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Back to nature – Northeast France
🕐 6h drive
🛣️ 534 KM
⛅ 4-season
🏕️ camping availability
✖️ wildcamping prohibited
⛺️In general, it doesn’t always have to be summer before you can hit the road and go on a roadtrip. This roadtrip itinerary is the best example of a short trip you can do during the autumn and spring period when temperatures are not yet extremely high. To celebrate Michiel’s birthday (november 3th), I decided to organise a surprise weekend. Besides the cabin I had booked with Nutchel, we had a few extra days and I thought it would be a nice idea to add some other stops so that we would have a mini roadtrip. 1 of my better ideas, this roadtrip is definitely one of our favourites. Besides the fact that the vosges region is not a long drive, we were fully immersed in nature for a few days which brought us the peace we were looking for. We immensely enjoyed the peacefull environment surrounded by nature. Disconnecting from the ¨world¨ for a few days was highly needed to escape for a while from the day-to-day rush of both our busy professional/personal lives. The ideal trip to disconnect & reconnect with each other.
We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us
Luxembourg - Lac de La Haute Sûr
Leaving from Waregem, we drove 3 hours straight one to our first stop. Lac de la Haute Sûr, located in Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a small European country, surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany. It’s mostly rural, with dense Ardennes forest and nature parks in the north, rocky gorges of the Mullerthal region in the east and the Moselle river valley in the southeast. Its capital is Luxembourg city.
Wild camping
⛺️ For our first overnight stay we did some wild camping (49,90816° N, 5,85896° O). As temperature was not that high and we still went on a roadtrips with the well-known 2-person fold-out tent from decathlon, it was a little bit cold that night. Because the tent is on the ground, it can quickly get a bit colder than f.e in a rooftop tent. This was in the past one of the reasons why we decided to look for a more comfortable way of camping for our roadtrip to italy later on in the year, which led to the idea of using a rooftop tent. Wild camping is something that is prohibited in some regions, please make sure in front to check if you can do wild camping in the region that you are. If I speak for ourself, we do not always take this into account but we always make sure that our wild camping spot is not really visible from the street. If you make sure that you are installed a few meters from the street, you will pretty much never have problems. If you decide to stand next to a lake or pond – make sure you do read the rules here (these are usually noted on a sign at the beginning of the area). You may see some campers here, these are usually fishermen who start fishing early in the morning. In general, we have never encountered any problems with this, only noise from fishing can cause you to wake up early – so keep this in mind. The following site also clearly states the rules for wild camping in Europe. https://www.kampeermeneer.nl/wildkamperen-europa/
Northeastern France
The day after our wild camping experience we woke up early to hit the road further to Strasbourg. Strasbourg is the capital city of the Grand Est region, formerly Alsace, in northeastern France. It’s also the formal seat of the European Parliament and sits near the German border, with culture and architecture blending German and French influences. In Strasbourg we took time to warm up a little bit and enjoyed a well-deserved breakfast in a lovely brunch bar in the city center.
🥐 Bloom – very cosy bruch bar where you can grab take away, dine-in and sit outside.
After a lovely breakfast/brunch we headed into the city and discovered all the monuments that the city has to offer. In general a lovely city where you can stroll many hours, take time to grab a coffee, eat some lunch or go for some drinks. We walked three hours through the city and decided afterwards to set our route further and headed to Metz.
Only 1h45 minutes from Strasbourg is Metz located. We arrived there by the evening and decided that we wanted to stay in the city of Metz and booked a very cheap hotel ( last minute deal). As we didn´t really find a place to camp for the night we chose to give ourself some good rest before arriving in Nutchel. Most of the time we don´t plan anything in advance, which can create situations like this. In general we didn´t bother that we couldn´t sleep in the tent that night and were happy that we could rest and fresh up a little bit – because wild camping doesn´t give you the option to shower or what so ever. In this case we paid more than we were planned to in advance – but this is definitely part of our journey.
👩🍳 We had dinner in a very local restaurant in the city center – don´t ask me for the name because it wouldnt be weird if there was no name. 🤪 But definitely try the local steamed dish if you are into some sausages – tasted & approved by Michiel himself 🤪
The day after we slept a little bit longer and headed our way to Alsace – Nutchel forest. On the road we stopped to go for a morning run and cold water dip. ( definitely try this out if you are on a camping trip & placed close to water – it really helps to improves your circulation and enhances your immunity. Next to that it can improve your mental healtness. The sudden shock of cold water can stimulate the release of adrenaline, which can help to improve focus, alertness, and concentration. In general we always do some sports activities when going on a trip because we like to be active now and then. On our trips we have time to really enjoy it and it´s a nice way to get to know the area where you are camped.
Before arriving at Nutchel forest – we stopped along the way in a supermarket to buy some groceries for the 3 day´s ahead in the Nutchel forest. In advance you can also chose to add a breakfast and/or BBQ package in Nutchel itself – but in general interesting if you stop by a supermarket for some basic as you don´t have the option of buying a lot of stuff in the nutchel forest. ps: don´t foget the wine 🤪
In general we had a very lovely experience in Nutchel. The first evening we just enjoyed a large apero and the hottub. (ps: this is really my all time favorite thing to do : just have an extensive aperitif with some dips, crackers, dry sausage, olives, … ). The next morning we woke up quit early, had our breakfast (very tasty & all local products were used) and decided during breakfast to go for a forest walk. In the information center of Nutchel you can also find more about activities nearby. In general you can do lots of stuff as mountainbiking, hiking, climbing … – we decided to not plan to much – just one activity for the day. We picked out a hike that was duable but worth the effort – and definitley the view. Always nice if you go for a hike and you have a great viewpoint. ⛰️
After the hike we took some time in our cabin to rest and read a book. In the evening we brought out our aperitifs again and put some meat on the bbq ( bbq is available on the terrace of the cabin). The day after we enjoyed the sauna that is availble in the forest village together with the pool for a cold dip. Just lovely how relaxed the atmosphere is in the forest. Just enjoy your time here by eating great food, drinking good wine & do some activities there and most of all just relax and enjoy the environment and the fact that you are surrounded with beautifull nature. 🍁
After our 3 days in the forest village we headed back home – the drive back to Waregem is around 6 hours. Make sure to take a break now and then when driving or make sure you alternate with your roadtrip partner. In general we can conclude following about this roadtrip:
🍁 Perfect itinerary if you want to hit the road during autumn/spring season.
🍁 In general we always just stop on places that we feel are nice to stay for the night – we don’t plan anything in advance, so just trust & follow your guts 😀
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