Pushed hard trying to make up 2 days worth of distance, 44 km, from Suippes to Reims. Recall that I went off route because of no hotels in those 44 km and the attractions at Chalons. I succeeded in 35.8 km (22.4 mi) today, so I added another 8.2 km to my "did not walk" subtotal. Comfortable climate and flat terrain made for an easy walk today, and above all, no worry about a place to sleep tonight!

Not sure who's counting, except my sandals whose treads are fast wearing out, but I've actually already walked ~720 mi with ~1200 to go. No light at the end of the tunnel yet! But it's getting easier--not fighting any problems nor the dreaded heat yet! Am taking 3 to 5 magnesium supplement pills a day to keep from getting cramps--the muscles let me know when to take the pill!

The signs remind me that I'm in France's Champagne Region, but I haven't tried any. Alcohol, even beer during the day, doesn't react well.

The French military cemetery at the town of Sillery contains over 10,000 graves from WW I. What makes this cemetery different is the chapel-Mausoleum, dedicated to the MIAs. You can barely see it in the overall photo, but the chapel is surmounted by a tall lantern intended to contain an eternal flame. The chapel, after researching it, is unusual for structures in a nécropole nationale, because it's an accomplished Art Déco design and it was, in fact, one of two structures exhibited by the city of Reims at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (the other being the Carnegie Library). Where my walks take me!

Four magnificent churches in one day (including two cathedrals) is like getting four aces in poker. You're over-joyed and don't know how to react. Should you be modest or gloat! I still can't believe their majestic beauty where Gothic at its best is about replacing stone walls with soaring panes of glass and letting the light enter where it was blocked before.

I started with Notre Dame in Chalons (the photo with me in front of it), met a man who did the Camino from his home town in western France (he's also in the same quad), then visited their Cathedral (St Etiene--St Stevens) is a prime example of Gothic achieving its goal (stone to glass).

St Etiene is in the second quad finishing with a pic of a happy train I took to Reims. After dropping off my backpack at the CIS Hostel, I went to their Cathedral which in 2011 celebrated its 800th Anniversary! The stained glass panels were overwhelming--all of course modern works that replaced fire and war damage. It took me two hours just to settle my senses down and keep me focused on a few I especially liked. The left pic in the quad is by Marc Chagal, and the right pic is by Imi Knoebel that flanks Chagal's pane on both sides and was inaugurated in 2011.

The special historical treat, however, came at the Basilica of St Remi, where in 498 he (as bishop) baptized Clovis, the first king of the Franks. After that, a long chain of Carolingian Kings followed. Mind you, the church that stood here was a predecessor church to today's basilica, but St Remi is interred in the Basilica's Sacrament Chapel not far from the altar.

Well, I guess I gloated. Tomorrow it's back to walking (backtracking).

I continued to follow the Way of Liberty (French troops coming home after France was liberated in WW II) and also the signs pointing to WW I battle sites. The last theme was field after field of grain and silos built even for train entry and pick-up--had to capture that scene. The WW theme is everywhere including a mural on a house long since deserted, but the mural seems to live on.

After walking 29.2 km (18.3 mi) and then some because of a turn I missed, I arrived at The town of Suippes. It was comfortably cool, but very windy on the plateaus. I had expected no hotels in Suippes, although the military post there gave me false hopes, so I caught a bus to the off-route town of Chalons-en-Champagne. At Chalons, I didn't like what Booking.com had to offer. So I headed to the office de tourisme which had several options including a relatively new youth hostel--that's where I'm staying for 20€. I decided also to book the youth hostel in Reims and use it as a base while walking back to make up and forward one day. That takes the hotel stress out of the equation!

Since there were no hotels in Dombasle and it was Sunday with no reasonable bus service, the B&B host drove me the 15 km (9 mi) there where I picked up the other 25 km (15,6 mi) on foot. Comfortably cool on a country road for much of the way, then back to D603 (also 2-lane but more travelled). The D603 is dubbed the "Way to Freedom" with periodic concrete meter-high markers where the troops came home after WW II. The town of Claremont en Argonne typifies the memorials erected for their fallen heroes.

