29 3 / 2012
Dijon - Lausanne - Montreux
2h 54min. TGV 9273 + regional 12177.
What a change of scenery! It doesn’t take more than an hour from Dijon for the landscape and houses to change into definite Alpine look. Even couple of patches of snow in the shadows, a shocking sight after leaving all that ice&cold behind two weeks ago and having enjoyed mediterranean warmth & sunshine since!
The landscape opens up again once we pass the mountains between France and Switzerland, offering a beautiful sunset over the hills and fields. And after a change of train in Lausanne the stunning landscape by the lake Geneva gives a memorable welcome to Switzerland: arriving at the later part of the blue hour, everything is absolutely blue - the lake, the sky, the shadows of the buildings, and the Alps looming there in the background, already almost disappearing to the darkening sky. Magical.
29 3 / 2012
Dijon
I may have gotten immune to the charm of old French towns due to overdose of their beauty - or it could be that Dijon just doesn’t just rise to the level of the previous ones. Surely a nice place to walk around for an afternoon, to enjoy a long lunch on a sunny terrace and sip a cold rosé while watching people pass by. But I’m glad I didn’t book another night here, not sure I would have found it interesting enough for a another day. So today it’s time to bid adieu to France and head to the Alps on an evening train. First stop: to check if there’s still smoke on the water in Montreux.
Post scriptum: as I was typing the chapter above on a terrace enjoying my wine, I got defecated over by a pigeon, a grande finale and final thank you from Dijon. So it seems that pigeons have a sense of poetic justice…
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29 3 / 2012
City Loft, Dijon. 56€
What a godawful, overwhelming stuffy smell in this place. With somewhat dirty sheets and towels. And a new winner for the “worst view from the hotel window” prize, by a mile. Overall very depressing place. So happy I was here for just the 8h sleep and nothing more.
