To Metz

August 8, 2025

With the trip to Hungary canceled/on hold, the question was where to go for a short-ish tour before my hiking trip to Scotland. Still wanting to keep the Hexagon theme, I had explored cycling along the northern coast in July. I soon realized however, that the area would be full Europeans on summer holiday, as would all coastal areas of France during July and August. There was a desire to avoid high heat, though that seems a somewhat futile quest this summer. Finally, I wanted a starting destinations accessible by TGV with available bike spots. The filtered results led me to Metz and a tour along the Western Front to Dunkirk.

It was a familiar cycle through Paris to Gare de l’Est and I arrived in plenty of time to flash a couple of Invaders lurking nearby before boarding the train. The bike car was the old-fashioned variety where bikes are leaned against the handicap seats, only this car lacked the normal straps and signage indicating bike space. I leaned VG against the seats and hoped for the best, settling in for the ~2 hr non-stop ride to Metz.

The tranquility of the car was soon disrupted by another cyclist trying to get his fully-loaded touring on board. There was a bit of cussing and chaos, but he managed to board his bike, dog, and dog carrier all before the train departed. He plopped into the seat across from me and we spent the entire ride to Metz in conversation about bikes, touring, etc. Drew and Lupa had just come from the Pyrenees where they ascended Col d’Aspin amidst the crowds assembled for the Tour de France – Drew pedaling and Lupa resting in his home-made trailer. Cheers greeted them at top, and they even made it into a short clip on German TV.

Early arrival Gare de l'Est for my 1:06 train to Metz

Never grow up is sometimes just a state of mind

Reassembling the trailer for the ride back home to Frankfurt

Homage to Jean Moulin at Metz train station. The leader of the National Council of the Resistance reportedly died on a train to Metz after being arrested, tortured and deported by the Gestapo. Moulin is depicted in a coat and tie and the bronze figures flanking him represent the "army of shadows," the French resistance during the WWII German occupation

This was my second visit to Metz, the first being last May on a short tour with Suzanne, Janos, and Kathleen Jones. Though the weather was a bit grim, we all had a jolly time and couldn’t keep the big smiles off our faces. The memories of that tour followed me around Metz today as I walked past the Cathedral and the hotel we stayed at. I even re-visited the bike store to get a replacement for a smiling water bottle I’d purchased last year but had lost somewhere along the way.

Along the street where we stayed in May, 2024

My wanderings left me hungry and though I passed a number of open cafés, everyone seemed to be drinking, not eating. It was clearly happy hour along the streets of Metz. Finding nothing appealing, I headed toward one of the nicer restaurants and I booked a table for 7:30 then decamped to a nearby café and nursed a fizzy water for the next hour. The four course chef’s choice meal at Derriere was good but not memorable, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ambience and the interesting ice cream concoctions. All in all, a pleasant way to begin this next little tour.

Whiling away time with fizzy water and my new smiling bidon

I enjoyed the more serene setting of Restaurant Derrière

My favorite course - tuna, squash, and red pepper ice cream

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