We woke up this morning to find that even though the weather had predicted rain it was clear and blue.

We changed our plans and decided to head for the top of Europe the Jungfraujoch. We go our earliest start yet. We caught a train up the side of the valley to Kleine Scheidegg.

We then caught another train that went through a tunnel for 45 minutes to the top. While it wasn’t perfectly clear we did get some amazing views, got to play and have lunch in the snow and toured an ice tunnel.

We then caught the train back, got off in Wengen and took an extremely steep trail to the bottom of the valley. After resting we strolled around some of the odd campgrounds, enjoyed the views of our waterfall had dinner and fell exhausted into bed.

Today we woke up early to begin our journey to Switzerland. It was sad to say goodbye to our Semur house but we were looking forward to a new country.

We drove our car back to Dijon and boarded a train to Bern Switzerland with a train change in Neuchâtel. The train was crowded and the porter helped us get to our seats (which were occupied by some squatters). Along the way he said to me, make sure and get off the train for your connection. I said, no problem. Off we went, we enjoyed the view as we entered Switzerland. The porter came by and said to me, you didn’t get off for your connection. It was the last stop. Apparently we were suppose to get off at some small town and make a connection to Neuchâtel. When looking at the ticket there was small print about a correspondence. Who knew.

So instead we got to go to Lausanne.

So from Lausanne we caught a train to Bern and arrived about 30 minutes later than expected. Not to bad. From there we caught a train to Interlachen, then a great old train into the mountains and Lauterbrunnen and finally a bus to our cute chatlet with a great view up the valley.

We immediately headed out to catch a tram and train to a small town up on the side of the valley (Murren) with more amazing views. We stopped at a small hotel and had a bier.

We headed back toward the train home so we could get to the store before it closed at 7:00 (we had NO provisions). Well we missed the train by 30 seconds. We walked back into Murren to the small store but got there after it closed. So back to the next train knowing we’d miss the store being open. No problem, we’d just eat out. We headed down the quiet street of Lauterbrunnen checking out each restaurant. Toward the end of town we found a pub. They had pitchers of beer and the special was bratwurst and fries. We ordered one pitcher and 3 brats. Delicious.

We even had some admiring eyes while we ate.

Finally we walked back home with a great view of a waterfall as we went.

Once back in Semur Emily and I headed up the hill for a tour of one of the Semur towers. We arrived just as a huge thunderstorm hit. During the storm we had a guided tour (with just one other persons) of the tower built in the 1100’s.

Afterwards we went and dined at the delicious Restaurant des Minimes. We had a wonderful meal that included salmon, legumes, eggs in a Bourgogne sauce, cod, steak, creme brûlée and tart citron. Oh my!! Amazing.

Tomorrow we are up early for a drive to Dijon then trains to Berne, Interlachen and Lauterbrunnen Switzerland. We’ve totally enjoyed the laid back time in the French countryside and look forward to the Swiss alps.

After lunch we drove up the hill to a great chateau where a famous Frenchman (Vabon) lived. We toured the place practically alone. It had great descriptions and was very enjoyable.

We bought some sandwiches and headed out of town. We found a little roadside stop for lunch. In the background was the Chateau Bazoches.

Today we jumped in the car for our final day in Burgundy. Our first destination Vezelay. A very interesting old town. The Main Street is up a hill where the church is located. The relics of Mary Magdeline (her little finger) are kept here.

It turns out that Vezelay is one of the big starting points for the Camino de Santiago that I will be doing in September. The symbol for the pilgrimage is a scalloped shell. Outside the church we found the symbol marking the start of the journey.

It had been a pretty hot day. We headed back home but stopped so Emily could buy a baguette from one of our favorite bakers.

In the morning we had gone to the charcuterie and purchased many wonderful items. We made a wonderful dinner including escargot.

The meal was one of our favorites so far.

After the Chateau we headed to a small cute village in the hills. It is where the move Chocolat was filmed. It was a sleepy little village, very pretty but very quiet. We had watched the movie a few nights ago, we found the church and chacolat storefront. We also visited the store that makes a local candy only available here.

We finally headed out for our days activities. Along the way we stooped along the Canal Bourgonge had a nice lunch in the shade along the canal.

We then headed on to the Cateau Bussey-Rabitin. He was a scoundrel that made fun of Loius XIV and was put into exile in this Chateau. He spent his days collecting art and making fun of the royal court.

The estate also had really nice gardens including a labyrinth though it was a bit hot in the sun.

Today we had a slow start to the day. I woke up and walk into town to get pastries for breakfast. They were great.