28-Aug-2001 -- On the road to castle Blumenstein, "Idyllic scenery, forest as far as the eye can see and towering red sandstone cliffs are the trademark of the Northern Vosges mountains and the Wasgau, one of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe" as written in the guide.

All this was on our program this day of 28 of August 2001. We had decided to travel from Lauterbourg toward west for a hiking tour along the German-French border from castle to castle.

The weather was fine, sunny and 26°C warm, excellent for hiking. Several castles spread there, are the witnesses of almost 1000 years of European history.

On the way to them, I remembered that we will pass, with the car, very near of the Confluence Point N49 E8 that was visited first by Carolin and Claus-Dieter. Especially secondary CPs feel not so lonesome when visited, so we decided to make a stop there.

The precision of our GPS was about 5m, so we located it precisely in the bushes, approx. 20m from the resting area, not far away of the bicycle lane.

Important for future visitors: carry long trousers to be well prepared for passing an area with nettles that will stay for a long time in my memory. Anyway it was like an test to pass, before being allowed to continue this pleasant journey.