After 36 hours of snowing in the Franches Montagnes

Two Reasons to visit Les Bois

L'Auberge de l'Ours, Les Bois; Tel. 032 961 14 45; Ferme du dimanche a 18 heures au mardi a 18 heures;

There are at least two reasions to visit the tiny "Les Bois" village (with some very urban high rising buildings giving the village a real special character) between Saignelegier and la Chaux de Fonds: The Boucherie Pierre Billat where customers come from far and queue up for long to get meat which is said to be one of the best in the region. And the "Auberge de l'Ours" where service ranks among the friendliest in all the Franche-Montagnes, a nice little menu with the common Jura specials raning from Cuisses to Jambon cuit, and pretty tables in pink!

Croute aux Morilles (the morilles unfortunately not from the region)

And extra fresh chips for a little girl that has just woken up!

When in the old times there was only one church in the Franche Montagnes, in Montfaucon (L'Eglise-Mère was the only church in the Franches Montagnes, until the 16th century), the people from Les Bois on their way to Montfaucon had a rest in the hamlet of Les Emibois. As the place has been mid-way to the church for the people from Les Bois, the origins of the name of the hamlet are said to have developed from (de)mi (chemin des gens de les) bois!

Bellelay - the place where the Wild Boar was commemorated

Difficult where to look - the newly renovated Abbaie de Bellelay is simple beautiful. All in white, with no furniture in at all, but an enormous recontructed Pipe Organ, one can only immagine what a monumental experience 300 years ago it must have been for a simple peasant to enter the cathedral! 200 years ago the French revolution raided the place, decorations and furniture were removed, and some have since been refound in other churches in the region, and in the museum in La Chaux de Fonds. Until the 1950th, the cathedral was then used as a barn just like in Stalin's Soviet Union, until renovated and reopened in the 1960th. The pipe organ fanatic Bernhard Heiniger now has constructed a new organ - listening to it in the entirely furniture free cathedral, with just the what washed walls, the figures, the organ and the sound, is a truly amazing experience, even for the non pipe and cathedral fanatics!

But it isn't everything that the tiny spot of Bellelay - the legend goes that it was a "Laie", a wild bore in French that a lost hunter had killed and then swore to build a chapel on the spot of what later became "Bellelay" if ever he found out of the forest again - has to offer. Bellelay is also the birth place of the Tete de Moine Cheese, with which the monks used to pay there annual fees to the landlords and then, after having gained a gold medal in Paris has become world famous. Tramelan has been one of the major trading places for Tete de Moine, which for many years has alsmost exclusively been exported rather than consumed locally.

The Hotel de l'Ours is monumental, too and well known for its very generous portions of game served in autumn.

The Domaine de Bellelay hosts a riding centre, and a historical cave for rustic lunches and dinners. And the near-by turf cutting grounds have been transformed into a nature reserve.

How to reach Bellelay: Publicar "Courtine" serves Bellelay from Tavannes at any time you want mornings and afternoons except Saturdays. Simply call ... and make use of this great service!

Restaurant "Les Places" - with a view into the Bernese Oberland

How to reach it: 1 good hour of stiff walk from Tramelan, along the road towards the North West. In summer there is also the option of a track through the beautiful forest La Cote.

Closed on Wednesdays;

The reason to climb up to "Les Places"? The most fantastic views accross La Tanne, the Jura right to Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, and a lot more! Once the snow will have melted from the terrace, there are tables and bottles on white wine on each one, served with freshly cut cheese and sausage!

When you travel back home by train from Tramelan to Tavannes, look up to your left! The little roof triangle of a witch house entirely within the forest is exactly "Les Places" saying farewell to you!

Gastronomic La Chaux de Fonds

We had very little idea when venturing out into culinaric La Chaux de Fonds - but follow us, it is very well worth! Simply delicous, we would say!

Cafe Confiserie Le Croissant Show

Start your day e.g. in the Croissant Show Cafe and Confiserie, with the best chocolate in town, excellent coffee (obviously with freshly roasted coffee), delicious croissant, or - believe it or not until you have tried - absolutely delicious foi groi canapee, for 3Sfr. only! Very friendly staff, impecable quality of food, all done with the greatest attention to details, and a price value relation unreached any where else in Switzerland!

