J&J's European Adventure

16 July

Dijon, France

We had homemade apple juice and strawberry jam with our breakfast croissants on the veranda. I gave my German phrase book to the innkeeper to hopefully pass along to someone else, and we hiked to the station. At least when you stay at the top of the hill, the beginning of the day is downhill. ☺

While we waited for our train, we proved once again that we are not afraid of hard work, as we sat and watched a crew laying cement pavers along the track. Today's agenda was as follows: train to Fleurier, bus to Pontarlier, train to Frasne, and TGV train to Dijon. While in Fleurier, we changed what Swiss Francs we could for Euros and spent the rest on chocolate. We had 10 cents left, which I used to tip the grocery clerk. She was so excited!

The train from Pontarlier to Frasne was a little 2-car local job that only took about 20 minutes. The Frasne station crew looked after our bags while we had a stroll around the small town and ate lunch in the park. It's fortunate that we had food, because Frasne in the early afternoon is like Mayberry on a Sunday. We only saw about ten people out and about, but it was a very pleasant place to wait.

We caught the TGV train to Dijon. The TGV is the fancy fast train. We think it is over-rated. We ended up with 2nd class tickets instead of 1st, and the seating was very cramped and hot. The ride was at least quiet and smooth, although not noticeably rapid. When we arrived in Dijon, we attempted to reserve seats to Paris for tomorrow, but found that all of the seats set aside for Eurail pass holders were booked. Of course, they would be glad to sell us tickets for 150 Euros each, or we could ride the regional train for free on our passes. Hello, regional train!

The ticket counter also assists with lodging, and the young lady personally escorted us out to the street to point out where our hotel was. The Hotel Ibis was just a couple of blocks from the station, and was very nice, with AC, for 68 Euros. This room would have cost at least triple that amount in Interlaken. We got a map from the hotel and walked around the city, having a kebob in the park for supper. They had a statue of a polar bear in the park, but we couldn't figure out why. We found a grocery store and bought supplies for tomorrow. We rate Dijon as one of the best cities we've visited.

We've decided that we are glad to be out of Switzerland and in France. So far, we've had reasonably priced food and lodging, two train station crews that watched our bags for no cost while we explored their towns, and a ticket agent that took us in hand with personal guide service. If they keep this up, they will totally ruin their reputation. Switzerland is like a stripper; they know you want to see what's there, but you'd better have a fist full of money to pay for the privilege. It's also nice to be able to shift the language responsibility. After doing most of the habla-ing, capishco-ing, and sprechening, I get to let Janene parlez with the locals. I only speak when comic relief is needed.

Daily miles: 7.14

Expenses: 62.00€ (room, food)

Travers B&B