Part 3, Auxerre-Vezelay

Venoy (Auxerre)-(Vezelay) Pontaubert

After a wet night the weather is sunny again and beautiful. We have breakfast in the main building of the hotel and go on our way. It would be very tempting to stay here a bit longer and explore the area, but we have to move on. We skirt Auxerre, perhaps not very wise as it seems to be a charming town with a lot of history and a very old centre. The St. Etienne is one of the most important gothic cathedrals of Burgundy and the Abbeye de St. Germain in roman-gothic style houses in its crypt the oldest murals in France, dating back to the 9^th century. So I have to go back some time. But as our goal is Vezelay, we move on and follow the attractive banks of the river Yonne.

 Cravant

 Cravant

Gate of the town - Cravant

We stop in Cravant, a gem of a walled town where the river Cure joins the Yonne. Here we walk around, buy sandwiches in a baker's shop which we eat in the park around the church. The town is built up against the hills and has all the ingredients of historic towns in this part of France: town gates, a lime tree walk, a big church, a covered wash house where the women could do the laundry, a "Tour de Horloge" higher up in the town, a Mairie facing a square, a covered market place, flowers decorating walls of golden stone, big doors and shutters with pastel coloured peeling paint. It is a delight to wander around. But we have to go on.

 Wash place

 Picturesque Cravant

We turn off the road to explore an old abbey in the meadows down by the river, but are disappointed as it turns out to be privately owned now and has a restaurant where people seem to enjoy either lunch in their Sunday best or are having a party. The rest of the buildings is closed to the public, including the former chapel. At least the buildings are still there.

 Asquins

 View of Vezelay Abbey from Asquins

 Coquille de St. Jacques

Murals in the sacristy - Asquins

Just before Vezelay we see a small village church in Asquins, high on a hill. We drive up through the narrow streets to get a better look at it. From here we have a splendid view of Vezelay and the Abbey. The church, built in this high position, seems a modest village church. An old lady sitting quietly in the back tells us that in fact the pilgrimage to Compostella starts from this church and not from Vezelay Abbey. There are two statues of St. Jacques, and a brass shell outside guides the pilgrims on their way. It is a very interesting church, with murals on the walls. The woman opens the door of the sacristy for us en shows us some more murals. In fact the church is a very peaceful place, a place where it would be easy to pray, or to be blessed before being sent on a mission. It is simple, humble in a way, which is far more fitting for the life of a pilgrim than the big cathedrals. They may fill one with awe, but they are not on a human scale. Too grand for simple human beings, however beautiful they may be. When we walk back we notice that one of the picturesque houses with a view of the church is for rent as a holiday home. Not a bad place to stay!

 St. Jacques

 Asquins - side door of the church

And then it is only a short drive to Vezelay, down the village, through the valley up towards the town. Destination reached, the satnav would say. And indeed we have reached what we set out to reach, Vezelay. We park the car, walk up through the main street to the Abbey and I have my first look of a church I have heard so much about. The tympanum is amazing, the one outside as well as the one inside in the hall before entering the nave of the church. We spend quite a lot of time here. The abbey is wonderful with its black and white blocked roman arches, the architraves and the tympanums chiselled in great detail, the light fascinating. The choir is gothic, in contrast to the nave. It is amazing that people have been able as well as willing to build such cathedrals, for this is a splendid example, but still one of many others, scattered over western Europe.

We also walk around the abbey, admiring the views from this high point, and spot the small church in Asquins we just visited, also on a hill but a much lower one appropriate to its size. 

 Vezelay

 View of the church at Asquins from Vezelay

Finally it is time to make our way to our hotel for the coming two nights, in Pontaubert on the road from Vezelay to Avallon, the latter another historic town where we have a meal.

 Avallon, church entrance

 Ramparts of Avallon high above the river Cousin 

Try-out for a pilgrimage, part two

Bouillon - Auxerre

 One of the gates of the castle of Bouillon

 View from the castle 

Our second day begins warm and sunny. The sun is on the right side of the castle for us, so we have a much better view of it than the day before. It is still very quiet when we walk along the river to find a place for breakfast. To my surprise most café's are closed. I had expected all of France to be like Paris, people having a coffee and a croissant for breakfast on one of the many sidewalk café's before going to work. But they are closed, and waiters are busy cleaning tables and organising chairs. We can only get breakfast in the few hotels. After that we walk around, than go up to the castle by car and decide on the spur of the moment to go in and join the other tourists. Here too it is still quiet at this early hour. The castle is most impressive, large, but apparently not much is left of the oldest, most original part. The main bulk of the castle was added later. It offers splendid views over the river on both sides, as the ridge it is built on is very narrow. A strategic point indeed. We watch part of the falcon show, but then leave Bouillon, as it is late already and we have to get to Auxerre on time.

Once we have passed Sedan, we take minor roads. The land is wide and undulating, villages sheltering in the folds of the hills, church spires revealing where they are situated. We see many old churches, for apparently we follow a touristic route, a woodland, abbey and historic churches route. And a most enjoyable route it is. Nobody seems awake in those villages, but most churches and public places are decorated with bright red pelargoniums in tubs. So somebody must be busy tending them. Also we see porcelain blue irises everywhere, which contrast beautifully with the pale golden stone of the walls.

