Hello
@monja
I have walked as a solitary pilgrim from
Freiburg Im Breisgau to Cluny (via Taizé) in the summer, 2018 and also from across
Germany to Vézelay in winter/spring 2010-2011. When I first walked in France I could barely speak French. I wore a coquille Saint-Jacques on a string around my neck and managed mostly by showing my credencial. "Bonjour!" plus a few memorized phrases did the rest. It was all part of the fun. Since then French studies have become part of my daily routine...
In Vézelay I was enthralled by the Romanesque interior of the Basilica Sainte-Marie-Madeleine and also the exquisite chanting of the Fréres et Soeurs in four-part harmony. I was very tired by the time I reached Vézelay so I rested there for a number of days.
Video:
Vèzelay un rayon de sa lumière
I photographed and blogged the journey through Germany to Vézelay sharing it 'live' with the Forum. The blog is very long as I had started months before in Norway. After Koblenz I followed the Moselle Camino to Trier. From Trier there are 500 kms of trails to Vézelay, crossing into France at at Sierck-Les-Bains (Blog: Day 194,
#305 ). The guide book which I used had only just been published. Signing along the trail has much improved since then:
Guide book Trier-Vézelay: Steffen, Wolfgang.
Von Apostelgrab zu Apostelgrab, Ein Führer für Pilgerinnen auf dem Weg nach Santiago von St. Matthias in Trier bis Sainte Madeleine in VézelayGalli: Verlag. ISBN 978-3-936990-49-2
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Vézelay Basilica (2011): WOW, look at those trail runners!
As for Cluny, the massive Abbey is in ruins. I have walked there twice on my way to the community
Taizé and visited another time as a tourist. I first learned of Cluny through studying Musicology so, for me, a visit to Cluny is somewhat cerebral, more about the evolution of western music than anything else. The ruins and town are interesting, though, and I've squandered more than a day or so exploring them. In Cluny I knocked on the convent door of Les Sœurs St Joseph and had a pleasant stay.
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Attached below is a PDF which I put together after walking from Freiburg Im Breisgau to Taizé (2018). There may be something useful in it for you. Cluny is a mere 10 kms from Taizé, along the
old voie verte. Pilgrims often overnight there on their way to Assisi and Santiago de Compostela.
Route taken: Three weeks along der Jakobsweg/le Chemin de St Jacques from Freiburg im Breisgau through the Alsace (Haut-Rhin), the Franche-Compté, Bourgogne + La Saône. (
Resource section)
Happy planning!
Lovingkindness
PS If you have the time, there is no need to choose between walking to Vézelay or to Cluny. There is now a signed pilgrim trail passing between the two:
Le Chemin d'Assise
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Chemin d'Assise