Decided to head throught he mountains of the Vosges today.  Unfortunately, we got as far as just beyond the first town and realised that we would be entering a region where the law required snow chains to be carried.  As we hadn’t sourced any yet, we had to turn around and look for somewhere that sold chains suitable for large, imperial sized wheels and tyres.  There wasn’t anything in the last town before the snow, so we headed on to Selestat. 

By chance, we saw an industrial estate on the way into town that had a large garage and tyre place.  We went in and I explained in rusty french what it was that we were after.  The guy serving us raised his eyebrows, tutted and said that he expected that we wanted them right away – which of course we did.  He didn’t seem hopeful but flicked through loads of parts books before saying “One moment, I just need to check…”  He disappeared and returned 5 minutes later with exactly what we were after (although they were somewhat more expensive than we had hoped).  He also showed us how to put them on the vehicle correctly. 

Relieved and happy that we wouldn’t have to miss the Vosges, we headed for the hills.  The snow on the roads was not very bad and we didn’t need to us the chains at all – but at least we had them.  The scenary was stunning and the 6 inches or so of snow made it even more beautiful.  We stopped for lunch on top of one of the hills between Ste Marie aux Mines and Le Bonhomme.  Fred commented that it looked familiar and wandered around for a short time before finding signs for GR5 which meant that Ben and Fred had walked through the area years ago.  We had stopped by a great hill for sledging and could not resist having a go on an orange survival bag.  Fred managed quite successfully but I always seemed to turn around, come off the bag and fill my trousers and boots with snow.  Excellent fun though. 

We travelled on through Munster (also on the route of GR5) and landed at Belfort for the night.  The town has a beautiful ‘old quarter’ which still has a drawbridge and a moat (no water).  Perched high above the main walls and most of the old buildings and houses on a sheer cliff face is an old castle.  The town must have been virtually inpenetrable when these defences were maintained.  It was an impressive sight.  We also wandered around the new part of town which has been very tastefully built to blend in.  There were all sorts of Xmas activities going on – including a carol playing road train and an exhibition of interactive, multimedia urban art.