Landange

18 June 2015:  We finally got a rainy day today!  David, our friendly host at the Château d'Alteville, drove us to Assenoncourt this morning, thereby allowing us to skip the first three kilometers of walking on paved roads.  We then hiked 25 km to Landange, where we had reserved places in a gîte d'étape.

*   *   *

Ready for hiking in the rain:

We're hiking through a region with many picturesque lakes. 

Be careful what you wish for!  We were happy to leave the road and hike into a forest, but a long section of this trail was obstructed by trees that had been cut down and left blocking the trail. Carroll is pointing to the route of the GR5 here!

The village of Fribourg charmed us. First with this "Salon de Lecture":

There were clever and interesting sculptures around the primary school:

A rolling boulangerie arrived as we walked through Friboug – and the woman was selling more than just bread and pastries.  We bought some excellent cherries and nectarines. 

The trees provided some shelter from the rain. 

Around 1:00, we walked past a group of little cabins – all closed, with no one around. We ate our lunch on the sheltered porch of one of them. 

After lunch, we walked 6 km along the Canal des Houillières, which connects with the Marne-Rhin Canal. 

Major fork in the canal:

Finally, a dirt path for the last 2 km of our canal walk!

We were lucky!  This grocery store in Gondrexange – the only such store on today's route – will close at the end of the month.  We needed to buy food here for tonight's dinner and tomorrow's breakfast at the gîte d'étape in Landange (where no food is available). 

Approaching Landange:

The gîte d'étape in Landange:

The owner of the gîte d'étape, Roland, is very friendly and interesting. We chatted with him about the history of this building (dating back to 1762), his restoration of the building and his experiences as a teacher in Mauritania and France. 

The back of the gîte and its garden: