Via Regia 2016

To begin with, these two days were totally restructured from the plan. The main reason was to shorten the route. But then it wasn't as easy as A to B to C, because a round trip from the house where I was staying to the train station was 14 km (8.75 mi). I had to factor that into the total I walked for Jul 5th. On Jul 6, rather than taking the train over 75 km., Edith gave me a ride to an intermediate village and I walked about 13 km around the Charles de Gaul Airport to my hotel in Roissy-en-France. Bottom line is that for the two days I walked a total of only 35 km (22 mi).

Staying in Soissons had the advantage of being in a familiar place with familiar people and it added an immeasurable amount of warmth over the last three days, not to mention that I became very familiar with the city (pop of 29,000). I still marvel at what all it has for that size: cathedral, the St Jean des Vignes (vineyards) Abbey established in 1076 (now being studied for archeological remains by a Team led by a Wesleyan University faculty member), and a vast history going back to Merovingian dynastic times. I had to include a pic of the abbey ruins, one of the most outstanding pieces of architecture in the city (maybe more prized than their cathedral).

Tomorrow, I'm staying with a friend of Edith's, Pierre, close to the Gare du Nord. We're planning to watch the Germany vs France Football Game at a local pub--the end is near. I'm excited about that.

I shuttled by train from Soissons to Villers, then walked the 18.5 km (11.6 mi) to Crépy-en-Valois with a lighter-than-usual backpack (many of the heavier items I just left in my room in Soissons). The best part of the walk was being able to avoid the oncoming traffic of the N2 by having extra wide shoulders (see the pic) or being in a construction zone where I had half the highway to myself, or walking on a farmer's frontage road.

I had enough time after arriving back in Soissons by train to walk into the city to visit the cathedral and then to my host's house (another 7+ km, but it was worth it). The cathedral dates back to 1211, its single tower being a copy of Notre Dame de Paris' towers and dating back to the mid-13th century. It was quite impressive. Hanging in the apse was a Rembrandt, the Adoration of the Shepherds, worthy of some oohs and aahs. The nave and tower suffered great damage from WW I and had been restored.

A plaque inside the cathedral caught my eye: England honoring its heroes lost in WW I, and recognizing that many still lie on French ground. Yet another somber reminder of the gravity of WW I's human toll, particularly in this area.

An evening meal outside was planned when I arrived. We got the neighbor to take a few pictures of the family that I included. They were all gracious hosts for having me stay three days, and Edith's good English made for a lively discussion.

Today's 22.3 km (14 mi) walk was similar to being legally on the 101 highway without any shoulder. Although I didn't expect trucks today, being Sunday, it was the hordes of RVs that surprised me. Most of the vehicles swerve to give me more room, but when they can't, I jump to give them room--it's a little tiring walking along the "101."

On arriving at Villers-Cotterêts, I missed the train back to Soissons by 5+ minutes. The three-hour wait, however, allowed me to explore this town of some 11,000 and discover it was the birthplace of Alexandre Dumas, pere (The Three Muscateers, The Count of Monte Cristo, etc.). The pictures are of the town square with Dumas statue and the church in the background.

There are so many rocks waiting to be turned over!

No highway walking from my host family's town of Brunelle--all on little travelled country roads. The 20 km (12.5 mi) passed quickly and I found myself in Soissons barely after noon. My walk took me past their cathedral (pic included) but my first goal was to get settled in my Premiere Classe Hotel (pic included), This hotel is bare bones, but at least they install toilet seats/covers that the last two hostels and a budget Ibis Hotel have forgone--I couldn't believe the shortcuts they're taking.

I met an absolute trail angel in one of the towns about midway. The owner of a bar where I planned a midway rest stop gave me a bag of fruit and an orange juice on the House--bless her soul.

I will use Soissons as a base for the next three days to shuttle by train to the day's walk. I'm in a section where there aren't many, if any, hotels. Then I'll be within two days of Paris.

Most of today's 25 km (15.6 mi) were along the highway, but some with pretty decent shoulders. The last 3 km made me sorry I picked a "forest path": muddy, fallen trees, you name it. I had no problem finding Father Xavier and his 13th century, impressive church. After a welcome and tour of the church, he drove me to a host family in the adjoining village some 8 km away. Braine has a population of about 2,200, yet their church befits a city of 100 times that. I include a picture of the church before much of the nave was destroyed due to fire on WW II.

Can't say enough good things about my hosts including working with me on a replanned route to Paris, which I've been further refining because of the lack of hotels in several of the towns.

Had an easy walk of 19.2 km (12 mi) with many paths parallel to the heavily travelled 2-lane highway. But still, I had to face many a semi truck or bus who could not avoid me because he had oncoming traffic--my only option to jump into deeper grass and try to make forward progress, or just wait it out. I probably had a fourth of the day like that (as many days are--but this road seemed busier than usual). So when I was taken down a peaceful dirt road shown in the picture, I felt ecstatic.

Took the "happy" train back to Reims for my third and final night. Walking back from the train station, I couldn't resist a cheese platter and a few glasses of wine--the cheese was enough for four people, but I managed (and made some sandwiches for tomorrow). And all that made for a happy pilgrim as shown in the pic.

I was lucky to confirm meeting Father Xavier at tomorrow's destination. He'll arrange for lodging for me. And I'm also set for the next day; that significantly reduces my Camino Stress--it's been my biggest concern.

Pushed hard trying to make up 2 days worth of distance, 44 km, from Suippes to Reims. Recall that I went off route because of no hotels in those 44 km and the attractions at Chalons. I succeeded in 35.8 km (22.4 mi) today, so I added another 8.2 km to my "did not walk" subtotal. Comfortable climate and flat terrain made for an easy walk today, and above all, no worry about a place to sleep tonight!

Not sure who's counting, except my sandals whose treads are fast wearing out, but I've actually already walked ~720 mi with ~1200 to go. No light at the end of the tunnel yet! But it's getting easier--not fighting any problems nor the dreaded heat yet! Am taking 3 to 5 magnesium supplement pills a day to keep from getting cramps--the muscles let me know when to take the pill!

The signs remind me that I'm in France's Champagne Region, but I haven't tried any. Alcohol, even beer during the day, doesn't react well.

The French military cemetery at the town of Sillery contains over 10,000 graves from WW I. What makes this cemetery different is the chapel-Mausoleum, dedicated to the MIAs. You can barely see it in the overall photo, but the chapel is surmounted by a tall lantern intended to contain an eternal flame. The chapel, after researching it, is unusual for structures in a nécropole nationale, because it's an accomplished Art Déco design and it was, in fact, one of two structures exhibited by the city of Reims at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (the other being the Carnegie Library). Where my walks take me!

Four magnificent churches in one day (including two cathedrals) is like getting four aces in poker. You're over-joyed and don't know how to react. Should you be modest or gloat! I still can't believe their majestic beauty where Gothic at its best is about replacing stone walls with soaring panes of glass and letting the light enter where it was blocked before.

I started with Notre Dame in Chalons (the photo with me in front of it), met a man who did the Camino from his home town in western France (he's also in the same quad), then visited their Cathedral (St Etiene--St Stevens) is a prime example of Gothic achieving its goal (stone to glass).

St Etiene is in the second quad finishing with a pic of a happy train I took to Reims. After dropping off my backpack at the CIS Hostel, I went to their Cathedral which in 2011 celebrated its 800th Anniversary! The stained glass panels were overwhelming--all of course modern works that replaced fire and war damage. It took me two hours just to settle my senses down and keep me focused on a few I especially liked. The left pic in the quad is by Marc Chagal, and the right pic is by Imi Knoebel that flanks Chagal's pane on both sides and was inaugurated in 2011.

The special historical treat, however, came at the Basilica of St Remi, where in 498 he (as bishop) baptized Clovis, the first king of the Franks. After that, a long chain of Carolingian Kings followed. Mind you, the church that stood here was a predecessor church to today's basilica, but St Remi is interred in the Basilica's Sacrament Chapel not far from the altar.

Well, I guess I gloated. Tomorrow it's back to walking (backtracking).

I continued to follow the Way of Liberty (French troops coming home after France was liberated in WW II) and also the signs pointing to WW I battle sites. The last theme was field after field of grain and silos built even for train entry and pick-up--had to capture that scene. The WW theme is everywhere including a mural on a house long since deserted, but the mural seems to live on.

After walking 29.2 km (18.3 mi) and then some because of a turn I missed, I arrived at The town of Suippes. It was comfortably cool, but very windy on the plateaus. I had expected no hotels in Suippes, although the military post there gave me false hopes, so I caught a bus to the off-route town of Chalons-en-Champagne. At Chalons, I didn't like what Booking.com had to offer. So I headed to the office de tourisme which had several options including a relatively new youth hostel--that's where I'm staying for 20€. I decided also to book the youth hostel in Reims and use it as a base while walking back to make up and forward one day. That takes the hotel stress out of the equation!

