From Reims to Champlitte approx 260 km
Depending on the selected route and or the guide book used this distance varies.
We arrived in Reims on Saturday 11th of May. It is a beautiful city located in the region of Champagne-Ardenne that once was the diplomatic centre of France. It is located 129 kilometres southeast of Paris. We stayed at a youth hostel called International House and made sure that we visited some of the best exhibits of this city.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame de Reims is one of the most stunning masterpieces of 13th century Gothic art. It is a national shrine of France where King Clovis was baptised in 496 or 498. Numerous Kings were crowned here since then. A symbol of motherland during World War 1, and of Franco-German reconciliation in 1961 when President Charles De Gaulle of France and Chancellor Adenauer of Germany cemented peace and cooperation in this Cathedral.
Nowadays Reims is a big Touristic city with a cute shopping centre that presents to the visitors the regional products such us Champaign, cheese, pates etc.. Away from the centre you find picturesque leafy areas and a lovely river that crosses the city. Rich in history Reims exhibits many beautiful ancient buildings of varied architecture and this city is guardian of many treasures that can be found in the Museum of the Chatedral.
We stayed in Reims an extra day to visit our “friends ” at SFR (Telecommunications in France), as our problems with communication systems continues. In honest truth after our experiences with telecommunications in France we will never complain about Telstra again.
Our visit to Reims was enjoyable and allowed some rest and house keeping. We met quite a few people and must say that French people are the most friendly and helpful.
We left Reims hoping to reach Verzy in the evening. Leaving the city we walked beside the canal. It was a lovely path with the water and houseboats on our left and green woods on our right. Unfortunately we could not get a picture of the cathedral in the blog as a result of our technical issues experienced.
Photo : Reims canal de l’ Aisne a la Marne and the houseboats
The sky had cloud cover most of the day but the way was beautiful and not too difficult. For many hours we walked through vineyards. There are 38000 hectares of vineyards in this area to be precise. All the grapes produced here go to the making of champagne and the most famous names are written on “milestones” to indicate the area of the grapes that they own.
Photo: The most recognised Champagne brands mark their vignards
We stopped to eat our lunch of tomato sandwich, nuts and bananas and continued our journey across more vineyards. After walking approx 17.5 km and crossing Saint Leonard, Sillery and Verzernay we reached Verzy, our destination. A few km before Verzy we saw a windmill on the hill.
Photo: the windmill on the top of this hill is a landmark of the area
In Verzy we stayed at a place owned by Alain and Odile Lallement a couple whose family have made champagne for generations in the area. They complement their business with a B&B and receive pilgrims that pass through the area. We had a comfortable night and good breakfast before hitting the road again in the direction to Conde-sur-Marne.
Photo: Vinyards at Verzy
The way to Conde-sur-Marne was pleasant and relatively easy. We passed a village called Ambonnay where we found a church originally dedicated to Saint Remi. It was built originally by the Moines Templiers (Templars) de la Commanderie de Jerusalem. By the 16th century some Gothic features were added.
Photo: one of the few Templar churches still standing in France
At the entrance of Ambonnay We found a fountain installed in 1865, unique of its kind in Napoleon lll style this is one of the relics protected by international authorities.
After Ambonnay, for the first time, we saw a strange machine with narrow tyres on tall legs that straddled the vines and was clearing the weeds between the rows of grape vines. Who ever designed this equipment was a genius . This was one of the many pieces of equipment that help the producer to reduce cost. The whole of this region is obviously more affluent than some of the earlier ones presumably there is good money in producing Champagne.
Photo: house used as habitation, production, outlet
The vignards houses are more sophisticated and some of them have real mansions. The interesting thing is that many of the producers had their manufacturing equipment close or by the side of their mansions. Also their sales rooms and very professional personnel are always available to do tasting and show the facilities.
Photo: on the way to Conde-sur-Marne
We arrived in Conde-sur-Marne a comparatively poor village compared with the recently visited ones. We stayed in a farm house where the people were selling potatoes and Asparagus from the house. They took in pilgrims and travellers to augment their income.
At this stage we became aware that after our next stop the distances between available accommodation was fluctuating between 36 and 46 kilometres so we had to revise our route and seek advice from the Tourist Offices.
Photo:old medieval church at Conde-sur-Marne
We left Conde-sur-Marne that morning assuming that by early afternoon we were going to be at Chalons-en-Champagne 20km Southeast. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and walked along the canal through beautiful bushland 12 km in the wrong direction towards Epernay. Of course we needed to undo the way and after walking 8 kms back,we stopped at Tours-sur-Marne, a delightful village. We called at a boutique hotel to ask for help and luckily the owner arranged a lift for us with one of his employees so we managed to reach Chalons-en-Champagne where we had the bookings for the evening. This was yet another example of a French person going out of his way to help us – he even gave us a cup of coffee.
