Day 10: Saverne

We try to have at least one rest day per week on these trips. Not only is it good to give the legs (and bum!) a rest, it is also nice to stay in one spot for more than one day. Alas, due to the route we chose and our ambitions with this trip, today was the first real opportunity we had to stay two nights in one place. But as we head deeper into Alsace, we’ll be doing more of this.

Saverne is a pretty, vibrant little town at the foot of the Vosges. I can see how on a different kind of trip, we could have spend a number of days here and planned some really nice trekking. The Club Vosgiens is an association that marks and maintains the many hiking trails in these mountains, and they do a really fine job. We set out this morning wanting to do a short hike up into the hills around the town—something that would give some different muscles a workout but nothing that would be too tiring, this being a rest day after all.

A room with a view

La Grande Rue

How to choose?!

After stopping at a bakery to pick up our morning snack, we stopped in at the tourist information office, where we were advised to hike up to the Château du Haut-Barr and given a very clear map and directions. The hike started at the lock on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin in the centre of Saverne and wound its way up through the streets of the town (where the roses were coming into bloom)  to the edge of the forest. After that, we were in the shade and very comfortable.

A rose among thorns

As we walked up, I remarked how pleasant it was to be hiking in June and not have to worry about mosquitoes; it was like August in Canada. After a fairly easy hour, we found ourselves at the Château, which, on this weekday in early June, was not particularly overrun with tourists. We spent a very pleasant hour exploring the ruins, admiring the spectacular views of the Vosges, Rhine valley and Black Forest in the distance, and eating our pastries.

Then we headed back down into town via the Tour de télégraphe Chappe and the Source du château, stopping to buy an ice cream before heading back to the apartment, where we had a short rest and then went out to do a little more exploring of the town itself. Then we came back to make supper, do one last load of laundry, and undertake some research for our next destination: Strasbourg.