The Vosges…. once, together with the Black Forest, a huge mountain range. Until Italy found it necessary to collide with Europe some thirty million years ago. This created the Alps and the huge plate on which the old mountains lay broke and largely collapsed. In the enormous groove that was created then, the Rhine now separates the Western Vosges from the Black Forest in the East.

The ridge that remained formed the border between France and Germany from 1871 to 1918. 1918, you read that right. The end of the First World War. Afterwards, boundaries were literally shifted, but you can already imagine that the terrain of the Vosges during WW I was a particularly turbulent area…

This is the return route that takes you from Col de Bussang in the Vosges back to the Flemish Hasselt in Limburg.
Nevertheless, this route cannot be called traditional as you can also learn something from it. At least if you have an eye and attention for it.

We start in Hotel du Col de Bussang after we have said goodbye to our host and lady.
A first petrol station can be found 27 kilometers after the start of the route. However, remember that refueling in Luxembourg is much cheaper. Fill in appropriately. A small recommendation can also be to stop at an Intermarché or another department store along the way to stock up on a picnic. Really good bars & cafes are harder to find in the first part. Beautiful picnic areas, on the other hand…

Picnic stuff crammed into the suitcases you drive towards rp 15 where you will find a lovely picnic area. You will really have no trouble finding the right place for a short break. If the weather conditions are not ideal for an outdoor break, the boulangerie slightly further away may offer a pleasant and, above all, covered alternative.
But before you arrive at one of these points, you first pass the Moselle and shortly afterwards the Canal de l'Est. I would like to say a few words about that….

The Moselle originates in the Vosges. You may have driven one of the “Ultimate Collection” routes that took you to the source of this all-important river. You probably also remember how small this well actually was.

The Canal de 'l'Est has been an inseparable part of the Moselle since 1874 when they started building the canal.

The canal has a length of no less than 439 km and connects the Saône with the Meuse and the Moselle. It is therefore not surprising that the skippers gave the canal the names 'Canal de la Meuse' and 'Canal des Vosges' for the northern and southern parts of the canal respectively.
A large part of this route goes along the Moselle and the Canal de l'Est, but from rp 16 it gets really interesting.

The Canal de l'Est not only connects the Meuse with the Saône & Moselle, it also 'replaces' the Moselle on those parts that are less navigable or even not navigable at all. The canal must therefore remain close to the Moselle and so it does… The canal sometimes even crosses the Moselle, which really does require some thinking. After all, how do you let a canal, which is fed by the Moselle itself, flow completely over the river without the waters touching? It goes without saying that the 152 locks and pump systems play a very important role in this. But just think… we are talking about construction in 1874….
Near rp 16 near Flavigny-sur-Moselle you can visit such an aqueduct if you wish. Still a bit of a hallucinatory sight... Aqueducts were therefore not only built by the Romans...

From rp 16 it is best to keep the camera or the mounted GoPro at the ready. From now on you will experience a dignified example of hydroponics and that for about 130 km. You literally flirt along the Moselle, the Canal and the many other water features. Those with an eye for it will also see the prosperity and other consequences of the Moselle and associated waterworks.

At rp 19 you can, if desired, take a break where you can enjoy a more extensive lunch along the Terrouin. You are only 174 km away, but you have been in the saddle for almost 5 hours, so think about it.

'Le Terrouin' is an interesting gabber… David who takes on Goliath and wins the battle too. The small, 30-kilometre-long river was solely responsible for the fact that the Moselle, 300 000 years ago and originally flowing into the Meuse, had to shift its bed eastwards in the direction of the Rhine. Today the entire course of the Terrouin is a protected nature reserve. At 'Le Pavillon Blue', our lunch spot, you can see the Terrouin flowing into the Moselle after it has won the battle for the river bed with flying colours.

After lunch we flirt a little further with the river and canal and finally, after the first 200 kilometers, we start the first highway ride.

50 kilometers further and after passing/crossing the cities of Metz & Thionville you can respectfully say goodbye to the mighty Moselle. You pass it for the last time near Thionville.

You quickly reach the border crossing between France and Luxembourg. You can take a coffee stop on the Aire de Berchem. I would postpone refueling for a while and – just like in the approach route – I advise against leaving your motorcycles unattended.

You round Luxembourg city and Ettelbruck, after which the route spoils you with a non-motorway passage. After all, we drive inland via the Parc Naturel de la Haute-Sûre to Pommerloch where we can stock up on the last Luxembourg's valued petrol. If desired, a coffee stop can be arranged in the stylish Pommerloch Hotel just before the petrol stations. The choice is yours, but please note that this is the last stop before we start the last highway trek to the farewell point in Hasselt.

Fortunately, there you will also find the necessary sanitary and other facilities so that you can say goodbye to your travel colleagues – fully illuminated – in one of the restaurants or not.

Due to the many boring highway kilometers, the route cannot of course obtain a five-star rating, but to be honest, because of the aquacultural wealth it really doesn't make much difference. A passage through this area will teach you a lot if you want to pay attention to it. The roads are particularly well laid out and will sometimes pleasantly surprise you – also in terms of views and driving pleasure. Therefore an absolute well-deserved 4 stars for this instructive return route.