Photo: Marne river
Soon after arriving in Chalons-en-Champagne it started to rain and was cold. We went to the Office of Tourism to find information just in the nick of time as they close at 7 pm. As usual they had no information on the Via Francigena, however they recommended that to get maps we should call at the Cathedral that was open for evening services. We went just to fill in time and after finishing there we walked to our accommodation place. By then the rain was getting quite heavy and darkness was setting in. We did not realise that the accommodation was outside the centre of town and we walked quite a way before finding the place. We arrived so late that we could not walk around the city. Next morning still under menacing skies we left and walked through the town visiting a couple of places to take some pictures and get a bit of information on the city’s history.
Chalon-en-Champagne is a big city by French standards. It has a population of around 50,000 and is a business and cultural Centre. Situated on the Via Agrippa it dates to the Gallo-Roman times. They have beautiful Catholic Churches 6 of them to be precise, dating from the 11th to 17th century. The styles are mainly Gothic, Roman and the style know as Art Nouveaux which consist mainly of floral motives used in the facades and iron gates.
Other points of interest are the fountains, parks and gardens, in addition in this city we found the timber-framed houses that date to the 15th century.
No doubt about the wealth of this city and most of the economy. In the beginning the wealth especially came from the making of wines and champagnes.
So after looking at Chalons-en-Champagne city centre where all the big architectural relics are, we walked to the station and left to Vitry-le-Francoise at midday (only one train that day) and 15 min later we had reached our destination.
Photo: chalons-on- champagne
Last night we decided that we needed to change the route and find the areas where accommodation is found and perhaps we should re-join the Alison Raju’s way even though she uses main roads too often. Unfortunately to do that we needed to catch a train and go to Vitry-Le-Francois and from there we caught a train to Chaumont changed trains to go back up North west to get back on track to Bar-sur-Aube
This meant that we skipped about 25 km in this area. We do not feel good about this but we had no choice. No connection for Bar-sur-Aube was available as it was a festive day therefore everything stops or activities are reduced.
At Vitry-Le-Francois we stayed at Au Bonne Sejour a little hotel recommended by the Pilgrimstorome publication. It was obvious that the Hotel had a wing for the pilgrims with the very basics and no heating, however the bed was comfortable and the shower also was excellent. Later that day we found the location of a laundromat and ventured out of the hotel to a freezing wind and cloudy day; the weather was not welcoming.
Vitry-le-Francoise is a commune in the Marne Department in the North east of France. The Marne is one of the big Rivers of the north of France.
This is a lovely place. In one way it was good to stay in this area. Interesting history they were taken by the Germans during the WWI and their Cathedral was used as a hospital for their soldiers. They still remember the war and don’t want to forget and the city has many war memorials. Their houses show that it is a relatively wealthy area. They get their riches mainly from agriculture rather than cattle so there are not many flies in the area. The gardens in each house rich or poor are absolutely amazing. They have a fantastic park by the Town Hall full of flowers and luxuriant trees. The town hall was an old palace with a huge fountain which gives the area a touch of elegance.
We called at the Market to buy some fruit and tomatoes and again this was an experience, we were able to see so many interesting vegetables, cheeses, local artisan bread, pate etc.
In this village for the first time we have seen a Chinese /Singaporean take away.
Photo: Chathedral Vitry-de-Francois
Finally we caught the train to go to Bar-sur-Aube not without a complication we learned that it was necessary to change trains at Chaumont one of the biggest centres of this region and the time to do the transfer was to be 7min.
We arrived to Bar-sur-Aube around 3pm after a pleasant ride and what a shock this village has remained stuck in the past. From their beginnings they were not very fortunate. Atila burnt this village and it had to be reconstructed. Remains of the Iron Age have been found in this area. The churches are closed because they are unsafe and very few people know what is going on around. Under Charles the Bald several coins were issued with the name of the city on the back. Of course it means that they have seen better times. Surrounded by hills and vineyards it is situated on the banks of the Aube river which gives some beauty to this unspectacular place.
Photo: Aube river at Bar-sur-Aube
Next day we walked to Longchamp-sur-Aujon a very little village with lovely people and charming surroundings. The way was short (18 km)and beautiful but quite difficult. It was up and down up and down. The track was white and inviting.
Photo: the most challenging area Steep Undulating roads
We were constantly surrounded by fields of green crops and woods. We crossed a lovely village Baroville which was at the bottom of the valley. We crossed it slowly trying to conserve energy as we knew that at the other side we would need to climb one of the most challenging hills yet. Most of the way was flanked by beautiful trees and that helped us to manage the heat.
