Knutange

7 June 2015:  I left the GR5 yesterday and hiked a couple of kilometers west to reach Angevillers, where I had reserved a room at Fabrice's B&B.  (Accommodations are scarce in Lorraine; a mere 2 km detour after some 20 km of hiking isn't bad.)  This morning, I hiked southeast of Angevillers for a couple of kilometers to re-connect with the GR5.  Happily, it was a forest trail, so I enjoyed the shade during another sunny, hot day. 

Around midday, after I had hiked about 8 km, I emerged from the forest.  Before me lay a long, straight road through grain fields, leading to Fontoy (where I planned to look for some lunch).  A car drove up and stopped; the driver, an elderly gentleman, asked if I would like a lift to Fontoy.  With the sun beating down on me, that was an offer I could not refuse!  The man was, of course, curious about my hike.  He asked me what was my destination today.  "Knutange", I replied, referring to a city about 5 km down the GR5, plus 3 km off the trail. He then stated that he would drive me there.  I did not object; indeed, I was in the mood for a short day and would have planned one, had a hotel or B&B been available in the right place.  

We had a pleasant, interesting chat during the short drive to Knutange.  He is a retired doctor, who continues to work as a replacement for regularly-practicing doctors, and he has been mayor of Fontoy since 1973.  Not surprisingly, he has a very dim view of the present government and of fonctionnaires (civil servants) in general.  Local government officials in France such as the mayor of Fontoy have many grievances about the impact of State policies and the demands of central government officials (prefets, etc.).  He asked me how it works in the United States, and I tried to describe our federal system in the short time available. 

M le Maire dropped me off at my hotel in Knutange, the Remotel, in time for me wash up and have a good lunch in the hotel's restaurant.  I wasn't really dressed for a French Sunday midday meal in a good restaurant, but I received courteous service and the food was excellent.  I then relaxed in the afternoon, watching the men's final in the French Open (Roland Garros) while I tried to plan the next few days of hiking and to find accommodations along the route. In the time that it took Wawrinka to beat Djokovic, I was able to reserve one room for tomorrow and to send a reservation request for the next day.  It's complicated!

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Poppies mixed with beautiful blue flowers in the fields outside Angevillers:

Someone had dumped enormous quantities of terra cotta roof tiles – mostly broken pieces and scraps – on the trail near Angevillers.  There were a dozen piles like this one, along about 50 meters of the trail. 

A good forest trail:

I encountered a man who had fallen while cycling on the forest trail.  He was already receiving first aid.  Later, I passed this emergency vehicle.  Shortly afterward, the injured man was carried down the trail on a stretcher by 6 pompiers (firemen and women) and driven away.  Afterwards, one of the pompiers asked me for a light for his cigarette.  I had nothing to offer and joked that a pompier's job was to put out fires, not to start them.  He laughed. 

The road leading to Fontoy:

My hotel in Knutange: