Alsatian Way of St. James: Wissembourg - Surbourg
A beautiful day begins. After a French breakfast of pain au chocolat and baguette at the Hotel d'Alsace, which served as our pilgrim hostel, we take our backpacks and walk through the town of Wissembourg, illuminated by the morning sun.
Our way leads us through the Rue national into the centre of the city. We hurry past the magnificent half-timbered houses, take a look at the sunlit cathedral and the town hall square. From there we walk southwards and cross the Lauter ...
... on the Rue de la République.
We walk through huge fields ...
... and reach Oberhoffen.
Rest area in Oberhoffen.
That's what the little sign in the middle of the picture says!
Across the vast, open landscape, the trail leads along sandy roads ...
... past huge corn fields.
In the distance you can see the church of the hamlet Bremmelbach on the stream of the same name.
The rider who accompanied us for a bit says goodbye and we take a short break.
Break
With fresh strength we cross the wide plain. Through the steady pace and the silence all around, the soul begins to dangle.
In the distance the towers of Soulz-sous-Forêts appear.
Already we are in the small town and pass the magnificent rectory. The clouds are getting darker.
We go to the church for a short reflection. In the meantime, the rain has started.
A dove nests on the lantern in front of the church.
We continue our pilgrimage and the rain subsides.
Here we march from the rain into the sun.
On the horizon we spot the church tower of Surbourg.
Marching into Surbourg
It seems a bit extinct.
The Romanesque church of Surbourg
I have described all details about the Romanesque church of St. Arbogast on my pages "Romanesque in Alsace". See there!
Here I content myself with this lady. She caught my eye in the church. It is St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
We spent the night in Morsbronn-les-Bains. A nice Alsatian brought us there with his car and explained everything on the way with his broad Alsatian. The "Schöffele" remained a mystery. Only the next day we understood what he meant: "Charolais cattle".
Wissembourg
next stage
