Holiday – Day 4 The Vosges

So the day started in La France Profound, the town of Langres is typical of a thriving market town in a rich agricultural region. There were lots of small shops selling everything from hunting knifes to cherry de-stoners. Would have bought one had we had room in the car!! For a small town it had an impressive cathedral with an absolutely enormous nave. It dated from the 12^th century and was the precursor to the Burgundian style of architecture. On a lesser note the filled baguettes that we purchased from the local bakery were some of the best that we had ever eaten. So after breakfast and a stroll round the town we headed east across largely deserted roads and through a rich agricultural landscape. Everywhere the first crop of hay had been harvested and there were cows munching in the fields. There were few settlements, and those that there were seemed very quiet.

It was a surprise when we rolled into the town of Plombieres to find that the railway station had been converted into a casino. Some fine gardens and an arboretum where we picnicked on the aforementioned baguettes surrounded this. There was also a bizarre miniature town, which seemed to have a pick and mix attitude to local French buildings. Like everywhere else it was deserted.

We then entered the Vosges that is a range of hills rising to over three thousand feet. There are ski stations and lots of tremendous views. Unfortunately the weather started to deteriorate lowering to ten degrees with low cloud so most of the hills and views were covered. We came across one moving site called La Ligne. This was the preserved battlefield in the mountains where the Germans and French fought in a short campaign in 1915. Over ten thousand French died on this mountainside. Then as we rolled round the corner the German cemetery full of black crosses was in front of us. The juxtaposition with the lovely mountain scenery was startling.

So in late afternoon we reached Kientzhiem and the Hostellerie Schwendi. It is a lovely Alsatian wine village. The dinner was memorable with a truly outstanding duck main course accompanied by a flight of the local wines. The Gewürztraminer in particular was superb. We will be tempted to buy a few bottles to take home.

Tomorrow promises to be a hot day to explore the local region. Apologies again for the lack of photos, restricted Wi-Fi means that I cannot upload photos from my IPhone. When this is resolved, hopefully by the weekend I will post a whole album full.