Unexcused Absences

We originally planned to leave Besançon Sunday morning, but a close inspection of the “culture of Besançon” brochure changed our minds. An event titled “Pique-nique Géant” (giant picnic) caught our eye. There was also a series of mini concerts around the city, so we decided to stay in town a third night.

An alarm clock that means business; that thing in the back of the tray that looks like a mini canon is really a mini canon

Before the concerts we visited the Museum of Time, which covers the history of timekeeping. Sundials, hourglasses, and pocket watches right up through modern atomic clocks were on display. There was even, I kid you not, a portable alarm clock that fired a miniature canon at the appointed hour. In addition to the usual alarm bell, there was a flintlock mechanism and an little tiny barrel, maybe a centimeter in diameter and 8-10cm long. For those who find it really difficult to get up in the morning, I guess. I’m sure my mom would have appreciated one of those during my teenage years.

Astronomical clock in Cathédral St-Jean

Besançon has a long history of clockmaking, starting with the creation of a giant astronomical clock – still ticking – back in the mid-19th century and currently located in a room off the Cathédral St-Jean. This clock has an absurd number of dials and indicators. Made with about 30,000 parts (really), its 122 displays show current time in major cities around the world, the state and height of the tides at six harbors all around France, position of the planets, lunar phases, solar and lunar eclipse information (!), days of the week, etc.  It also keeps track of leap years, sunrise and sunset times, seasons, and it has gears that convey the master time to four clocks mounted on the cathedral bell tower. On top of all that, it has animated figures that come out and move around at the top of each hour, playing out a series of ecumenical themes (including the resurrection and burial of Christ) if you’re patient enough to sit in front of the clock for the entire day.

Besançon skyline looking south

The Cathédral St-Jean, built mostly in the 12th century, is also noteworthy in that it follows the Carolingian layout with two opposite apses. In the 18th century the bell tower collapsed, destroying the minor apse, which was then rebuilt in the Baroque style. So today you have a church where you enter from the side, and if you turn left you see a Baroque altar, and if you turn right you see a Gothic one.

Concert of Middle-Ages music

After taking the clock tour (given every hour at 10 minutes before the hour), we stopped in at a couple of the free concerts. The first one presented music from the Middle Ages, the second Renaissance and Baroque. It was interesting to see the old instruments, and how they were similar to but quite different from their counterparts today. The musicians were absolutely first-class (unlike at the fête de la musique at Chalon-sur-Saone a few weeks ago), and the concerts were delightful.

The Pique-nique Géant

Then, it was time for the Pique-nique Géant. We gathered up some food (Heather made pasta salad) and wine and brought along Rob and Terry, of the river cruiser Armida, who we had met during Week 5 at Santenay, and set out to find this community picnic. It wasn’t difficult. Imagine a row of tables a quarter mile long winding through the streets of the old city, filled with people of every age. We found four seats between a young couple (probably college age) and what looked to be a group of 60-70 year olds. One of them proudly told us, “J’ai quatre vingt dix années” (I am 90 years old)! We asked how she stayed so young, and she said she always wore cute earrings that matched her blouse, bought good make-up and visited hair salons frequently.

It was truly an amazing experience, and we try not to use “amazing” lightly. Everyone passed their dishes around to their table-neighbors, and we all got to know one another a bit. And if that wasn’t enough, a tiny electric van owned by the city kept making the rounds handing out free wine and cheesy-biscuits (this is France). I think we in the USA could learn a thing or two about the proper way to enjoy a Sunday evening.

Learning “pétanque” from the locals

Monday we pried ourselves away from Besançon and continued upriver (north-east) to Deluz, a tiny but prosperous village in the heart of the Doubs River area. As the sun was setting I noticed a small group setting up to play pétanque (the French version of Bacci) in the public garden by the canal. I tried to convince Favorite Wife to join me in my quest to learn the French National Game, but she was happily ensconced in reading a book on the boat, so I wandered over to the group alone.

A man and three younger ladies were involved in a cut-throat game of pétanque. Once I said bon soir (or maybe when they looked at my clothes) they realized I was not French and became very curious about where I was from. They evidently don’t get many Americans through these parts, because once they found out I was from the USA they all wanted their picture taken and insisted that I post the pics on Facebook. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I only log into Facebook once a year, whether I need to or not.

After they finished the game the man insisted that I take his place, and he gave me a quick rundown on the rules and turned me loose. I did relatively well for a complete beginner, and I think (but can’t be sure – I’m still not crystal clear on the scoring) that I managed to score a point or two for our team. The whole thing was great fun, and I’m now looking forward to buying a set of pétanque balls for Après Ski so we can join in future games.

Our hike above the Doubs River

This area of the Doubs River is quite rugged; steep hills rise right from the water up a thousand feet or more. Tuesday morning we set out on a two hour hike to a nearby lookout, and after a couple false starts attempting to find the trail we made the summit and were rewarded with a gorgeous view to the east. We are looking forward to more hikes over the coming weeks.

