After two days of travelling by plane, train and bus, today I finally arrive in Wissembourg for the start of my long distance hike.
The journey was long. I first took a flight from Montreal to Lyon, in order to arrive roughly halfway between the starting point and the finishing point of the hike Wissembourg and Hendaye.
After a five hour wait at the airport, I headed to my night bus, which ran from Lyon to Chalon sur Saône and then on to Strasbourg. I had a bit of a scare during the stopover in Chalon sur Saône, which lasted three hours in a small station with no security, from 8.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. I can tell you the wait felt long and stressful, with drunk people approaching me from time to time. Fortunately, I found a hotel close to the station and stayed in the hotel lobby until the very last minute so I would not have to remain alone in the station.
After a full night on the bus with very little sleep, the bus finally arrived in Strasbourg at 4.40 in the morning, still in complete darkness. Thankfully, I met a Vietnamese traveller at the bus stop who knew Strasbourg very well. He decided to give me a guided tour of the city streets at five in the morning. It was a wonderful experience, as there were no tourists at that hour and he knew every corner of the city and its historical facts.
I decided to spend one night in a small hotel on the outskirts of the city. After two nights without proper sleep, I really needed a good night’s rest. I spent half a day visiting Strasbourg, a beautiful city, and then took care of a few final preparations: buying a SIM card, stocking up on four days’ worth of food, and doing a final check of my hiking gear.
I am now on my way to Wissembourg, where I will begin my trek around midday. I am very excited to start, despite the fact that the coming days are forecast to be very rainy.