From France to Switzerland

Day 128, Mile 5,545
St.Cergue, Switzerland

We bookended our arrival into, and our departure out of France, with stormy skies and the kindness of strangers.  In between the two we spent 16 days cycling 677 miles through the French countryside. 
 



Riding by vineyards



Southern France was a paradise for these two cyclists.  It wasn't just the network of small roads, or the bakeries, or the friendly people, or the bakeries, or the ease of resuppling our camping food, or the bakeries, or the clear skies and beautiful scenery, but a combination of all of these that made this part of the country such a dream.  Soon after our arrival, we were invited into Dominique and Olivier's French villa and were able to rest our weary legs and enjoy some French hospitality. 

Sharing lunch with Dominique & Olivier at their home in Houilles

It seemed to us after this experience, and as we cycled through the villages and countryside, that the French as a whole are living like they are retired.  They get up, walk or cycle into town for their baguettes, make a large fresh lunch, take naps and eat between noon and 2 (when the whole country shuts down).  The houses that dot the countryside all have beautiful gardens, with roses and ivy growing up the walls.  They drink, they smoke, they cycle and they spend time with family and friends.  The only time we saw any sense of urgency was between 11 AM and noon when they manically shop for food before the stores shut down.  Do NOT get between a 60 year old woman driving her little Citroen as she heads to the store at 11:45! 



Buying our daily baguette


We rode through forest and farmland, long valleys and longer mountains, and it was all quite pleasant. Our favorite part of the country, though, was the bakeries (or boulangeries).  They dotted the countryside with such regularity that we would just pick up the day's baguette sometime in the morning, slice it up with butter and jelly and then save the rest for lunch.  Every day we were able to give oursleves an additional little treat of a French pastry of some kind (including apple turnovers, pain au chocolats, donuts, eclaires, almond tarts, etc).  They're a little treat, with guilt free affordability, and oh so good!  We also got a couple French dinners that were fine, but we think the fancier cooking is more in the cities than in the countryside that we traveled.  We did get totally stuffed at a restaurant that by the name sounds Scottish.  Mc... something or other.


Buying half a kilo of cherries to eat with lunch


France was actually difficult for us to photograph.  We could capture an entire Portuguese village in a photo, but in France it was the roses that climbed the stuccoed villas that dotted the countryside that were so beautiful.  It was the amazing centuries-old mansions, churches, and roman baths.  It was the sweeping vineyards that lay between the villages.  It was the woman sweeping her sidewalk at noon.  It was the enthusiastic "Bonjour" that greeted us as we cycled past or the "Bon Appetite" that greeted us again and again as people wandered past us as we ate our lunch in a park. It was the farms that were finally producing fruit and the road side stands with cherries, melons, and strawberries for sale. 

Brian learning the thow technique from a French bocce ball expert

It was the men playing bocce ball in the town square. It was even the toilets that weren't toilet bowls, but rather just a whole in the floor that we squatted over.  These might not be photo's we can post on our blog, but they are what make us want to retire here in twenty years (well, everything but the squat toilets).





 

A Frenchman giving us directions at an unsigned intersection

 As wonderful as France was, after a couple of weeks we were eager to get to Switzerland.  We rode later than usual a couple evenings as we rode up then down one ridge after another through the Jura Mountains that separate the two countries.  Finally, at 40 degrees and under sheets of pouring rain, we crossed the border.  We were wet and frozen and were looking for a house door to knock on to ask for water so we could crawl in our tent for the night, when a car stopped and a fellow was flagging us down.  The driver, Dave, saw us riding and turned around to tell us that we could hop on a train to take us up the hill we were climbing.  We thanked him, but explained that we were riding through Europe, so we wouldn't be doing that, but were looking for camping for the night. 


Our generous hosts Jill and David in St. Cergue Switzerland


After a bit of chatting, he mentioned that he had an extra apartment about 10 kilometers up the road and it might be available for us to spend the night in.  With chattering teeth we said "that would be great!"  But he had to check with his wife.  We pushed on, got to the town, and still did not see him again.  We checked at the local hotel, but with a $150 price tag for the night, that was not an option.  But while we were sitting there drinking a cup of hot tea and getting ready to head back out into the rain, in came Dave and he said "OK, we're all set, follow me to the house."  We each took 20 minute HOT showers, warmed up, had a home cooked meal of duck with all the trimmings prepared by his wife Jill, and are currently dozing away the day with the storm still brewing outside.  We can look out the window and see Lake Geneve a thousand feet below us and are waiting for snow covered Mount Blanc to appear when the clouds lift.

We've written about people taking us in, and the kindness of strangers of all types, all during this trip. It doesn't happen every week, but it has happened with astonishing regularity.  Some of these people seek out cyclists to help, but more often it is someone who never even thought of such a thing.  We're not exactly sure what the difference is between the hundreds of cars that travel by us, and the one that stops, but whatever it is, it really is amazing.  We aren't surprised anymore at the kindness of these people we've never met before, but it never fails to impress us.  One of the best things about a trip like this is that it reaffirms our faith in humanity and the goodness of people.  You can't have this many positive interactions with people and not feel that way.

We'll be in Switzerland about a week as we ride the Lac Route east and then up through Zurich and onto the Danube river bike path in Germany.