Hiking proche le lac

Bonjour toutes mes amies!

               Aujourd’hui, je prend le train a La Brasse. J’y vais parce que je veux faire de promenade dans la montagne. Et…je veux apprendre plus de mots tout les jours. 

              Today, I took a train to La Brasse. I went there because I wanted to hike in some mountains. And…I want to learn more words everyday.

               Hahaha, that’s some simple stuff I can say for now. I try to learn a couple of new useful words each day with my French-English dictionary. Today’s trip to La Brasse was a good one. It wasn’t the best day trip I have ever taken but it was well worth it. I woke up later than expected…no kiddin’.  I got to the Nancy train station at 1040 and caught the 1044 train to Remiremont…about 1.25 hrs away. I had a really tough time getting tickets out of la machine because it would not accept my credit card nor did it accept cash. The line at the information desk was really long and I had no time to wait to buy a ticket. I hopped on the train ticketless and rode for a couple of stops until an official approached me. I bought unebillet simple, one-way ticket, for 11 euros…which was cheaper than the ticket machine was charging! So that worked out well. The train ride there was nice and really showed that the Lorraine area was rather rural. The stops were in small villages and relatively few people got on and off, probably because it was dimanche, Sunday. 

              I got into Remiremont train station and conveniently found the bus station right next door. I originally wanted to go to Geradmer but apparently no buses go that way on Sundays. So I had to go for Jacques’ next recommendation: La Brasse.  Again conveniently , the bus left about 3 minutes after I got there, great timing! The bus trip was a little under an hour long and took me deep into the valleys of the mountains. I kept thinking that it couldn’t go any deeper but it did again and again. I finally got off at the last stop in La Bresse. I walked along the main street and apparently I just missed an open market. Too bad. I approached a girl about my age “Bonjour madame, ou se trouve un endroit pour faire le marche dans la montagne?” I forced out. “Si vous plait?” she replied. Obviously my accent, pronunciation, etc. was all off! It took a while but I finally understood that I had to continue walking to le Lac des Corbeaux.  Another gentlemen gave me better directions and I eventually found the national forest.  It was about 40 minutes from the city center.

              The forest looked really thick with Douglas firs and other pine trees. I stuck to the road for a bit, too afraid to venture onto some trails without a map. I finally saw a trail marker and noticed more trail markers similar to it, all which formed a cohesive trail. I decided to have a go. The first thing I noticed while walking along the trail was the scent of Christmas! There were a couple of cut down Douglas firs and they made the entire forest smell like Christmas! C’est magnifique!

              I brought a loaf of bread, cheese, apple, banana, Da Vinci Code, Let’s Go, French-English dictionary, chocolate, and some gummy bears. I didn’t bring water with me because I hoped to buy some whenever I reached my destination. But since it was a Sunday, none of the stores in La Bresse were open! I noticed the same was true for Nancy! Ayuh these Europeans, they take any chance to not work. 

              I was out of breathe and very thirsty. The day was hot despite being high up in the mountains. I would guess it was about mid 70s and very clear skies. At least the forest was nice and green. Everything had moss growing on it and created a cool and damp climate without being muggy and too humid. 

              I finally reached a clearing where the trail met up with the road again. People were parking their cars and walking around.  “Oh no, this must be trail head” I thought. I asked a man “Ou se trouve le lac?” “Just behind” he motioned towards a line of trees. I guess he sensed my inability to speak French.  Nevertheless, I was still relieved to find that I had arrived at le Lac des Corbeaux. It was beautiful and serene! When I arrived, only a couple of people were visible. There was a walking path that circumscribed the lake giving amazing views from all angles. Also, there was a small restaurant nearby where I bought a 2.70 euro 250 mL boteille d’eau. I walked around the lake and just snapped pictures like crazy. There were a couple of guys camping beside the lake with 4 or 5 fishing lines cast into the depths of the lake. Based on the coloration, it looked like there was a steep drop off about 2-3 meters into the lake. 

               After walking around, I found a good sunny spot on a wall and busted out the Da Vinci Code. It’s a great book! I’ll never admit it to mom but this reading more than enjoyable. I have to put it down every now and then because I want to savor the story! I spent about an hour just reading lakeside and improving my tan. I made the same walk back to the city center and fell on the trail on the way. No harm done. The moss that I stepped on was so thick that it my slip didn’t leave any visible scars! 

              Once I returned I went back to the bus station and tried to read the timetable to determine when the bus was to come. I asked the driver when the last one was and she said it left La Brasse at 1805. Based on the timetable, the last one left at 1938 and was also the next one (it was around 1630). I went to a bakery nearby which was actually open. I talked to the lady but she only knew where the bus stop was and not what time the bus arrived. I bought some pastries from her which looked like sugary dreams. It was chewy, cinnamon flavored, frosting covered, and with jelly in the center. It was really good but not as good as I had hoped it would be. Anyway, I waited at the bus stop and watched a man fly-fishing in the river. He didn’t catch anything but he was still fun to watch since I’ve never seen anybody fly-fishing before. Sure enough, the bus came but it was around 1700. I slept for most of the ride back. Right when I got back to the Remiremont station the train to Nancy was leaving in five minutes. I bought a ticket when I first arrived so I was already set. On the way back I just read Da Vinci Code.

              On my walk back from the Nancy train station I stopped to eat in a restaurant because I wasn’t looking forward to the left overs that I had in the refrigerator. I had a “cheeseburger” which didn’t look like a cheeseburger at all but was still good to eat. I didn’t leave the restaurant until 2100 and the sun was still blaring on the horizon. 

              Back to work tomorrow, love you all!