Distance 134k
Time 6 hours
Climb 903 m (mostly at end)
Weather Grey then wet
Alsace and Lorraine are two regions of France that have been joined at the hip through the centuries, often sharing a troubled history as a battleground and prize for France and Germany. However despite of this shared past the two regions feel different. When you think of Alsace the thoughts are of wine, the Rhine, delightful cities like Strasbourg and Colmar and equally delightful villages like those that linked by the "route du vin". Lorraine on the other hand is a region of heavy industry and coal mines. Put another way Alsace is light and sunny, Lorraine dark and dour.
Waking up on Monday I find that the weather had conformed to this stereotype, the sun of yesterday (from which I was even suffering a bit of sunburn) has all gone and the skies are grey.
By the time I have breakfast and set off a steady drizzle had started. The impression of gloom is reinforced by the long drag uphill, out of town, along a busy lorry filled dual carriageway past, first, the US military cemetery and then a large (and smelly) chemical factory. I am glad to get off the main road and back onto my preplanned route, but only relatively. The skies are dark and grey and the drizzle is turning into steady rain. I stop at a boulangerie to get some croissants and a couple of slices of "quiche lorraine" (natch) that I intend to have later for lunch. (Following the mistake yesterday I intend to make lunches a bit lighter in future.)
I press on, to add to my woes a wind has started, at least it is blowing across me but it means that as well as feeling wet I now start feeling colder. The countryside is not very encouraging, everywhere pretty much looks like everywhere else and none of it is especially picturesque.
After a couple of hours of this I have had enough. All this water has triggered a need to take a break for a call of nature. It being Monday and the villages I pass through being small and apparently deserted, no welcoming bar appears so I stop at a bus shelter, nip behind a bush, then gloomily eat my croissants and quiche.
Someone upstairs must have taken pity on me because by the time I had finished the rain had pretty much stopped and, if the sun was not shining, at least it was slightly less grey.
I set off again and decided to head straight for the Luxembourg border which I crossed just after Mondorf les Bains. There is a noticeable change, while Lorraine felt slightly run down and depressed, Luxembourg felt prosperous, evidenced by the smart houses and smooth wide roads with pristine cycle lanes. This further helps to lift my mood and I decide to press on a bit and go on past my intended overnight stop at Esch. This proves to be a bit risky as the various villages I pass through all seem noticeably lacking in hotels or anywhere else to stay. Also my meticulous advance planning did not include hotels in Luxembourg. Getting a bit desperate I stop at a Hobscheid, a small village, and go into a bank. I ask the lady there if there are any hotels nearby and she is very helpful, lifting my spirits by saying yes there is one just up the road.
Up in this sense is quite literal. The village was on the side of a steep hill which is hard going. But I finally get to the top. The directions I had been given say just go along the road and you can't miss the hotel. So I speed off down the other side of the hill at a rate of knots but then start to get a little concerned as the directions also said that the hotel is only a five or so kilometres away and I have already done nearly ten. So I stop again, this time outside a house and ask a man gardening if he knows of a hotel nearby. He speaks perfect English and says yes there is a hotel and he points back in the direction I have just come, back up the hill I have just happily sped down. Rather less happily I slog back up it and at the top spot a turning that I missed first time.
This goes back downhill and at the bottom I find not one but two hotels. I stop at the first, it looks quite posh so I get take off my bike gear to look a bit more presentable. The hotel seems deserted, but when I go inside and ask for a room I hear that it is full. (Hopefully it really was, thinking about it later maybe I just looked a bit too shabby...). So I ask about the hotel next door and get told that one is closed. I am starting to get a bit desperate now and ask if there are any other hotels nearby. The reply is that I will have to go to Belgium! Fortunately that is not far only another five kilometers or so. Bad news is that it is up another steep hill. So up I go again. Immediately after the top of the hill I just manage to spot a sign that say "Hotel" and points off down a road. It's downhill so I take it and, voila, find a lovely hotel. Only problem is despite ringing on the bell no-one appears. I get worried it too may be closed and as a last resort try phoning the number on the board outside. A lady answers and I ask if they have a room. She says yes, just one remains and asks when I will arrive. I reply just outside and she comes and lets me in.
I have landed on my feet, the hotel is very comfortable and has a superb restaurant.
http://www.peiffeschof.be/
I celebrate my good luck and the fact that I have cycled through three countries in a single day by drinking (slightly too much) Luxembourg champagne (well cremant actually) to wash down a thoroughly good meal.
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