Jura

We're past the halfway point of our route to Nice and enter the Jura — an ancient karst mountain range on the French-Swiss border. But first we walk 80 kilometres through the Burgundian Gate: the flat area between the Vosges and the Jura, where we explore abandoned forts and pass the 1,000 kilometre mark after a night with hailstones the size of golf balls.

The Jura is completely new to us, and exceeds every expectation. We descend the Échelles de la Mort — 160 metres of metal ladders against a cliff face, once a smuggling route. We sleep in a perfectly equipped fisherman's hut in the middle of the wilderness, and discover that the famous Saut du Doubs waterfall has completely dried up — just bare rock where 27 metres of water should be falling.

On Mont le Grand Taureau we walk along a breathtaking ridge with views in every direction — "the GR5 delivers: this is MAGNIFICENT!" And in the evening we order pizza at the campsite. At a musical tent camp with a yurt and tipi we listen to gypsy music while the full moon rises.

On July 14th — Bastille Day — we descend to Lake Geneva at Nyon. The crystal-blue water with the Alps in the background leaves us speechless. We take the boat across: to France, to the Alps. The Jura has surprised, enchanted and spoiled us. And now the highest mountain range in Western Europe awaits.