Barney & Lauri's Burgundy & Beyond Adventure

Our daughter Anna visited us for a week here in Dijon. She was lucky enough to combine her visit with a conference in Konstanz, Germany she attended for work. Together we visited Annecy, the center of the former, until 1860, independent Duchy of Savoy. Annecy’s location close to the Swiss and Italian borders is reflected in its architecture and culture. Our timing was good, as the fresh, spring snow on the surrounding Alps, emphasized Annecy’s picturesque setting.

For dinner we had Raclette, the local specialty, where you melt a chunk of cheese with a grill right at your restaurant table. The molten cheese is traditionally eaten with cooked potatoes and a charcuterie platter:

From Annecy we drove further south into the French Alps to visit the museum of the Charthusian order’s Grande Chartreuse monastery. Coming from a Catholic family where four of my aunts and uncles chose a life in an order, a monastery, Catholic monasticism has always been a subject I have been curious about. Here, at Grande Chartreuse, we wanted to learn more about the first and largest monastery of the Charthusian order.

In a previous post, I talked about the rich monastery history of this region by covering the big and influential Benedictine monastery of Cluny. The Benedictine order was founded almost 1,500 years ago by St. Benedict in Italy in 529. About 500 years later, now 1,000 years ago, new orders were founded as a reform movement against the, by then, more worldly and lavish Benedictine order represented in the excessively lavish Cluny Abbey.

Out of this movement the Cistercian order was founded at their first monastery in Citeaux, just south of Dijon. As abbot and leader of the Cistercian order, St. Bernard of Clairvaux founded 68 monasteries during his lifetime in western Europe, and became an influential figure in the Catholic church and politics at the time. In the 12th century the Cistercian monks founded a “wine farm” at Vougeot south of Dijon, and through their scientific cultivation of wine, were essential in the development of Burgundy wine and viticulture in general.

In 1600 the Trappist order was established as a reform, “stricter observance” on the Cistercian order. As some of you know, the Trappist are famous for their Trappist beers. In the Pacific Northwest we have the Benedictine Mont Angel Abbey in Oregon’s Willamette Valley south of Portland, which is also a Catholic seminary. West of Mont Angel in the Willamette Valley is also a Trappist Abbey named “Our Lady of Guadalupe. Sorry, there is no beer brewing at Our Lady of Guadalupe….

Back to Europe, to our trip to the museum of the Grande Chartreuse monastery: Similar to the founding of the Cistercian order almost 1,000 years ago, Bruno of Cologne founded the Carthusian order in 1084, in this quiet and remote corner of the French Alps. Here, the simple, spartanic, committed lifestyle of work and prayer by these Carthusian monks has survived almost unchanged to this day. The name “Carthusian” for the order, is arrived from the “Chartreuse” mountain range, the location of its first monastery called “Grande Chartreuse”.

Nowadays these Carthusian monks are mostly known for their Chartreuse herbal liqueurs, which provide a main source of their income and which formula is said to include 130 herbs, plants, flowers, and secret ingredients combined in a wine alcohol base. …I have yet to try one of these!

And, to continue on the theme of monasticism in this region of France, a good hour south of Dijon you will find Taizé, which is a relatively recent ecumenical Christian monastic community and pilgrimage destination, that is especially popular with the younger generation. You might find the Taizé evening prayer being sung in multiple Christian denominations throughout Europe, the US, and beyond.

Out of todays perspective, it is just hard to comprehend how influential and important monasticism has been for the development of our western civilization.

After Anna’s visit, we were glad to be able to welcome our friends Bill & Joy from Olympia for a couple of days in Dijon. Bill is a former colleague of mine with whom I’ve been able to share some memorable hikes, canoe trips, and lots of enjoyable visits over the years.

The idea of eating snails, naturally didn’t appear too pleasant to a PNW forester, yet, as you can tell by the picture, after the first sample, Bill quickly warmed up to enjoying “Escargot”.

Today we celebrated Mother’s Day. It was a sunny and warm May day in Burgundy and to Lauri’s liking, there still seems to be a limitless supply of chateaux to visit, just within an hours drive of Dijon. And better yet, some of those even have restaurants where you can have lunch…

Great Day! … almost as good as yesterday, when my riding group, after 75 hilly miles, had the idea to stop for a cold refreshment, just a couple miles from home.

Life is good in Burgundy. Cheers and thanks for reading.