Fontenoy le Chateau

The sky had already turned gray and started to leak in the morning. A big spiral storm in the north sea was sweeping its tentacles of rain across the map of France. As I cycled along the Canal de Vosges, my jacket gave up in keeping the rain out. My shoes and socks were dripping wet. When my hands were so cold that they struggled to press the brakes, I knew this was the limit.

I got a ready and friendly welcome from Fréderic in Fontenoy le Chateau. He welcomed me to his basic home, but hey it was dry.

"Are you named like Arjuna, the character in the Mahabharata?"

The first person in these seven months who knew that. We immediately set about having a long chat about Sanskrit & Indo-European languages, the symbolism in mythology and of our travel tales. Fréderic was very well informed about the history of cycling and languages and more. He had just published another book of his travels. I finally slept, dry and warmed by the engaging conversation and company. A good compensation for having completed 6000 km today.Read more