After leaving Vezelay and its hilltop basilica, we went still further east and a bit north to the small town of Montbard, which is not far from Dijon. We chose it as our stop-over point because it is very close to Fontenay Abbey which we were keen to visit. It is the oldest surviving Cistercian Abbey in France and we were eager to discover what the Cistercians thought were the important facts of life. In theory, they believed in poverty and solitude, although poverty is always a very relative thing and as far as we could make out, they lived extremely well. The Abbey was completely self-sufficient, with a well-run farm to supply all their food requirements, including grain for bread; an innovative water-wheel driven forge where they smelted ore mined on the property and made all their own tools and hardware; a bakery which first ground the wheat into flour using the same water power as the forge, and then baked sufficient bread to feed 200 monks every day; and a large trout pond in order to vary their diet. They did not believe in unnecessary decoration, which they saw as distraction, so the buildings are quite plain, almost austere, but the clean lines add to the beauty of the whole layout. The Abbey was built in 1118 and survived until the French Revolution, when it was sold and turned into a paper mill. Fortunately for us, it was bought by a private buyer in 1906 who restored it to its original appearance and the same family still manages it today.
The next couple of days were spent as much on our own as possible, as the few spots that Neels had noticed on his tummy and chest turned into what looked suspiciously like German measles. When we thought back a few days, it was pretty obvious that he had had all the usual symptoms, culminating in the appearance of the spots. So we stayed out of everyone’s way until he felt a bit better a couple of days later. Really! It’s just not fair! We haven’t even been to Germany!
However, once he felt well enough again, we backtracked a little to go to Beaune. Everyone had told us about the fantastic enameled roof tiles that are traditional in Burgundy, and as Beaune is supposed to have the finest examples, we had to go and see. The tiles in question are on the roof of L’Hotel Dieu, which was in fact a hospital started in the 1400’s as a hospital for the poor. Wealthy people were nursed at home, of course, but until then no provision had been made for the homeless or poverty-stricken. In the main hall or ward, the walls are lined with four-poster beds, 26 down each side, each one sporting scarlet blankets and deep red drapes. The overall impression is one of very grand elegance and not at all like a hospital for the poor!. Although the whole building is a masterpiece of art and architecture, it is the roof tiles which draw people here and they can only be seen from the inner courtyard. They are, quite literally amazing. Each tile is about half the size of a normal roof tile, and the section which is exposed once they have been laid, is enameled. Numerous colours are used and the different coloured tiles are arranged in patterns forming a style which is quite unique. Seeing the Hotel Dieu was definitely worth going out of our way for, and although we saw other examples of enameled tiles, mainly on church steeples, none were as fine as those of the buildings in Beaune.
Two quick stop-overs later found us at Masevaux which is right on the border of Alsace. We had decided to give up mediaeval villages and old churches for a while and head into the mountains again. Masevaux was perfect – it certainly gets my vote for France’s prettiest village. I know that I have gone on and on about the flowers that we have seen everywhere, but they really are stunning and it is not only private gardens, where one can imagine the odd enthusiast making a special effort, nor is only the municipal gardens where some employee has been ordered to make a good display, but just everywhere. Every bridge has flowerboxes strung along the railings simply overflowing with colourful blooms; every house has window boxes of geraniums and sometimes a garden too; lamp-posts have hanging baskets which surround the pole half way up; and balconies which jut over the pavement often have baskets suspended from the corners too. The overall effect is one of endless and brilliant colour. Geraniums and petunias seem to be the favourites, with a lot of ageratums thrown in for a bit of blue. I wonder just how long any thing like this would last in South Africa!
Just driving through Masevaux made us want to see more of it, so once we had checked in to our campsite, we walked back into town where we wandered around for an hour or more, before deciding that we would look for a meal somewhere and walk back afterwards. The following morning, though, we were back in town again to take some photographs, after which we went for a drive along one of those roads we call ‘toothpaste roads’. (On the map they look rather like the after effect of treading on a tube of toothpaste – a mass of squiggles). It wasn’t as bad as the map made it out to be and was a wonderful drive up into the mountains through pine plantations and dense forest. On the other side of the mountain was the town of Thann and although we had sworn off churches for a while this was so elaborately decorated that we couldn’t resist.
The town itself has very strong Germanic influences in the building style and even the signboards and notices are in French and German. The church roof, not content with one design in enameled tiles had a different design for each section of the roof, each section also having a different main colour. The steeple was a fretwork of stone carving that gave it a delicate and lacy effect; while every corner or projection seemed to sprout two or sometimes even four stone carved statues. The arch over the main entrance doors was remarkable for the intricacy and detail of the carvings. It was quite over-whelming! And it didn’t stop there. The interior was just as highly-decorated, but with wood rather than stone carvings. Sadly the interior was very dark and even with my flash, I could not get good photos of the myriad little creatures decorating the choir stalls. I think it was worth changing our minds to go and see it!
We came back via the same road which gave us a good chance to see the views we had missed on the way up, then had about an hour for a quick change of clothes before going off to an organ recital in the Masevaux church. For some reason, when the church was built in the 1700’s it was equipped with two organs which were the pride of the town. Unfortunately a fire destroyed the entire church in 1966, but it was rebuilt in the same style and later two organs were installed as they had been in the original. Since 1977 the town has hosted an International Organ Festival every year, and we were lucky enough to catch the final recital. It was excellent, even if Bach is not my favourite composer, but the pieces were chosen to demonstrate the virtuosity of the instrument, and that they certainly did. It was a fitting end to our stay there.
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