 The church of Cheveuges and the neighbouring farm with irises

 below: Chehery

 Characteristic small towns with the market place covered by a red-tiled roof on wooden pillars, historic churches with roman windows, covered places along rivers and rivulets where the women used to do their laundry, it is all there. As well as the remains of old abbeys. 

 Chemery, church and market hall

 Chemery

 We drive to one, via a narrow country lane off the main road, situated in beautiful fields full of wild flowers  surrounded by shady woodland. Chartreuse is now privately owned, the owners aiming to restore it as well as possible to its former glory. It must have been very large when still used as an abbey, and the position is idyllic.

Chartreuse 

  

We buy provisions in Vouziers, a rather bigger town with many shops and a large and hot square in front of the Mairie. We enjoy the sandwiches with thick cut ham and the cherries just outside Vouziers, with a view of the land. We struggle through Chalons-en- Champagne, a bigger town than we expected, and then emerge on wide plains which seem rather boring. Most of it is farmland. We travel south. In contrast to Holland we hardly see any church spires or towers on the horizon. This land, the area of the Marne, has seen fierce and awful battles during the first world war. On the highest point there is a large monument, an Ossuarium, sitting squarely on a flat plateau overlooking the former battlefields. The soil around it is rutted, as if it still bears the scars of the trenches. A large part of the land is still used by the army and forbidden territory. The soil seems rather white and stony. This Monument, the Ossuary of Navarin,  contains the bones of thousands of unknown soldiers. And it is juts one of many osuaries and graveyards. It seems such an awful waste, the waste of young lives, of the futures of so many, and for what? We are not so far from Verdun. It is a very sad place and not one where I would like to stay for long.

In Arcis-sur-Aube, a pleasant and charming town on the river Aube, we stop for a stroll and a drink in a café opposite an imposing church. 

Arcis-sur-Aube

Fortified we take the circular road round Troyes and continue towards Auxerre. Just outside Auxerre we find our destination, a converted watermill, now a hotel and restaurant. Our satnav guides us along tiny and narrow winding country lanes to this place in its rural setting, avoiding Auxerre. After a long travelling day we can't resist the nice restaurant, apparently well-known. Not cheap, but in fact we have no choice as it is late and there is no other restaurant within our reach. So we enjoy the evening as well as the nice accommodation.

Try-out for a pilgrimage

I went on a short trip to France as a try-out for a pilgrimage. Not mine, but some friend's future pilgrimage. I know England far better than France, and Burgundy was new to me. Strange, because it is not so far away and there is no ferry involved. Travelling via Namur the trip became interesting after we had left the town and followed the river Meuse to Dinant. 

Overgrown gravestone of an unknown family in the churchyard of Dave, a small village on the banks of the river

Dinant itself was rather busy, perhaps due to a saxephone festival which made the town colourful as you can see in the picture. 

Colourful saxs on the bridge in Dinant

Besides Dinant is a narrow town, clinging to the banks of the river Meuse. From there we took country roads and avoided the main roads as much as possible. That made the trip far more interesting as we happened on small towns, interesting villages with old churches and picturesque markets covered by red tiled roofs, remains of former abbeys and little streams. The aim was to end up in Bouillon, this first day on the road, just on the border of France. It is an interesting town, with Godfrey de Bouillon's castle high on a rock overlooking the town and a crucial loop in the river. 

 A street in Bouillon in the evening light

It was a balmy evening, swallows and martins flying low overhead, making those high pitched squeaks. The canoes on the slow flowing river, the smell of mown grass and hay, the outdoor cafes where people enjoyed their meals now that for once the sun was out, it was all a joy. It is a bonus to travel with a friend who is so well versed in history, especially the history of this part of France and Belgium. A promising day, except for our rather shabby quarters for the night. But then hotels and B&B's if not booked in advance are rather hit and miss. There were better ones to come.

Bouillon: An ancient bridge in the late evening on the other side of the castle

Choir Stalls

It may be clear by now that I have a passion for choir stalls. On a short trip in France (Burgundy), we explored Montréal, a well preserved jewel of a town, small, gated and walled. In spite of the rain it looked very attractive. Or perhaps because of the rain, for hardly any people – tourists – were around so that we could soak up the atmosphere of the place. The church is situated at the top of the village. Inside we discovered the most beautifully carved choir stalls. Perhaps they are well-known. The advantage of not reading a guidebook beforehand and just getting out of the car when a place looks interesting is that it is as if one is the first person to discover those delights, and one can be one's very own Livingstone.

 The three kings bringing gifts

John baptising Jesus in the river Jordan 

Mary and Elizabeth

Two drinking men, carved in wood and as a pub sign

At the end of the stalls scenes from the Bible are carved in great detail. The holy family in a very homely setting with Mary doing some household chores while the child Jesus looks on, and Joseph looking down on the scene from his workbench. The meeting of Elizabeth and Mary, Elizabeth greeting the child that is to be born by tenderly touching Mary's stomach. On top of one of the stalls two men are drinking. A pub on the main road just outside the gate of this town has the same scene cut out in metal hanging over the entrance door. The church seems rather big for a town this size, and has splendid views over the undulating land. The church was built in the 12th century and combines roman and gothic elements. The intricately carved stalls date back to the 16th century. 

 Biblical scenes

The holy family, Mary, Joseph and Jesus and an angel 

Adam and Eve. On top Jesus is presented in the temple

And I have not even mentioned the misericords

 Detail of the base of one of the pillars 

 The main doors. Below: detail