7/13 Grand Ballon to Thann

We awoke to conditions like the day before- cold blowing rain. As a result we never did get to the top of the Ballon but just headed down to the valley town of Thann and a rest day. The route descended meadows used as ski runs and after an hour the air warmed, wind diminished and rain eventually let up. Then it was nice trail walking through forest. We went by a castle ruin at Freundstein but the rocky scramble into it was rain slick and not worth the risk. So we moved onwards - sure was easy going down! Noticeably thicker, the vegetation was lush in the forest not unlike the northwest. We reached a pass and the site of a large national memorial Hartmannswillerkopf. This was the site of  famous 1915 trench battles over these ridges leaving 30,000 French dead. The memorial is under renovation and we couldn't visit it. We paused here for our ham and cheese refueling ritual. A car pulled up and some Americans came by from Portland,OR- small world. Then Nick magically appeared and after he showed us a back way to view the cemetery, we spend the rest of the afternoon walking to town. Nick was a wealth of botanical knowledge and we stopped to discuss and sometimes photograph the plentiful variety at our feet. We came through a paddock where 20 or so horned cattle and calves completely blocked the route. Nick was a good person to have along as we followed him and we slowly approached and walked amongst them - close as to be touchable. Not something that I would have done on my own. They just lay there watching us. Nick mentioned they are well treated and aren't usually alarmed by people amongst them. Good to know for future reference. We stopped a ways on at a farm auberge for warm drinks and a blueberry tart. We left and finally arrived above the town at the Engelbourg castle ruin which was destroyed by Louis the 14th. When the circular tower came down a ring section remained intact and is called the sorcer's eye. A scenic overlook of Thann and it's beautiful cathedral. We gave Nick our remaining sandwich and parted company as he planned to move back up to the hills and pitch camp. We found our hotel and after cleaning up ate in the fancy restaurant when a cloudburst developed outside. The food was a bit too fancy for us and formal for that matter. We tried the local famous wine - Rangen- which I found a too sweet for my liking but worth the try. We had a pile of filthy clothes and went to bed anticipating errands and rest the in the morning.