5 minutes. So we’ll have to wait…
As soon as the owner arrives, we recognize each other from a few kilometers before, where we passed and greeted each other kindly. She says that she was already afraid we were on our way to her overcrowded campsite, but still had a spot in mind near a place of a caravan whose owners are not present tonight. We are super happy; what friendly people again! And actually, we now have the most beautiful spot of the campsite, with a beautiful view over the lake!
In the evening we go for a bite at the nearby restaurant. Tomorrow we can take it easy, as there’s only a short stage on the program.
