The Voie Bleue from Charmes to Fontenoy-le-Château

Alan, our host, set off this morning in his camper van towards England to surprise his sister on her 80th birthday. He made sure to stop by the bakery beforehand to bring us fresh bread and croissants. Right at the start of today's stage we took a small detour to buy water at the Intermarché. Because of the thunderstorm forecast for 4 p.m. at our destination, we tried to make quick progress. Our tour led almost exclusively along waterways, the Canal des Vosges and the Côney river. Comfortable but very fast canal cycling. In Chavelot we found a large bakery where we had a quick coffee and bought all of our dinner.

A lovely bike ride with Axel from Charmes along the Moselle and the Vosges Canal to our campsite. Our wives were already waiting for us there with their motorhomes... Tomorrow we'll swap places – the wives by bike and us by motorhome...

The miracle of Épinal . . . the closer you get, the greater the distance indication on the cycle path signs. Yesterday we started at 101 km, then came 104 . . . 110 km; but we always rode in the right direction. Today it repeated itself with 29 km . . . after 10 km still 29, and then the jump downwards. Were the right signs not in stock 🤔 Otherwise, there is nothing to complain about on the way. The tires roll cleanly on the asphalt; signs provide information about the infrastructure (baker, supermarket, campsite, restaurant, bar) in the small hamlets along the way. The landscape is again very varied. Floodplain forest with many bird voices by the little river Coney to the right of the dam and to the left the sluggishly flowing Canal des Vosges. Near Girancourt, we reach the watershed between the Mediterranean and the North Sea, and from now on it's downhill. Again, some touring cyclists come towards us, the spring cyclists seem to love it. Lyon as a distant goal almost sounds like the Mediterranean and warmth. Épinal is not directly on the path and we skip it. After all, the Canal des Vosges ends a little north of Épinal in the Canal de la Moselle. And from now on, the natural Moselle river accompanies us to the right of the dam and the Canal de la Moselle to the left. Still impressed by the beauty of the Canal des Vosges, we don't like this section of the Voie bleue as much. Perhaps it's also due to the many industrial facilities we pass in a northerly direction. Speaking of north . . . our friend, the north (east) wind, puffs out its cheeks and blows against us again with more force. Charmes, the name says it all at the campsite "l'Île aux mille charmes". The best comes at the end. I have rarely encountered such a beautiful, generously laid out and well-kept campsite . . . and it has a huge area for touring cyclists with chill-out furniture, shade providers, and tables and benches for cooking and eating . . . we have earned that fair and square.