Northern France including the British Military Cemetery at Pozières and Alsace Wine Route
Camping Benelux Bâle to Le Thilllot
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onward to St Liviere
Overnight torrential rain hammers on the roof of Hymer here at Camping Municipal Benelux-Basel. Gill lies and listen to it, so glad we brought everything in last night. It was impossible to sleep as the rain was so loud (although there was light zzzzzz from Mr C)! A brilliant flash through the slit at the edge of the blind followed by an almighty crack of thunder overhead woke him with a start. Together we listened to the storm and torrential rain for about an hour as the storm moved down the valley. It rained heavily on and off all night but no more thunderstorms.
Up for coffee about 8.00am, a thin mist was wrapped around the mountains, drifting along the valley like some ethereal being. But the rain had stopped and there are no floods, however there is no internet, so perhaps the storms and the loss of the telegraph pole have had their combined impact. We shower and breakfast and note the sky is clearing with glimpses of blue here and there. We check-out of Camping Municipal Benelux-Basel with some regret, it has been a super place to stop, all facilities we need, level, under shade and in the middle of the mountains.
We drive to U-Express at Wasserling, top up our red wine stores and food shopping and take N66 back through Urbes and up over the Mountain pass at Col de Bussang. The road is of excellent quality, despite steep with some serious switchback hairpins, but the trucks are rolling along so we know we will be fine. We stop at the top, 850m and the source of the Moselle River and have lunch, although the view is fairly ordinary the layby is good and wide and reasonably level considering the hill we are about to descend. We pass through Saint Maurice de Moselle, a fairly large but picturesque village and note at least two Aires along the way and another at Fresse sur Moselle.
We continue on to Le Thillot, another largish village and find the Municipal Aire le Clos Chaume (the covered thatch!) next to the Piscine and sports centre. What a find! Built on a slightly elevated piece of land overlooking the lake, Etang de Chaume, 64 individual pitches separated by hedges and with great facilities and great views. We set up on Pitch 28 overlooking the lake and spend the afternoon in the warm sunshine. Later we open a bottle of excellent red Faugères wine from the Languedoc and have beefburger and tomato for tea. We sit outside as the evening darkens, heavy navy blue clouds coming our way from the Vosges. It doesn’t rain but it doesn’t look good! We decide to put everything away again and wind the awning in, later when the rain comes, we are glad we did.
Day 2 at Municipal Aire le Clos Chaume, Le Thilllot
Rain falls very heavily on and off all night, waking us from time to time. By 7.00am the rain has stopped and although it is heavy cloud the lightness in the east suggests it will be a fine day, later it is. We shower and breakfast and walk the mile along the road to the village of Le Thillot. An unremarkable village, although there are two boulangerie and an excellent charcuterie.
Today we just look and note how many shops are closed and many houses look very run-down and shabby. A sign of the times. By lunch time we have plenty of warm sunshine and a pleasant temperature of 20°C. Gill cooks the piece of smoked pork bought from U-Express as advised… to boil it for one hour in water. It smells absolutely delicious. We sit all afternoon in warm sunshine under the awning with the ever-changing view over the lake as the sun moves around. Gill continues to proof read the Family History book she has written and Mr C. does some more watercolour painting of trees using monochrome (shades of grey) with some interesting results… some good, some so bad he rips them up!
Later we enjoy a bottle of Auxerois, a white wine from the Fritsch winery at Marlenheim and salad with the smoked ham cooked earlier and ripe figs. We sit long into the dusk, the sky is clear and later the stars are sharp pinpoints of light in a black sky.
Day 3 at Municipal Aire le Clos Chaume, Le Thilllot
It is cold when we wake, 14°C inside Hymer which I think is what wakes me. I get up and make coffee, outside it is 12°C and so clear that everything is in sharp definition. I go outside walking across the grass wet with dew to take a photograph of the lake. The sun is not quite risen over the mountains, the mauve and grey tints on the still lake are distorted by a thin mist that rolls like steam across its surface. Everything is totally still and silent. I listen and hear the sparrows chattering away across the lake. It is a moment to marvel at and hold in one’s mind for later times like the dark rainy days of winter.
We shower and breakfast looking long at the marvellous view of the lake, mist now clearing and sun reflecting the view like a mirror on the totally still surface of the water. We contemplate what we should do today, but not for long. Looking at the view and the blue and cloudless sky, we agree another day here at Le Thillot, the Municipal Campsite of Clos de Chaume is one of the best small campsites we have stayed at. A few morning jobs keep us occupied, wash up, tidy up and sweep out Hymer. It looks a lot better. After coffee MrC. wanders down to reception and I spend some time on creative writing: an historical piece based on the setting here and an unexpected meeting in the forest.
After lunch we put the awning out and sit in the shade, I writing and Mr C. reading. It is hot and sunny. Another German camper van arrives and parks next to us; it is so quiet and tranquil, there are four tourers and four static caravans occupied. Later we open a bottle of Muscat d’Alsace from U-Express supermarket. It is excellent and we enjoy drinking it with thin slices of baguette and crab rillette sitting till dusk and enjoying the ambiance at the end of the day.
Later I cook stirfry using the last of the mushrooms and courgette and the ham cooked yesterday. Perhaps it because we are outside but it is delicious!
Day 4 at Municipal Aire le Clos Chaume, Le Thilllot
Warmer when we wake, 19°C inside Hymer, 13°C outside and another sunny day. We have another dilemma: to stay or travel on? We check the weather forecast, sunny today with rain tonight and tomorrow, we stay today and move on tomorrow. A quick consultation with Google maps: we have five more days before our crossing back to england, four of those travelling at about 160km a day gives another day here.
Later we put out the table and chairs, our German neighbours leave, together with a French van from the other end of our row. Now just two motorhomes left along the lake. At 12.00 midday the church bells in Le Thillot chime out that it is time for mass to the people of the town. We spend another very relaxing day sitting by the lake reading/writing and very aware that our French trip-2 is drawing to an end.
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