I've boxed myself in again with no hotel for tomorrow night. But luckily it will be Monday with good train/bus to a place that has a place to stay. It's an iterative process with four apps: my PocketEarth with my route/map; Rail Planner that will find my bus/rail connections within Europe; Safari/Booking.com that will find me a place to stay; and GoogleMaps that graphically shows the places to stay. It sounds easy, but can take me up to three hours to make it work.

Great walk--nice and cool with rain for about half of it. Then it all came crashing down when my budget hotel (Ibis) didn't have my reservation that I thought I had. I squirmed for four hours trying to get something other than sleeping under a tree. Problem was that every one of Verdun's dozen or so hotels was booked due to a huge music fete. I tried working with the Tourism Office to no avail. Finally walked the 2 miles from Ibis to the Tourism Office where a second call to a B&B opened up a room for me. Incredible! I'm with a wonderful family--he's retired military (helicopter logistics support for 35 years).

Wish I had more time to explore Verdun that's so heavily steeped in WW I battle history, the Argonne forest all around. Coming here I walked by a somber, plain-looking German cemetery with WW I casualties that pretty much captured the mood of the bloody battles fought in this region.

The pic shows the old city bastion on the Meuse River and one of several monuments honoring WW I heroes. The other one the music stage set for evening--thank goodness the rains let off.

Great day. Took the train back to make up walking what I missed yesterday (had to do that because of hotel availability). Came up 6 km short--so I walked 28 km (17.5 mi) with reduced backpack weight--just left many things in the room that I ended up renting for two nights. BTW, check the picture out for how to tell a pilgrim is renting a hotel room. (Yes, I bring clothes line and pins and always unpack everything!)

I knew it was going to be a good day when the train conductor let me ride free to my launch point for walking back. Then midway I stopped at--you guessed it--a McDonalds for a cafe-au-lait (con leche), free Wi-Fi, and read the BREXIT news. I still can't believe that the UK left the EU.

Also saw this "look-out" house for two. Took a lunch break there and wanted to thank someone for building it--no one in sight.

The 21-km (13 mi) walk went well, although the day was well on its way toward reaching close to 90 deg. Then nothing went well until checking into a hotel 12+ hrs after checking out this morning. It was one of those days, but I persevered and all turned out well. It all had to do with securing a hotel. Only hotel available was 34 km down the road--had to get there by train that only runs morning and evening. So I waited 4 hrs--good lesson in patience (the pic is at the open-air train station).

When I hit my destination on the train, the door wouldn't open and the train started taking off again. People saw the problem and got the train driver to stop it--all ended well. Tomorrow, I will take the train partway back to walk a big chunk of what I missed today.

I suppose the walk went well because I was following new waymarkers! Didn't drink any all day, but must have had at least four quarts of water that nearly all evaporated through my skin (you get my point).

Can't compare yesterday's highlight (Lorraine American Cemetery) with today's, the Metz Cathedral. Yesterday's stirred the emotions; today's stirred the senses.

The Metz Cathedral is overwhelming in height (135.9-foot high nave) and number and quality of beautiful stained glass windows. You simply can't get your "arms" around it, and so you're left standing in awe. All you can do is sit down and say a little prayer and then dare to capture the awesomeness with a few smartphone pictures--it's almost humiliatingly laughable. (I know I'll feel the same in Notre Dame de Paris and Chartres Cathedral.) The two pictures on the right are only of the transepts--so many more windows around the nave and the choir. And, yes, I managed to get my credentials stamped.

I haven't seen a St James (St Jacque) waymarker in two days. But Metz did not disappoint in its own way--take a look at the picture advertising their mall--no shell.

Took me 3+ hrs to walk only 12 km (7.5 mi) because a lot of it was in the narrow, wet-grass shoulder to avoid oncoming traffic. On arrival at St. Avold, I headed to a McDonald's for a coffee and to take advantage of their Wi-Fi (similar to using Starbucks on my Mission Walk).

After getting settled in my hotel (far nicer than "pilgrim's grade" but it's getting hard to find lodging), I did my chores and headed out for another mile to the Lorraine American Cemetery and Monument. It covers some 100 acres and contains 10,489 graves, more than any other American WW II cemetery in Europe. I relished in the chance to pay these brave souls my respect--they gave their ultimate to their country. The drizzle underlined the somberness of the moment! On the way out it occurred to me to ask for a stamp for my pilgrim's credentials--am I ever proud of that one.

