July 19,2018
The Alsace region of Northeastern France has a rich history, with roots in both French and German culture. The area is dotted with Medieval castles and quaint villages. It is also home to the Northern Vosges Regional Park, a UNESCO Biosphere with lush forests. We spent six days hiking a little over 100 kilometers (65 miles total) on the northern two-thirds of the GR53 trail.
France has an extensive trail system, which includes the long-distance Grandes Randonnees (GR) paths. We were attracted to the northern portion of the GR53 because it was primarily in the regional park and had access to many of the castles. There is not much material in English available on the route, but I was able to purchase a book, as well as find a gpx file to download to our phones, so that we would stay on track.
Our GR53 trek route
We learned that the trail was lightly traveled, but figured since it was mid-July, and the start of summer vacations in much of Europe, we would book all of our accommodations ahead of time. The book broke the trek into 7 to 12 mile stages that ended each night in a village, making it easy to find places to stay.
Before heading to the Alsace region, we spent a couple of nights in the beautiful city of Lyon, France’s third largest. We enjoyed exploring Fourviere Hill and Vieux Lyon (the city’s old center) and walking through the traboules (secret passageways).
Arriving for a Bastille Day Party
From Lyon we took a high-speed TGV to Strasbourg and then changed to a regional train bound for the village of Wissembourg, right on the French-German border. We were captivated by the timber-framed homes with flower-filled window boxes that lined the main street. We happened to arrive the night before Bastille Day (commemorating the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution). There was a party in the main square. We stopped by to listen to some music and enjoy a beer before going back to our guesthouse for a good night’s sleep before beginning our trek the next day.
Exploring a Myriad of Castles
The first day’s hike was only about seven miles, so we took our time leaving in the morning. The trail left Wissembourg and immediately climbed into the foothills. It wound through a bushy forest on dirt roads and ever narrower paths, descending to reach one village before climbing again. Typical of all our days, we saw only three other multi-day trekkers and just a few day hikers. The solitude was refreshing after all the people we had encountered on the Camino Portugues.
On the second day of hiking we entered the Vosges Mountains and the trail began a common theme that we had until our final day: ascending up hillsides to castles perched on rocky outcrops, descending to villages along rivers, and repeating. Even though the highest point of our trek was at a little less than 2,000 feet, our elevation gain and loss was more than that on these days.
We explored five castles alone on the second day, with some right on the trail and others as much as a 15 minute excursion down an adjacent path. Many of the castles were built from the 13th century on, when Alsace consisted of a series of local landowners vying for power. Some castles only had a few rocky pillars remaining. Others had archways and rooms, with stairs and ladders to facilitate exploration.
Several castles (mainly near villages) were better restored and could be visited for a small fee. In all, we stopped at about 15 of the approximately 30 to 40 castles in the region.
Enjoying Alsace Food and Hospitality
Our village stays included several quaint hotels. Several of the accommodations also served dinner, so we usually ate the set three-course meal there. On our second night, France won the World Cup soccer final and all the dinner guests were offered a celebratory glass of champagne with our first course.
Our meals included delicious meat and potato entrees. We had duck, veal, and Chicken Cordon Bleu on successive nights. First courses included pate or vegetable soup, and we had fruit tarts or ice cream for dessert. Excellent Alsace wine accompanied our dinners as well.
Staying on Course in the Forest
Back on the trail, we continued to weave our way through forests that changed to lush underlying ferns and moss and we hiked south. The forest was managed, meaning we saw some logging, but that didn’t detract from its overall beauty.
The weather was warm and humid, making afternoon climbs in the forest feel a little stifling. We also received our first significant precipitation, resulting in us walking one afternoon for about 1 ½ hours in steady rain. Because we were in such dense forest we didn’t get soaked, and our gear stayed dry in our backpacks.
The trail was not as well marked as we would have liked, and it was too easy to make a wrong turn. There were also many other trails crossing our path. Fortunately, having the gpx track on our phones saved us from getting too far off trail.
Coping with the French (and German) Language
Since we were in a part of France not frequented by many Americans, we knew that there would not be much English spoken. And at the majority of our accommodations, our assumptions were correct. But, because of the region’s history, both French and German were spoken in many places. We got along with the few French words we knew, as well as some college German that I had brushed up on before leaving home.
In one particular village we chose to stay at a Gite d’etapes. This particular accommodation was similar to a hostel and administered by the town for walkers and cyclists. We needed to call a phone number between 5:00 and 7:00 pm to have someone check us in and assign us to a room. I made the call on my cell phone, and, since the woman spoke no English, I used my basic German to give her my name and let her know we had arrived. We were the only ones there that night and had a four-person room to ourselves.
The last day of our trek was much like our first, with the trail leaving the Northern Vosges and traversing through the foothills until we arrived in the city of Saverne. After finishing in the main square, we walked a few blocks to the train station and traveled a short distance to Strasbourg, the capital city of the Grand Est region (which includes Alsace). There, we had a celebratory dinner and walked around the historic Grande Ile city center.
We found the GR53 to be unique in its access to the numerous castles that we saw over our six day hike. The lack of other hikers, beautiful forests, and small villages made us feel that we had discovered a truly off the beaten path trekking experience.
After a weekend in Munich, Germany, we will travel to the German-Austrian border to begin our next trek up the Lech River in the Austrian Alps.
To hear more of our impressions from our GR53 hike, take a look at the video below.
Thanks for sharing. Google Translate (free !) can be downloaded to a smart phone and used off-line.
Hi Don,
Wonderful to hear from you! Yes, we have been using Google Translate. It is great and has saved us in a couple of situations. Thanks for mentioning it last time we saw you.