This part of the Via Francigena is one of the difficult ones the topography is undulating, reaches high points and then you go into a deep, steep descent. Thank God the beauty around helped us to continue otherwise we might give up. An interesting point was reached where we could see kilometres and kilometres of vineyards from a high viewpoint. it was was amazing. Now the breeze was helping very much as today the temperature has been a bit higher than normal. Also the reflection from the white road increased the heat.
Photo: this was the top of the ridge at Baroville
We went down to the bottom of the steep hill only to climb up to the other ridge which was higher than the previous one. Oh ! Our legs knew then that we were trekking, the back pack felt so heavy. From the second ridge we could see what was ahead, this was somewhat captured in the picture below.
Photo: the long changing path to Longchamp-sur-Aube
We went across several Villages, cute tidy, lot of activity in the fields. In some areas they were ploughing the soil in others cleaning the weeds around the vines, everyone was so busy. We passed a cementery sitting quietly beside an old church. Even this managed to look happy with the gardens that they have set between the graves.
Well the only problem was that none of the villages had places to get food or coffee, luckily we had our cut lunch and we sat under some trees and had a break before continuing the track leading us to our destination.
We were getting tired as the temperature was rising, the total km walked today were not many but the road was hard and no kidding we are a bit “Over the Hill” after all.
Mid afternoon we reached Clairvaux a place to visit as it has a beautiful Abby of the nuns Of the Fraternite Saint Bernard, and also next to them is a jail.
The nuns put up the families of the prisoners for the night and are always prepared to take pilgrims if they have vacancies. The Abby founded in 1115 is very beautiful and is in the process of renovation to be opened to the public. They have there also a hostel for women only.
The arrival to the B&B Chez Jo was very opportune as our legs needed a rest. Finally we were here and we had a nice place to rest for the night. Jo was a man that had come out of the hippie era, I guess he was in his late sixties he wore a pony tail and loose shirt with colourful flowers. In addition to look after his albergue he was an artist, the walls in the albergue exhibited a lot of his work. Nice chap that Jo !! very helpful. His wife had a green thumb and their garden was quite a show as included exotics varieties of plants.
We had no dinner that night as for that purpose it was necessary to leave the house and walk to the town centre and we were exhausted. Next morning we had breaky and continued on hoping to get accommodation at Chateauvillain . It is getting more and more difficult to get accomodation and this is somewhat frustrating.
Chez Jo was an excellent place to stay. Affordable price, really nice welcome and good breakfast. Got it through the net.
Photo: Fontaine one of the Villages today
Next day we walked to Chateauvillain a fortified town at the river Aujon, it has a lot of medieval interest. Twenty of the original 60 towers from 12 to 14th century fortifications are still standing as are their three gates. The Porte Saint Jacke, the Porte Madame and one other. Their dovecoat can house 3000 birds and is the second biggest in France. We got accommodation in the municipality pilgrims centre, very basic but we were grateful to have it as there it is not any other place.
Photo: arriving to the Roman Porte to enter Chateauxvillan
Today’s experience was magnificent. We left Chateauxvillain through the Porte Madam and walked into the most exquisite Parc de Dames that is inhabited by more than 100 deers that roam freely. As we entered the park we saw a couple of young deer munching their morning grass. They looked so sweet but of course we could not get close to them because they are timid and get afraid. We did not see any more – most probably because a contributing falctor “repairs and maintenance of the track”. We walked through that amazing forest then continued the way for about 24km until we reached our destination. We must say that those kilometres were across woods and fields of crops, by now the wheat is commencing to change colour and in some areas the golden touches are becoming evident.
Photo: leaving chateauxvillian crossing the Parc de Dame
( you are supposed to see a young deer in the photo good luck)
Because the walk of the day was long we arrived at the convent of the Benedictine nuns fairly close to the seven o’clock dinner time that is common in France. On the way we found that past midday the rain started to settle in so we stopped at a local restaurant and had a really good lunch at Arc-en-Barrois. This town was very beautiful and affluent. On the way through, the mansions with big parks and gardens were difficult to ignore. We took many pictures and frequently stopped to admire flowers and architecture. It was unexpected to find such a cute and busy village nested in the Forest area where you were able to get food and also they have a supermarket, a chemist etc.
We left the village, crossed the river Aujon and passed two of the old Lavoirs (public washing places) used by the locals to wash their clothes and also for animals to drink water.
Photo: on the way to saint-Loup-sur-Aujon
When we got to Saint Loup-sur-Aujon in the late afternoon we could see from the distance the steeple of the convent church as the way passed by the entrance to the Pilgrims (French Pelerins) only accommodation centre. Benedictines de Jesus Christ nuns have recently (2012) been in charge of this beautiful convent.
Photo: convent Saint Loup-sue-Aujon
They welcome pilgrims and take such care of them as you could not believe. They provide a very good bed with hot shower, plus dinner the day of arrival and breakfast next morning. Just as you are leaving they give you a packed lunch to take.