Only one quad picture summarizes the day.

Headed out from the relatives' house by car for about 10 km to St. Arnual where I started my 20+ km trek on the German side to Freyming-Merlebach in France. It was good to be on the Camino again even though their house (some 20 or 30 km from the French border) turned out to be a local German St James Way destination, namely to the statue of Our Lady with Arrows.

And even though I saw many waymarkers in Germany, I didn't see one for quite a while in France. Had to trust my electronic map, which at times makes me nervous. So it was reassuring when I spotted my first shell in France (see pic). Also, finding a pilgrim-priced roof over my head (or any roof, for that matter) is getting more difficult: vacation time, small towns with no hotels, etc. But walking some of the peaceful paths, like the one in the pic, melts all your concerns--that's what it's all about.

My visit with Doro and Thomas is drawing to an end today, Father's Day. It was wonderful; we spent lots of quality-time together and as it turns out, their town of Heckendalheim is directly on the Jakobsweg (St James Way).

The first pic shows the actual destination site of the local St James way, the Holy Cross Chapel with the statue of Our Lady with the Arrows. We see the pilgrim's hostel on the grounds. This is about 10 km away.

The second pic shows some celebrating at the old town festival with local Saarland foods and foreign specialties like the Mexican food stand!

Third is the local Roostercrow Competition we attended today. Winner crowed most often during a 30-min period (73 times was the winner)! And fourth shows me getting my stamp at the local Heckendalheim Catholic Church. My head is still spinning.

Had a wonderful stay with the relatives in Reinsdorf, Germany (they are blood-related second cousin (Wolfgang) and second cousin once removed (Bianca) to the three Buckley daughters. Have attached a few highlight pictures at a wonderful dinner party at Bianca and Marcel's, and at a surprise mining museum with hard hat and all.

Left by train on the 16th of June to return to Kaiserslautern and stayed at the US Air Force Kaserne at Vogelweh, where incidentally my 32nd Brigade Army Air Defense Headquarters was located during my days of duty in 1964 to 1967--a step into the past some 50 years ago. It was the largest army brigade ever, and then became a Command.

Then on Friday, 17 June, I trekked to Hauptstuhl mostly in the rain some 20 km (12.5 mi). Thomas and Doro picked me up and hosted me at their house in Heckendalheim due east of Saarbrücken. Thomas is Helmut's nephew (Helmut being my mother's partner for nearly 40 years). I also took a picture of Helmut's mother who will turn 80 this year, along with Thomas. Special Bavarian dinner of Hachse (grilled ham hock).

We have lots planned this weekend and I will plan on walking again on Monday, June 20.

The blog master has taken R&R and will return Friday, the 17th of June. Incidentally, the secret to carrying a 4 lbs. backpack is to lose 20 lbs while packing a 24 lbs backpack--that's exactly my situation!

The rain caught up with me by the bucket load for nearly all 21.4 km (13.4 mi). The first pic shows the rain clouds starting to gang up on me! Münchweiler was my goal today, but their one hotel (pricey at that) was full with a large party. Choices to go on were also limited by availability of train, since I'm planning to visit relatives (the Wiests) tomorrow near Zwickau for a three-day R&R. That left the best choice to go to Kaiserslautern (more affectionately known as K-town when I was stationed in Germany '64-'67)--it was the 32nd Army Air Defense Brigade Hq.

A surprise awaited me in Kaiserslautern where they made a hotel like Alcatraz--not sure how many rooms are Spartan cell rooms, but I picked one, since it's most pilgrim-like. I love it. The Wi-Fi password is Al Capone--and I stumbled onto it through Booking.com (the modern pilgrim's tool) where it was the cheapest room in the city at 49€ with breakfast included.

Blew through the 25.5 km (16 mi) with several stops to arrive at my destination by 3:00 pm: Hotel Nagel at near pilgrim's rates. A dense bed of poppies welcomed me--can't asked for more.

Along the way, I passed through the town of Spiesheim and its vineyards that were first mentioned historically in 770. The walk was a mix between fields, farm roads, busy highway, and through vineyards--very pleasant because of the cloudiness, but NO rain.

