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

The mountain 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 pushed back, but you can already imagine that the terrain of the Vosges was a particularly turbulent area during WWI...

This is the return route that takes you from La Bresse 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 pay attention to it.

We start in La Bresse and in the village itself, if you turn right at the first roundabout, you will immediately find a gas station. You then return to the route.
However, remember that refueling in Luxembourg is cheaper. Top up appropriately. We would also recommend stopping at an Intermarché or another department store along the way to stock up on a picnic. Really good bars & cafes are harder to find on this route. Beautiful picnic areas, on the other hand…

On this route you drive along the Moselle and the Canal de l'Est. I would like to say a word about that...

The Moselle originates in the Vosges and its source is not even very far from La Bresse.
The Canal de 'l'Est has been an integral part of the Moselle since 1874 when construction of the canal started.

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 really gets interesting.

The Canal de l'Est not only connects the Meuse with the Saône & the 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 that is what it does... The canal sometimes even crosses the Moselle, which really requires 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 each other? 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 here in 1874….
If you wish, you can visit such an aqueduct near Flavigny-sur-Moselle. Still a bit of a hallucinatory sight... So aqueducts were not only built by the Romans...

On this route you will witness a fine example of hydroponics, which is about 130 km long. You literally flirt along the Moselle, the Canal and the many other water features. Anyone who pays attention will also see the prosperity and other consequences of the Moselle and the associated waterworks.

A lunch break is provided along the Terrouin. Highly recommended, although it can be quite busy.

'Le Terrouin' is an interesting one… David who takes on Goliath and wins the battle. The small, 30 kilometer long river was single-handedly responsible for the fact that the Moselle, which originally flowed to the Meuse 300,000 years ago, had to shift its bed to the East 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 having gloriously won the battle for the bed.

After lunch we continue flirting with the river and canal and finally, after the first 200 kilometers, we start the first highway ride.

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

You can 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 on the approach route - I would 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 taxed petrol. If desired, a coffee stop can be arranged in the stylish Pommerloch Hotel just in front of the gas 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, you will also find the necessary sanitary and other facilities there so that you can say goodbye to your travel colleagues - fully illuminated - either in one of the restaurants or not.

The route obviously cannot receive a five-star rating due to the many boring highway kilometers, but let's be honest, the aquacultural wealth makes it really not much difference. A passage through this area will teach you a lot if you are willing to pay attention to it. The roads are exceptionally well constructed and will sometimes pleasantly surprise you - also in terms of views and driving pleasure. Therefore an absolutely well-deserved 4 stars for this educational return route.