Cruising on the Doubs River

That afternoon we continued east to Baume-les-Dames, a medium-sized town that owes its name to the women’s abbey established in the 9th century. The town was also home to an excellent bike repair shop, which we made extensive use of. Over the weeks and years our bikes have suffered minor wear-and-tear, but Monday in Besançon one of the spokes (French: rayons) on my rear wheel broke, so visiting a repair shop became somewhat more urgent. Fortunately, JM Brun runs a comprehensive and inexpensive shop where we bought a replacement rear wheel (roue), 6-speed gear set (pignons de vitesse), kickstand (béquille), headlight (lampe de bicyclette), and tire (pneu) for Heather. Total cost for all items, 42 euros.

Parked in Baume-les-Dames right next to the port restaurant

Wednesday afternoon we drove to Clerval hoping to park at the pontoon in the town center. When we arrived we discovered the pontoon was completely out of service, and in fact the water in the “port” was only about 6 inches deep. We have three separate (and recent) guide books that list Clerval as a nice stopping point, but clearly none of the authors have been to Clerval in a while. Note to the publishers; send someone around to scout things out! We backtracked about 20 minutes (we needed to get off the river and into a canalized section) to kilometer point 124 (PK 124) and parked against a bulkhead.

Thursday morning we rode our bikes up to Clerval to try a hike we saw listed in the guidebook. It gave us a nice vantage point 800 feet above the town for about an hour walking each way. That afternoon we pushed on to l’Isle-sur-le-Doubs, home to the most convenient fuel station on the French canals. From the nice bulkhead it’s about 25 meters across a road to a very reasonably priced service station and Intermarché, so you can fill up your diesel tank (in 20 liter jerry-can increments, of course), and top up the pantry in the same stop.

More amazing scenery on the Doubs River

Friday morning was market day, and we bought some olives, olive paste, bread, and codfish casserole (cooked and ready-to-eat). That afternoon I worked on some boat projects and Heather put in some time for our client in the Bahamas and wrote a proposal for some potential work in Maui. I like to think that if you must work, at least do work for fun people in tropical locations.

As we’ve moved east from Besançon, it’s become harder and harder to understand the locals. By Isle-sur-le-Doubs the accent was quite challenging. We are quite close to Switzerland, and by the middle of next week we will be right up against Germany, so one can really hear the fact that this part of France has been influenced by a melange of different languages.

Montbéliard

Saturday we drove the 5 hour stretch to the city that Peugeot built, Montbéliard. The first Peugeot factory, built in 1810, made tools and coffee grinders and hardware items. Seventy-five years later they expanded to bicycles, and in 1891 built their first automobile. The rest, as has been said by many others, is history. We intend to visit the company museum on our way back through this area about 10 days from now.

Montbéliard, under Henriette de Württemberg in 1397, united her city with the German Empire, and it remained a German principality on French soil for almost 400 years. Because of the Württemberg influence, town was, and still is, a Protestant stronghold in mostly Catholic France.

Reggae concert in the park

The city is quite an attractive one for the passing tourist. There is a beautiful park, “Près la Rose,” situated next to the canal port. The old city, with the Württemberg Château above it on a hill, has a walking district full of shops, and the town council puts on a free concert every Saturday evening in the park. We brought a picnic dinner and saw “Mojo Hand,” a 1950’s America tribute band of average talent, followed by “Mystical Faya,” a fantastic reggae band who could easily hold their own with Peter Tosh or Alpha Blondie.

Fireworks in Montbéliard

At 10pm, everything stopped and we all moved en masse to the other end of the park to watch the fireworks display of France’s Fête Nationale (even though it was the evening of July 13, not 14). The display was only so-so, but because of how the port was situated, we were able to watch the fireworks from the deck of Après Ski.

Next week we’ll cross Western Europe’s continental divide, separating the Rhône and Rhine river valleys, and continue right up to the border with Germany before turning around and heading to our winter parking a few weeks from now.

France 2013 Week 8 Numbers:

• Kilometers: 90
• Locks: 35
• Engine Hours: 20
• Cost of Moorings: 40.80 euros (9.80€ in Besançon, 10.70€ in Baume-les-Dames, 9.70€ in Isle-sur-le-Doubs, 10.60€ in Montbéliard)

France 2013 Total Numbers:

• Kilometers: 724
• Locks: 269
• Engine Hours: 150
• Cost of Moorings: 131.80 euros

France 2013 – Week8 Route

At the time museum, a mid 1970’s cesium clock from Hewlett-Packard

“At the tone, the time will be…” – an early talking clock from the 1960’s

A lock on the Doubs River

Photo from my early pétanque career

Keeping it fair

Looking south from Deluz

The Citadelle of Besançon

The Doubs River valley

Our section of the Pique-nique Géant, with the band