Since there were no hotels in Dombasle and it was Sunday with no reasonable bus service, the B&B host drove me the 15 km (9 mi) there where I picked up the other 25 km (15,6 mi) on foot. Comfortably cool on a country road for much of the way, then back to D603 (also 2-lane but more travelled). The D603 is dubbed the "Way to Freedom" with periodic concrete meter-high markers where the troops came home after WW II. The town of Claremont en Argonne typifies the memorials erected for their fallen heroes.

I've boxed myself in again with no hotel for tomorrow night. But luckily it will be Monday with good train/bus to a place that has a place to stay. It's an iterative process with four apps: my PocketEarth with my route/map; Rail Planner that will find my bus/rail connections within Europe; Safari/Booking.com that will find me a place to stay; and GoogleMaps that graphically shows the places to stay. It sounds easy, but can take me up to three hours to make it work.

Great walk--nice and cool with rain for about half of it. Then it all came crashing down when my budget hotel (Ibis) didn't have my reservation that I thought I had. I squirmed for four hours trying to get something other than sleeping under a tree. Problem was that every one of Verdun's dozen or so hotels was booked due to a huge music fete. I tried working with the Tourism Office to no avail. Finally walked the 2 miles from Ibis to the Tourism Office where a second call to a B&B opened up a room for me. Incredible! I'm with a wonderful family--he's retired military (helicopter logistics support for 35 years).

Wish I had more time to explore Verdun that's so heavily steeped in WW I battle history, the Argonne forest all around. Coming here I walked by a somber, plain-looking German cemetery with WW I casualties that pretty much captured the mood of the bloody battles fought in this region.

The pic shows the old city bastion on the Meuse River and one of several monuments honoring WW I heroes. The other one the music stage set for evening--thank goodness the rains let off.

Great day. Took the train back to make up walking what I missed yesterday (had to do that because of hotel availability). Came up 6 km short--so I walked 28 km (17.5 mi) with reduced backpack weight--just left many things in the room that I ended up renting for two nights. BTW, check the picture out for how to tell a pilgrim is renting a hotel room. (Yes, I bring clothes line and pins and always unpack everything!)

I knew it was going to be a good day when the train conductor let me ride free to my launch point for walking back. Then midway I stopped at--you guessed it--a McDonalds for a cafe-au-lait (con leche), free Wi-Fi, and read the BREXIT news. I still can't believe that the UK left the EU.

Also saw this "look-out" house for two. Took a lunch break there and wanted to thank someone for building it--no one in sight.

The 21-km (13 mi) walk went well, although the day was well on its way toward reaching close to 90 deg. Then nothing went well until checking into a hotel 12+ hrs after checking out this morning. It was one of those days, but I persevered and all turned out well. It all had to do with securing a hotel. Only hotel available was 34 km down the road--had to get there by train that only runs morning and evening. So I waited 4 hrs--good lesson in patience (the pic is at the open-air train station).

When I hit my destination on the train, the door wouldn't open and the train started taking off again. People saw the problem and got the train driver to stop it--all ended well. Tomorrow, I will take the train partway back to walk a big chunk of what I missed today.

I suppose the walk went well because I was following new waymarkers! Didn't drink any all day, but must have had at least four quarts of water that nearly all evaporated through my skin (you get my point).

Can't compare yesterday's highlight (Lorraine American Cemetery) with today's, the Metz Cathedral. Yesterday's stirred the emotions; today's stirred the senses.

The Metz Cathedral is overwhelming in height (135.9-foot high nave) and number and quality of beautiful stained glass windows. You simply can't get your "arms" around it, and so you're left standing in awe. All you can do is sit down and say a little prayer and then dare to capture the awesomeness with a few smartphone pictures--it's almost humiliatingly laughable. (I know I'll feel the same in Notre Dame de Paris and Chartres Cathedral.) The two pictures on the right are only of the transepts--so many more windows around the nave and the choir. And, yes, I managed to get my credentials stamped.

I haven't seen a St James (St Jacque) waymarker in two days. But Metz did not disappoint in its own way--take a look at the picture advertising their mall--no shell.

