On way to Vezelay, but many days to go

I have been thinking of this pilgrimage as a series of stages.  The first was the Hildegard von Bingen stage (176 kms), followed by the Ausonius Way to Trier (103 kms), and then continuing on Chemin St Jacques to Metz (114kms).  For those who haven't got their calculators with them, this adds up to 7 kms short of 400.  Joan and I have now started on the next stage, a much longer one, to Vezelay, though she will leave me at Auxerre.

As before, accomodation has been a bit of an issue, and so we have adapted plans.  We decided that for the first day of walking, for Joan, a 27 km (turned out to be 30 kms) day was a bit much, even though it was comparatively flat as we followed the Moselle upstream.  Thus we decided to walk packfree, and return to Metz by train, catching the train the next day to Vandiéres, where we had stopped the day before.

The path follows a canal for some of the way.....


.....and wanders past fields and forest at other times.

The path to  Vandiéres was a delight, mostly on shaded paths, often walking through a shady tunnel of trees.  At least it was, until the last 4 - 5 kms when we were on an exposed concrete cycle path.  On arrival there were no shops open that we could see, until I wandered off and found a petrol station that sold cold drinks.  Boy, did we relish those!  Anther reason to return to Metz was that there was no accommodation available in Vandiéres, a repeating story I am afraid. 



The following day was set to be hot and as the only accomodation we could get was in a gorgeous town called Pont-à-Mousson.  Following the cycle way we arrived at our hotel, an old abbey, left our packs and set off to the next village 10kms away, arriving before the heat cranked up.

The ancient abbey church, now being used for cultural events
The other side of the abbey church
As hotel guests we were able to wander around the abbey. The staircases were fascinating.

....as was the massive chandelier!
The church of St Martin


Heading to Pont-à-Mousson along the cycle path. 

The day's seem to repeat themselves somewhat, not the scenery, but the phone calls seeking accomodation.   The next day, after our 10 minute train ride, we headed for the town of Liverdun.  Somewhere to stay?  No, so the plan was to catch the train ahead to Toul, and then repeat it all by catching the train back the next day, and walking into Toul - BUT - we were tired, and decided a rest day was in order, and that there was no need to walk that 15kms or so from Liverdun to Toul.

A gateway into Liverdun 
The Lavoir in Liverdun, still being used in the early 2000's

Toul is a lovely town, one of the oldest in France.  It is surrounded by Ramparts, and many of the streets are very narrow, indeed, some even walkways.  One of these was such that both of us had visions of people leaning out of their windows and emptying their slops out of it!  Though older, it has a real medieval feel to it.  The Gothic Cathedral (St Etienne) is being restored, work which began 60 years ago, and looks like it will still be going in another 60 years.

The cloister Gardens at the Cathedral 
Inside the Cathedral 

St Etienne Cathedral, with the Ramparts in the foreground. 

Narrow streets in Toul.

We enjoyed watching a large barge go into the lock, but when drizzle started we decided we didn't need to see it leave.  Instead, we walked under the shelter of trees around the Ramparts.  A group from a child care centre were out exploring.   Each tiny tot had a hi-vis vest on and held the hand of an adult.   They looked so tiny, probably 3 - 4yrs, but cute as they walked along in fluoro green.

Out for an excursion. 
The barge about to enter the lock.

The rest day has benefited us both and now we are ready to set off again.  As we are about to depart from Toul I have just discovered that the path we will follow,  as well as being  a Chemin St Jacques, is also the Sante Jeanne d'Arc Historical Trail.   


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cambridge - again!

Image
Well, at the end of the last post I  said that my walking came to halt just before reaching the Red Lion Hotel.  In fact since that time I have only hopped, and only in the last two days!  Why?  Well.... This is long and tedious, with only a couple of photos, so don't feel compelled to read it.  I am trying to make it brief, but I know some people want the detail.  Last Saturday evening, a week ago, as I walked down the path on the side of the road, to the hotel, my feet went from under me.  I had slipped on a frozen puddle, which in a momentary lapse of concentration I failed to see.  My momentum, and the weight of my pack flipped me over like a turtle, but in the process my right arm and leg got stuck, while I continued to move.  The result? A broken wrist, and a broken ankle!  A passing dog walker stopped to offer help by carrying my pack, but I had a better idea when I saw someone get into a car opposite.   I asked him to a...
Read more

From Herrstein to Kirn - 14.5kms, our way!

Image
 Today was a much easier day, except for a long hill which seemed to go up, and up, and up. However, we had a very pleasant time, walking through forests, walking alongside fields of ripening grain, and best of all, walking alongside gurgling streams. I was even reminded of the verse from "The Happy Wanderer" - I love to wander by the stream, the gurgles in the sun ...." A couple of dog walkers, from Munich, having a rest. Having had a restorative nights sleep, a substantial breakfast, and made lunch from the leftovers (at our hosts suggestion), we were able to wander around the beautiful historical town of Herrstein, something we were incapable of doing last night.  It truly is a lovely town, as you can see from the photos.    The bendy beams! Having ambled along to our destination of Kirn, and arriving so early, we couldn't access our accommodation, we had a pick me up of a coke for me and a beer for Edith.  We had a delicious meal of a traditional German past...
Read more

Back on the road, and all is well.

Image
The day, Sunday, began with a walk down the hill and then up to the Cathedral where I, along with many (maybe 150) other pilgrims attended the 7am Mass.  At the conclusion we were given a blessing and we set off, some with packs on, others, like me, returning to their accomodation to have brekky and collect their packs. The bags lined up at Mass  Below these screens there is a very long flight of stairs to the door of the Cathedral, and another equally long one to the street.  The back screen comes up first, then the side screens come up.  All very silent. Pilgrims departing This is the path that most pilgrims were leaving by, hence the shells above my head.  I turned right at the end of this street and headed south. Rain overnight had dramatically lowered the temperature and it was a pleasant, if  late, start to the day.  Because I attended the Mass, had a leisurely breakfast, and had to do all my foot exercises I was a couple of hours late leaving on...
Read more