In the first half, this stage runs mainly through urban areas. Through parks, along the Moselle and through alleys and paths behind houses. Then more and more through nature.
Rest days turn out to be only very subjective with us. It was a lot less than the 36 kilometers of the day before (we had a record: more than 50,000 steps in 1 day!) but with almost 20,000 steps we still covered quite a few kilometers… The image we had of Metz was that it would be an unattractive industrial city, but that turned out to be slightly different! The city center is full of nice alleys, old buildings and with an impressive cathedral in the middle. What is also striking is that the downtown area is almost exclusively home to small boutiques and hardly any large retail chains. Very nice to look at, but we won’t buy anything there anyway; it’s all way too heavy.
So to supplement our equipment, we visited a Decathlon and another outdoor shop (Chullanka) about 5 kilometers outside the city center.
Well prepared, we begin the Metz-Nancy stretch. Tonight we were actually supposed to spend the night in a treehouse hotel, but unfortunately it turns out other hikers beat us to it; the 3 huts are already fully booked. After some research and consulting Google Maps again, we see that there is a train station in the village at the end of the next stages, which will take us back to Metz. This does make things a bit easier, since the other villages only provide small hotels. And we actually really prefer camping rather than sitting in a hotel room, especially after a 25°C hike. Another advantage: this morning we set off feather light with 2 daypacks filled with enough water and our lunch to Ancy-Dornot, a short stage of 19 kilometers.
At first, the stage runs through urban parks along the Moselle. After a while we leave the urban area more and more and after about 8 kilometers we turn away from the Moselle to walk up the slope of the river valley on the west side. At the top at Scy-Chazelles, at the edge of a little church square under large platan and chestnut trees. We have beautiful views of Metz; perfect for a “pause-with-a-view.
We walk on and the trail soon descends again to the bottom of the valley, before going back up and following the edge of the slope. The small paths mostly run behind the gardens of houses, and we pass a few small villages. In one of these villages, Jussy, we pass a magnificent “lavoir. An old washing place, often located at a spring, where the inhabitants used to come to wash clothes. In many places in France, these lavoirs are well preserved and are beautiful places in village centers. They haven’t been used for a long time, but the water is so wonderfully cool and clear (sometimes it’s even drinking water), that it’s an ideal place to refresh your hands and face on these hot days.
The rest of the walk we enjoy the little alleys and antiquities in the villages, until we arrive at the station in Ancy-Dornot. It feels a bit awkward to take a train and not pitch the tent, but this stage ran smoothly and for once we will be easy and on time with showering and cooking tonight.
We buy a ticket and check the train tables to see what time the train leaves. Oops, not for over 2 hours… and because the station is currently being renovated, there are no buses leaving either… Hmmm, so that ‘on time’ today after all. Sitting in a station for more than 2 hours waiting for the train is not really our thing, and since we are only 5 kilometers from the shopping center where we visited Decathlon yesterday (at least there is a bus to Metz from there), we decide to walk there. Next time we better check what time the train leaves before we buy a ticket, haha!
After recovering at the campground and freshening up a couple of hours later, we go for a bite to eat in the busy city. Early tomorrow we will take the train again to where we would have boarded today….
