The giant insects

Our accomodation was on the Doubs River and we crossed back and forth over the river a few time before reaching the town of Sainte Suzanne. Interestingly, a few French people had commented that my name was French. The town had two claims to fame – its natural resources, including a cave with a spring, and a company that started making music boxes in 1833 and closed its doors in 1996.  

We had intended to find the markets at Montbeliard, but they proved elusive and we instead took a slow cycle around the Parc du Pres-la-Rose.  There were giant insect sculptures dotted around the park, including a butterfly, cricket and ant.  We found a nice bench for morning tea looking over the canal. 

Soon we were back in the countryside, passing distant villages and following Le Canal du Rhone du Rhin.  We had planned to have lunch at a barge restaurant on the outskirts of Montreaux Chateau but it was full.  Fortunately there was a boulangerie/patisserie and a nice rest area nearby so we had a picnic lunch, with excellent bread and two amazing tarts for dessert. 

 At the 52km mark we left the EV6 and headed towards Cernay for our detour into Alsace-Lorraine.  We followed the main road for a while before discovering a parallel bike path that was a little rough in parts, but more pleasant riding.  

We were staying on the outskirts of Cernay, conveniently close to a hypermarket where we stocked up on food for the next couple of days, so we didn’t have to rush to find a supermarket on Sunday morning given that everything closes by 12:30. 

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