The GR5 starts right at the train station, so we actually hiked about a kilometer on the trail by walking to our hotel (appropriately named "Noordzee"). We then walked to the nearby beach to step in the water and to collect a sample of the North Sea that we plan to carry with us and to pour into the Mediterranean...
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Hoek van Holland
30 April 2015: We took a train from Paris, via Rotterdam, to Hoek van Holland today. We left the rain behind in France, but the weather, while sunny, is cold and windy – just what one expects from the North Sea!
Monday, April 27, 2015
The GR5
The GR5 (Grande Randonnée 5) is a
hiking route from the North Sea (Hoek van Holland, near Rotterdam) to the
Mediterranean (Nice). Its total length is about 2,300 km.
Here's a link to an interactive map
that shows the entire GR5:
The first section of the GR5 winds
around the Dutch provinces of Zuid Holland and Noord Brabant. After
passing through Bergen Op Zoom, the GR5 enters northern Belgium and crosses the
region of Flanders. Approaching the Dutch border near Maastricht, the GR5
turns south and enters the region of Wallonie. Passing Liège, the GR5
crosses the Ardennes mountains to reach Luxembourg. Continuing south and
west on an arc through Luxembourg, the GR5 enters France in the Lorraine
region, north of Thionville. Apart from short incursions into Switzerland
and Italy, the GR5 remains in France for the rest of the route, all the way to
the Mediterranean. After Lorraine, the GR5 crosses the beautiful Vosges
mountains in the fascinating region of Alsace. From there, the GR5 enters
the Jura, a region of forests, hills, rushing rivers and plateaus cut by dark
valleys. Leaving France, the GR5 enters the Swiss Jura and reaches Lake
Geneva (Lac Léman) at Nyon, an attractive lakeside city. One can spend a
pleasant, relaxed day crossing Lac Léman on a paddle-wheel boat that stops at
just about every town on both sides of the lake.
For many people, the section of the
trail south of Lac Léman, is the GR5. This is the great crossing of the
Alps — la Grande Traversée des Alpes. The trail departs from
Saint-Gingolph, on the Franco-Swiss border (with a variant departing from
Thonon-les-Bains, west of Saint-Gingolph). Within about a day, the GR5
hiker catches a first glimpse of the massif of Mont Blanc, but several more
days of hiking are required to set foot on it. The trail passes through
valleys, climbs to passes around 2,000 to 2,800 meters elevation, and then
descends to the next valley. There are villages and small towns along the
way, where one can buy provisions and find overnight accommodations. At
higher elevations, there are mountain refuges (huts), where hikers can enjoy a
cool drink at the end of a long day of hiking, a hearty dinner and a warm bed
(sometimes too warm, because the French generally prefer to keep the windows
closed at night...). The flora and fauna change as one hikes from the
well-watered northern Alps to the more arid southern mountains.
The highlights of the GR5 after Mont
Blanc include the Vanoise, home to many bouquetins (ibex), and the lesser-known
Queyras region, on the Italian border. As one approaches Nice, a
highly-regarded variant — the GR52 — branches off the GR5 and passes through
the spectacular Vallée des Merveilles in the Mercantour National Park.
The GR52 reaches the Mediterranean at Menton, a small town near the
Franco-Italian border.
I first learned about the GR5 when I
lived in Liège in 1976-1979: The trail (actually, a route along city
streets there) passed under the window of my apartment. I had already
done some serious backpacking in the United States (and had dreamed of hiking
the Pacific Crest Trail), so I became interested in the GR5. In the early
1980s, I did some hiking in the Vosges along the GR5 (among other trails), and
in 1984 I hiked a short section of the GR5, from Thonon-les-Bains to Chamonix
(followed by a hike of the Tour du Mont Blanc). I hiked on variants of the GR5
when hiking around the Vanoise National Park in 1985. Happily, Mary likes
to hike, too. We hiked the TMB together in 1986 — and then, in 1989, we
hiked for two months on the GR5, from Schirmeck in the Vosges to Nice.
Since then, hiking the entire GR5 — Walking Europe from Top to Bottom,
in the words of an excellent book on the subject by Susanna Margolis &
Ginger Harmon — has been our dream (at the top of my list of things to do upon
retirement). And now we're about to do it! Watch this space...
* * *
P.S. — We will hike with much smaller and lighter backpacks this time!
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Fontevraud-l'Abbaye —> Saumur
Fortified by the English breakfast served by our friendly hosts, Teresa and Tony, we set off this morning from Fontevraud-l'Abbaye. Mary has been suffering from allergies (lots of spring pollen in the fields and forests where we have been walking), so she decided to stop hiking at Montsoreau and take a bus from there to Saumur. I continued on the GR3, which took me through many vineyards on the plateaus above the Loire River, as well as along the striking cliffs where people have quarried stone and used the resulting caves for storage, cultivation of mushrooms – and residences. I met Mary in Saumur (where she had visited the château), and together we returned home by train.
We enjoyed our 3-day hike on the GR3. Our clothing and equipment passed the test, but we found that hiking 25 km. in a day was tough on our feet! There's room for more conditioning...
Teresa & Tony:
The confluence of the Vienne and Loire Rivers:
The ruins of a windmill on a high bluff above the rivers:
Cave dwelling:
Cave café:
Saumur wine on the way...
Detour!
First glimpse of Saumur:
Farewell to Saumur:
Friday, April 17, 2015
Chinon —> Fontevraud l'Abbaye
We hiked today from Chinon to Fontevraud-l'Abbaye. Much of the hike was on paved country roads – better for cycling than walking. We were pleased to see the dramatic outline of the abbey appear on the horizon as we emerged from the woods in the mid-afternoon. We got a room – and a very warm, English welcome – at a chambre d'hôtes called Chez Teresa. We were keen to visit the Abbey because William had come here on a school trip years ago. We wanted to share his experience, albeit belatedly!
The Château de Chinon looms above the Vienne River:
A trail marker indicates a turn:
Fontevraud-l'Abbaye on the horizon!
Fontevraud-l'Abbaye:
Our delightful chambres d'hôtes, Chez Teresa, run by a friendly English couple who came here 9 years ago to make a new life:
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Azay-le-Rideau —> Chinon
We hiked today from Azay-le-Rideau to Chinon. That was a substantial walk, especially for our first day on the trail: about 28 km. We were lucky with the weather. The predicted rain never came, but we had cloud cover and mild temperatures – much better for hiking than yesterday's blazing sunshine.
Most importantly, today is Mary's birthday! So, after settling into a comfortable room at the Hôtel Gargantua, we went out for a special dinner.
Departure from our hotel in Azay-le-Rideau, les Trois Lys:
Final glimpse of the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau:
We're hiking the GR3:
Typical forest path:
Railway crossing in the forest:
Beautiful new green leaves of spring:
Happy to arrive in Chinon, but there was another hour of hiking to the center of town:
Vineyards around Chinon:
Hôtel Gargantua, a 15th century building in Chinon:
Happy Birthday, Mary!
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