Back in Burgundy - A 120 km Pilgrimage from Dijon to Cluny

(Diary Sep 7 to Sep 12)

Day 1: Dijon to Gevrey-Chambertin

I am back in Dijon after a 7 hour train ride via Basel, Switzerland and took the tram to the city outskirts back to the Camino. Dijon is surrounded by vineyards. the first leg of my six day journey will be a short one. At dawn I stop at a mediocre looking hotel in the middle of nowhere in Gevrey and call it a day.

Chenove, Dijon

Day 2: Gevrey to Beaune

Over night the weather had changed and it started raining cats and dogs. The trail is wet, slippery and muddy. I follow a has-been train track turned hiking trail, discover an old tunnel (former Tacot line from Paris to Marseille) and gain some elevation with limited views due to dark clouds promising a thunderstorm. The region produces the most expensive wine in France if not worldwide (Vosne-Romanee). And there are (mostly Asian and American) tourists flocking into the area in order to watch the vine pickers at work (the grapes are strictly handpicked). 

Nuits-Saint-Georges is a pretty little town but on Mondays everything seems closed. My weather app warns me that a thunderstorm is coming in so I decide to skip a few miles and take the train to Beaune. Better safe than sorry! At the IBIS Hotel in Beaune it's warm and cosy and I get the opportunity to dry and clean up properly. 

Cathedral in Beaune

Day 3: Beaune to Chagny

As if nothing had happened weather gods had turned it back to sunshine and perfect hiking conditions. The villages that I come across are in preparation for the harvest celebration in two weeks time. today I follow the bike path for the better part of the day but that's fine since the hiking tracks are still pretty muddy. Meursault is a beautiful village, and I deserve a break. There I meet my first pilgrim. A German (of course) lady my age (of course) coming down from the Alsatian route. My section goal Chagny doesn't impress much, but the bus takes me back to Beaune where I had made reservations for a second night.

Meursault

Chagny

Day 4: Chagny to Buxy

The French are on strike! Again! They doth protest too much, me thinks. Anyway the trains won't roll today. Thankfully the local bus system is still working fine, and I get back on trail in Chagny. I meet three French pilgrims - again my age - with classic French names (Dominique, Thierry and Olivier) and we converse a while in a Babylonian mix of French, English and German. They also came down the Alsatian route where many people are bilingual as the region borders on Germany. Alas, I have to press on as I need to conquer 30 kms and almost 800 meters in elevation today. In Rully I encounter a German couple in a beautiful vintage car who take part in a classic car rally and meet-up. The asphalt beating today makes my feet hurt. I am glad I can make it without blisters to my B&B in Buxy. Christine (the host) and her assistant Celeste, a cute little dog who immediately falls in love with me, welcome me with a beer and cassis juice. What a day!

Thalie source

Rully castle

Celeste in stand-by mode

Day 5: Buxy to Taizé

I briefly hit the market in Buxy to stock up on fruit and am on my way again. Another 30 km day awaits but without much elevation gain. Still the trail has a lot of views to offer. Today I seem to be completely alone on the Camino. Halftime is in Saint Gengoux, and high time for a break. The next section will be almost on flat terrain through farmland. I arrive at Taizé half an our before dinner time, get a bunk bed in a barrack which I share with two lady pilgrims from Lübeck, Germany. The communal meal is simple but ok.

The Taizé Order is an ecumenical Christian community based in the village of Taizé. Founded in 1940 by the Swiss theologian Brother Roger Schutz with the goal of reconciling different Christian religions. In nower days, every year, thousands of (mostly) young people from all over the world come for meet-up and prayer. Lots of young people, and no one is on their cell phones. It's not loud either. I want to try out the evening prayer, as the Taizé liturgical prayers are supposed to be something special. The hymns take up a large part of the service. The centerpiece is a ten-minute silence. There is no sermon. The repeated singing of the simple verses gives the prayer a meditative character, ideal for finding inner peace. I hit the sack at 9:30 pm.

Buxy

St. Gengoux

Day 6: Taizé to Cluny to home

A long travel day lies ahead of me starting with three miles towards Cluny, a medieval village and founding place of the former Cluniac order. I wake up at six. So as not to disturb my roommates, I had already stuffed everything into my backpack the night before. By the washrooms, I regroup and prepare for the final stretch. It's still dark but I have a headlamp for orientation. The path is flat and leads almost straight ahead towards Cluny. After two hours, I arrive at my final destination of this year's journey. The morning light catches on the old walls, and let them bathe in golden shimmer. The tourist information office doesn't open for another hour, so I grab some chocolate croissants from the boulangerie and enjoy a strong coffee in the café by the abbey. After collecting my stamp, I take a stroll through the old town. Nice, but something's missing. Metz and Langres had flair and were especially catering to pilgrims. Considering that the once influential Cluniac Order was founded here, I would have expected more spiritual vibes. While I'm still pondering, I notice my feet already carrying me to the bus stop. In half an hour, line 701 leaves for Macon where I catch a train back home via Strasbourg, Mannheim, and Cologne. That was it for 2025. 

The landscape was magnificent, the path was often hard (in terms of surface) but beautiful, and the weather ended up being much better than forecasted. I'm looking forward to the next leg of my journey towards the end of the world (Fistera or Finisterre in Spain).

Cluny abbey

That's it!