The big surprise was that Mother Marrilla the Mother Superior of the congregation in Saint Loup is an Australian/Chinese nun from Carlingford, Sydney. There was another two Australian nuns plus two nuns from Phillipines and four from South America.
Photo: Mother Marrilla and us
( Australian nun in charge of the Monastery )
We also communicated very much with Mother Narcisa from Ecuador. They offered us Vegemite with toast and a cup of tea on arrival. We enjoyed the Vespers before dinner which were sung at the church. The atmosphere was incredibly cheerful and relaxed. These nuns were so happy. Next morning we started the next stage of our route after a warm goodbye.
Photo: on the way to Longres
On the 21st of May after leaving the convent we took the via going to Langres a bigger place that is counted as one of the most beautiful 100 villages of France. After 22 arduous kilometres we arrived at this old city situated on the top of a hill where they displayed a magnificent cathedral that you can see from the far distance. The highlights of this stage were the beautiful flowers which we found by the way and we also noticed that this is more of the dairy area so you see the cows grazing in beautiful green pastures, as you go south. Indeed you know that you are in dairy country for the amount of flies has increased considerably in the last couple of days.
Richard has been monitoring the progress of the wheat and canola plantations and both crops are getting close to harvest time.
As we approach Langres the uphill stretches of road were increasing, hence we were feeling the pinch. At the time that we approached the destination we realised that the last two kilometres was just steeply up and up.
Langres is a Gallo Roman fortified town built on a hill and surrounded by walls with ramparts and several gates. After climbing the steep hill we approached one of the entrance gates and reached the centre of the town. With the help of some good Samaritans we found the Cathedral and the Presbytery which was our place for the night. The Presbytery accommodation is provided by the Church to pilgrims only; therefore you have to show credentials here and for €8 per person we were given bed and shower – it was not bad. After leaving our luggage in the accommodation place we went to see some of the town and grab some food before it was too late as the next stage is a long one and we are tired.
Langres is a very interesting town. It is the birthplace of Diderot one of the celebrated French writers. Their Cathedral dates to the 12th century and among the relics they show a polychrome sculpture scene Raising of Lazarus .We left Langres for our destination Chalindrey.
Photo: portal out of the walled city
Today is Friday 22nd of May and we will walk only 18 km unfortunately it will be with lots of challenging hills. We will stop for the night at 3km out of a village called Chalindrey because there is no other accommodation available.The route was pleasant most of the way, after 8km we reached Balesme-sur-Marne a little village which did not have much in the way of facilities.
The next 10 km were more challenging but offered so much beauty, yellow canola fields side by side with silky looking wheat and grass areas which exhibited different tones of green. What a gift to our eyes!! Most of the way had lovely areas of trees which were well preserved and cared for. After approximately 3 hrs we reached Chalendrey. On arrival we entered the Via National and walked it until the end of the town without being able to find a supermarket or a cafe to get something to eat. Finally we noticed that there was a bar near the church so we entered only to find that they only sell betting tickets, grog and coffee, no food. The lady who was serving pointed us in the direction to a little plaza where a little bread shop was open and we where able to get pies and soft drinks or water. Of course we got what was offered and went across to the little green public area and sat to have our lunch.
The next thing was that a bunch of bees sorounded us and for few seconds we thought the worst. We did not blink and sat without moving and the bees soon left in another direction. Phew!!!
Lunch finished we went back to Via Natonale in the direction of Les Achots an albergue 3 kms past the town still walking the National. To find this place was a real challenge. There were no indications on the road and no one around new the albergue. Finally we called Serge the owner of the joint only to find out that he did not speak English or French only German, what a nightmare. Well don’t ask us how, but just when we were by the side of the road giving up and thinking about what next, a very old and dirty small wagon stopped by our side. Two fellows moving arms and hands indicated that we should follow them. So we did and five hundred meters after that we turned right and we walked a beautifull track and reached our destination. This was so funny.
The place was good they had a fire place with a roaring fire and Serge offered us a hot cup of tea or coffee before showing our rooms. The weather had changed and was so cold.
Photo: On the way to chalindrey
Saturday 23rd of May still moving South and the next 24km are promising. Information indicates that it will be easier than the last two days. We expect to reach Champlitte in the early afternoon. We plan to rest tomorrow Sunday.
Now we are leaving the department of the Haute Marne to enter the Haute Saone rivers area, hence leaving behind the Champagne region and entering the Franche-Comte . The Franche-Comte is noted by the very different architecture of their church towers which are dome-shaped and covered by multi-coulored enamel tiles. Also this area exhibits many outdoor communal facilities for washing clothes, Lavavo very popular in the past. During the day we have had indications that the Dairy Industry is very prosperous and many cheeses of renown are manufacture in this region..
This afternoon we will reach Champlitte 262 km south of Reims.
