Epinal to Thionville

June 8, 2023

An easy day today, wanting to get to the German part of the Mosel we took the train and saved 170km of riding. Now that we have the bike reservation system all figured out (for our last day in France) we booked space on the earliest available train from Epinal to Thionville, which left at 3:50pm. This gave us a quiet morning at the campsite, catching up on writing and planning some next steps on the tour. Next is to ride the Mosel river all the way to Koblenz where it joins the Rhine. We started this section in July, 2018 but quit after a couple days because it was just too hot and dry that summer. Next we will train all the way up to the Danish border, which gives us a month to get to Bergen, Norway.

But back to the present. With time to waste we rode around town checking out the cycle-by sights and ended up at a lovely restaurant where we loitered over a long lunch. The trains worked perfectly, even having enough time to get up and down elevators for the change in Metz.

Thionville was surprisingly big, pretty, modern and prosperous. Just after we got off the almost empty train from Metz another train pulled in from the other direction and disgorged a crowd of well-dressed commuters from Luxembourg, explaining part of the prosperity.

We made it to the grocery store just before closing, then headed for the municipal camping to cook supper. No such luck. The reception was closed and the place was protected by a massive gate and code activated entry. Fortunately some registered campers arrived, opened the gate and we followed them in. Our next surprise was that a key badge was needed to get into the bathrooms! Again we lurked about and timed it to arrive just as someone was going in or out, but we felt rather like fugitives. Still we found an empty site, made supper and had a good night’s sleep.

The Saint Maurice Basilica of Épinal, in the Vosges, was built in the 11th century and is now tucked in a narrow alley.

Place des Vosges, Epinal. Busy spot on the lunchtime patios.

At the Thionville station, proof that validating a TER ticket is no longer required.

In the Thionville city centre is this beautiful belfry which was built in the 13th century.

Place Anne Grommerch, Thionville busy at 7pm on a warm Thursday evening.

Today's ride: 8 km (5 miles)
Total: 1,867 km (1,159 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	5
Comment on this entry	Comment	1

Kirsten KaarsooWe seemed to figure out the bike booking system too as we left. Your camping sounds like it took a bit of planning and people watching. 😊
Reply to this comment
10 months ago