Besançon and Belfort

A day of unremarkable sights so only one photo. Or perhaps I was bored. At the markets we bought ½ kg each of cherries and apricots. The apricots were larger than those in Australia. This was a lovely cheese shop. I bought a CD at a shop. Besançon didn't have much for the tourist. Drinking spots and CD shops are signs of a student town.


I looked after the baggage while B queued for his ticket, getting it just in time. But he wasted a few Euros on a ticket for me because he didn't realise that I was on a railpass that day. We shared second class with lots of students headed for Belfort. There I discovered that the scenic route I wanted to take to Nancy via Épinal didn't start until July. Perhaps SNCF had made some cuts in services after I had done my research. My plan to stay the night in Nancy and do the short run to Strasbourg first thing in the morning was in tatters. I couldn't stay in Belfort, the first train to Strasbourg got in too late to meet my friend. So I would have to hope that there was a free bed in Strasbourg that night.


In the meantime we could lunch then explore for a couple of hours. After a while I lost interest in Belfort so I found an Internet terminal near the station to check my email while B walked some more. Eventually the train came, and we reached Strasbourg about 1830, where we parted. B would return to Germany by crossing the Rhine.


Ciarus, the hostel I had booked at, was an organisation that promoted mutual understanding through peaceful encounters. It was very appropriate for Alsace, a province that had suffered through 4 changes of hand in 75 years of enmity between France and Germany, finally becoming a location of the European Parliament.


I had all of a 3 bunk room to myself. The shower had a push tap which I had to depress periodically to keep the water coming. But the place was very comfy so really I had no complaints. I had a forgettable but cheap dinner at €4,90 in the cafeteria, then I took a walk around the outside of the island, leaving the inside for the next day. I made a note of a wine shop in the shopping centre where I could buy presents for my friends in Zürich.

Besançon

B and I caught a local to Besançon which took about an hour. It was the next major city on my way to Strasbourg, where I had to be in two days' time to meet another friend. There were a lot of workers and kids on the train. We found a room near the station right away. It had modern facilities because the hotel was renovating. The room even had an air-con but this was never needed.

In the evening, when we had rested, we went for a walk in the city. Besançon sits within a meander of the Doubs river and the surrounding landscape is rustic.

The city itself was nowhere near as lively as Dijon, being smaller. However it had its share of grand public monuments and buildings.

I spotted many restaurants and drinking spots as Besançon is a university town. There were many students at ease, probably because the academic year had finished.


We dined at an Italian restaurant where I had a rather undistinguished pasta dish. After a stroll in the evening air, we called it a night.