Day 14 - Montbéliard to Mulhouse (36 miles)

Today felt a long 36 miles. Between the cold and more canal my enthusiasm seemed to have waned as I cycled to Mulhouse and a two night stay before leaving France for Switzerland on Monday. In the small village of Zillsheim, only five miles from Mulhouse, I stopped for coffee feeling the need to warm up. Another twenty-five minutes saw me into the city.

Approaching Mulhouse 

Mulhouse was originally a centre for the textile industry before expanding into other engineering areas including, by the mid 1800s, locomotives and railway equipment. I stopped in the medieval centre, originally an area for merchants and craftsmen, and with an appearance that belies that the idea of an industrial city; the original houses and sixteenth century town hall are colourful, highly decorated and grouped around a large cobbled square in the middle of which sits the nineteenth century Gothic Revival church of St Stephen's, a replacement for a much older church. My first priority was lunch. I enjoyed an excellent meal in a restaurant on the square before killing time exploring the streets with my bike while awaiting my check in time, getting soaked in the rain, and eventually cowering in a bar.

In the evening I went out for supplies with the intention of then wandering the city at night. But with a full day to explore tomorrow, the Siren call of a warm and comfortable room with its promise of relaxation rather than preparation for another day of cycling got the better of me.