Took me 3+ hrs to walk only 12 km (7.5 mi) because a lot of it was in the narrow, wet-grass shoulder to avoid oncoming traffic. On arrival at St. Avold, I headed to a McDonald's for a coffee and to take advantage of their Wi-Fi (similar to using Starbucks on my Mission Walk).

After getting settled in my hotel (far nicer than "pilgrim's grade" but it's getting hard to find lodging), I did my chores and headed out for another mile to the Lorraine American Cemetery and Monument. It covers some 100 acres and contains 10,489 graves, more than any other American WW II cemetery in Europe. I relished in the chance to pay these brave souls my respect--they gave their ultimate to their country. The drizzle underlined the somberness of the moment! On the way out it occurred to me to ask for a stamp for my pilgrim's credentials--am I ever proud of that one.

Only one quad picture summarizes the day.

Headed out from the relatives' house by car for about 10 km to St. Arnual where I started my 20+ km trek on the German side to Freyming-Merlebach in France. It was good to be on the Camino again even though their house (some 20 or 30 km from the French border) turned out to be a local German St James Way destination, namely to the statue of Our Lady with Arrows.

And even though I saw many waymarkers in Germany, I didn't see one for quite a while in France. Had to trust my electronic map, which at times makes me nervous. So it was reassuring when I spotted my first shell in France (see pic). Also, finding a pilgrim-priced roof over my head (or any roof, for that matter) is getting more difficult: vacation time, small towns with no hotels, etc. But walking some of the peaceful paths, like the one in the pic, melts all your concerns--that's what it's all about.

My visit with Doro and Thomas is drawing to an end today, Father's Day. It was wonderful; we spent lots of quality-time together and as it turns out, their town of Heckendalheim is directly on the Jakobsweg (St James Way).

The first pic shows the actual destination site of the local St James way, the Holy Cross Chapel with the statue of Our Lady with the Arrows. We see the pilgrim's hostel on the grounds. This is about 10 km away.

The second pic shows some celebrating at the old town festival with local Saarland foods and foreign specialties like the Mexican food stand!

Third is the local Roostercrow Competition we attended today. Winner crowed most often during a 30-min period (73 times was the winner)! And fourth shows me getting my stamp at the local Heckendalheim Catholic Church. My head is still spinning.

Had a wonderful stay with the relatives in Reinsdorf, Germany (they are blood-related second cousin (Wolfgang) and second cousin once removed (Bianca) to the three Buckley daughters. Have attached a few highlight pictures at a wonderful dinner party at Bianca and Marcel's, and at a surprise mining museum with hard hat and all.

Left by train on the 16th of June to return to Kaiserslautern and stayed at the US Air Force Kaserne at Vogelweh, where incidentally my 32nd Brigade Army Air Defense Headquarters was located during my days of duty in 1964 to 1967--a step into the past some 50 years ago. It was the largest army brigade ever, and then became a Command.

Then on Friday, 17 June, I trekked to Hauptstuhl mostly in the rain some 20 km (12.5 mi). Thomas and Doro picked me up and hosted me at their house in Heckendalheim due east of Saarbrücken. Thomas is Helmut's nephew (Helmut being my mother's partner for nearly 40 years). I also took a picture of Helmut's mother who will turn 80 this year, along with Thomas. Special Bavarian dinner of Hachse (grilled ham hock).

We have lots planned this weekend and I will plan on walking again on Monday, June 20.

The blog master has taken R&R and will return Friday, the 17th of June. Incidentally, the secret to carrying a 4 lbs. backpack is to lose 20 lbs while packing a 24 lbs backpack--that's exactly my situation!

The rain caught up with me by the bucket load for nearly all 21.4 km (13.4 mi). The first pic shows the rain clouds starting to gang up on me! Münchweiler was my goal today, but their one hotel (pricey at that) was full with a large party. Choices to go on were also limited by availability of train, since I'm planning to visit relatives (the Wiests) tomorrow near Zwickau for a three-day R&R. That left the best choice to go to Kaiserslautern (more affectionately known as K-town when I was stationed in Germany '64-'67)--it was the 32nd Army Air Defense Brigade Hq.

A surprise awaited me in Kaiserslautern where they made a hotel like Alcatraz--not sure how many rooms are Spartan cell rooms, but I picked one, since it's most pilgrim-like. I love it. The Wi-Fi password is Al Capone--and I stumbled onto it through Booking.com (the modern pilgrim's tool) where it was the cheapest room in the city at 49€ with breakfast included.