Covered the 23 km (14.4 mi) in about 6 hrs with several rest stops, not much sun and easy paths (but I've learned to take the bike paths over those pointed out by my tracks which occasionally turn out risky). Then there's the flip side--signs can be decoys, like a "Pilgerweg " (pilgrims' way) and the Pariser Straße (the road to Paris)--yeah, right! So, my tendency is to follow the green arrows for the bikes. They're the most dependable--the one in the pic warns dog owners that baby doe deer are ahead and they should keeps their dogs on a leash.

Some highlights are the fountain I used to water down, rest and cool off (every pilgrim's dream). I also saw my first vineyard, and then they kept coming. The day ended with another Trail Angel--the owner of the Weingasthof Fritz gave me a special pilgrim's rate of 30€, incl breakfast--great room and superb Jägerschnitzel in his restaurant.

Covered 27.3 km (17 mi) to reach the Rhein River, cross it on a foot bridge tacked on next to a rail bridge, and walk a bit further to a modern youth hostel at the edge of the Mainz Volkspark (People's Park). The Main River that I've been following the past two days enters the Rhein just 200 m down stream of the bridge (see pic).

A few other things that particularly impressed me are: (1) walking under the Rhein-Main Airport landing flight path, (2) seeing my first Bike and Ride, (3) walking by a huge 2-D bar code, and (4) walking through the city of Rüsselsheim, home of the Opel car, a wholly owned GM subsidiary. But more, their lot was filled with a majority of Opels--is that brand loyalty or employer loyalty, or just a good deal??!

Although I expected more wall-to-wall city walking, I was surprised with nearly all of today either right along the Main River, or at the end through pleasant forest paths. The quad picture also shows the river boat congestion especially at the locks and the view of Frankfurt.

I found a hotel, Darmstädter Hof, that gave me a good pilgrims' discount (50€ down to 30€) and I graciously accepted--no frills, but most adequate!

I was only 30 min into my walk when I spotted this saying at a store--it so tickled me, that I had to include it in my post (I'm not suggesting that I felt the odds, nor that I'm changing my life, but we all know folks who would have benefited so much had they only felt the odds!

I noted a shift from small-town-field-forest-small-town trails to much less field and forest and instead, larger towns as I cross the Frankfurt-Mainz corridor (over the next 2 days). Then it'll be back to rural trails. The big transition today (and worthy of a pic) was to cross the Main River that feeds the Rhein in Mainz (be there in 2 days).

Although I aimed at staying in Mühlheim, the Booking.com hotel left me high and dry--it was permanently closed! So I walked an additional 2+ miles to the next town, Offenbach, to a Pakistani-owned hotel. With its large industrial sector, Offenbach is now one of those cities (126K inh.) with Germans being in the minority. This trend is expected to continue as the German fertility rate has plummeted to 1.4, some saying the lowest in the EU. (Recall, 2.1 is zero-growth!) Interestingly, I'm greeting more and more folks that look non-German, but I'm pleased to say that their response is mostly a happy one back!

By the way, I love the Döner Restaurants--good combo of salad,carbs, and meat! The pic of the Big Döner House says it all for me--it's just a surrogate for all those I've visited, a good number with Eddie.

Walked 23.4 km (14.6 mi) in the Kinzig Valley that channels its river by the same name, as well as the train, interstate freeway, and pilgrims' route. I seemed ushered downstream with the other modes with little to say about it. The picture captures the valley while looking over a wheat field.

I took a break about halfway in Gelnhausen, a typically German-looking town--but what else (see the pics, along with the third one that was shows a water stop already some 7,000 years ago, its use well established by travelers on the Via Regia). So, although I may not have had any blue shells marking my way, I'm convinced with that spring that the way is authentic.

I already had misgivings about finding a pilgrim-priced place since only a 3-star hotel was available--Booking.com listed it for $100! I ventured a look inside to see if they could help me find something more reasonable--I don't need all that luxury. Well, the receptionist, who was positive about finding something with the church, took it as a personal challenge for well over an hour. She was in disbelief that she couldn't find anything. Last resort was getting her mgr. to give me a room for 39€ (a far cry from $100!). I was happy to get that and after doing my chores went grocery shopping for "dinner"--rolled marinated herring filets--my favorite!