7th May/38th day: St. Jean-de-Losne - Ferme de Saule

The stage planning with the accommodations allowed nothing else: after 18 km today, a new decision had to be made.

So I woke up early, got rid of the fever, and then enjoyed the beautiful weather by the canal, observing the workers and strolling along.

It should be a day of unexpected encounters.

I'm walking along the canal, and in front of me is an elegantly dressed older French man. I approach him and ask if he speaks German.

"Don't you know that you're in France? Here we speak French." We (in English) start a good conversation, he asks about my further way, as the Abbaye de Citeaux, the mother abbey of the Cistercians, is on the way. He leaves warm greetings to Friere Raphael in my diary; he should kindly welcome a German pilgrim on the way to Compostella.

What else can I do: after getting rid of my things at the farm, I gather my courage and knock at the monastery. Friere Raphael welcomes me and we talk for half an hour about God and the world.

What a beautiful day!

My host advises me to skip Beaune the next day with 30 km on the direct path, as continuous rain is forecasted, it's not doable.

So luckily, I choose the next day's plan with one more stage and 10 km more.