The Eastern Side of the Western Front

Our cycling adventure and memory trail continues during Week 2 into Eastern France, along the Rhine, and ends in Basel, Switzerland.  Week 1 overwhelmingly centers on the Belgian and British Empire experience of war, but Week 2 takes us to sites that are sacred to the memory of the French, American, and German roles in the war.   From Reims we move into Verdun, with its scarred landscape and massive ossuary, then on to the two big American cemeteries at Romagne-sous-Montfacon and St. Mihiel.  If we time our cycling correctly, we are hoping to attend the Memorial Day ceremony at the US cemetery at Romagne.  At Pont-a-Mousson, we will have a shorter day with some rest before beginning our foray into the Vosges Mountains, the site of intense fighting between French and German troops throughout the war.  We will visit the Hartsmannwillerkopf museum in the mountains, then descend into Alsatian wine country before finishing our trip in "neutral" Swiss territory.