Continue for lunch to the

Ferme des Brandt

http://www.fermedesbrandt.ch/

just outside town, in a marvelous 400 year old Jura house, where slow roasted pig and similar is expecting you, in a awesome interior and very friendly service! Only 5 Min walk from the bus station you end up into a complete rural set up, the perfect escape from anything in space and time.

"...ins älteste Bauernhaus von La Chaux de Fonds. Ein imposantes Jurassier Bauernhaus von 1614. Die Erbauer mussten sehr Reich gewesen sein, denn das Haus ist riesengross, wunderschön ausgebaut und erscheint immer noch in seinem ursprünglichen Zustand. Das Restaurant breitet sich im ganzen Erdgeschoss über mehrere Räume aus. Der grosse Hauptraum ist wohl die ehemalige Küche mit monumentalem Kamin und Cheminee. Man sitzt in einem riesigen von Säulen gestützten Gewölbe. Die Stube dagegen ist dunkel getäfert und wirkt heimelig, warm und gemütlich. Daneben gibts noch ein paar Nebenräume, die auch bewirtet sind. Rustikale Tische, schiefe Steinböden, diche Wände und doch so gemütlich. Ein Erlebnis, dass man sich auf keinen Fall entgehen lassen sollte, falls man mal im Jura unterwegs ist.
Die Küche ist empfehlenswert. Die Karte fleischlastig, für Vegetarier wohl nicht so geeignet, obwohl ein Assiette végétarienne angeboten wird. Wir probierten einiges. Vom Kaninchen über Wildschwein, Lamm oder Entenschenkel. Alles war hervorragend und auch die Crème brulée war herrlich. Die Preise sind sehr moderat, ich glaube kaum, dass man in Zürich einen Entenschenkel mit Fois Gras oder schöner gesagt «Cuisse de canard confite et foie gras mis-cuit, duo de lentille, légumes» für 31 Franken bekommt."

Then stock up

at the Maison du Fromage chez Affineur Sterchi (Passage du Centre, 4) for - you guess - incredible cheese and straight at the factory of la Semeuse in their beautiful factory shop (Bus Nr. 3, Paysans-Horlogers bus stop, a bright yellow building, open Monday - Friday, 7.30-12 and 13.15-17.30) for unique coffees and chocolate, so when you are back home you are not short of ingredients to continue to indulge yourself...

Les Sommetres: An Eagle's Nest above the Doubs

We turned left at this signpost located half an hour walk through silent forests from Le Noirmont, and discovered the very most beautiful eagle's nest of the entire Jura: the Cabane des Sommetres high above the Doubs perched on a rock!

Views in any direction are phantastic. The best: from the toilet, for sure!

Rebuilt in the 1990th, the place is tiny, with about 10 sleeping places, a large table and basic kitchen utensils, as well as a number of fondue caclons!

The access is a bit exposed, but well secured with handrails and...

...once in the hut safe even for the smallest ones! Take some good food and wine, 3Sfr. per person and your sleeping bag with you, and you will have an unforgettable overnight in your memory for sure.

H4's Recommendations visiting Muriaux

If you are desperate for foi gras, then head straight to the Croix Federale in Muriaux...

...but otherwise the choice between the two places is difficult, not only for patriots! The menu with Gilles and Marion in the Croix Federal (Tel. 032 951 12 57, closed Tuesday from 3pm and Wednesday) is small and delicious - try the deep fried carp a discretion after foi gras!!! - and service very friendly. With Madame next door in the Hotel National, the atmosphere is equally friendly, but very busy particularely at lunch time when workers crowd in for a substantial meal, including fruit and cheese for not much more than 15Sfr.! But the real reason to go there is Madame herself: she prepares, cooks, serves and tidyies up the place all herself, and food is good, on time and rounded of with a perfect espresso! A real self made woman to be supported every now and then.
For more self made experience go before or after the meal for a visit to the Foundation Oscar and Janine Jaggli: Oscar is an artist of huge metal sculptures, many of them designed in the vonRoll black smith factories with nothing smaller than 3000t presses and gable staplers. But the real reason to go there is Janine, his wife, which does wonderful guided tours through the work of her husband, also his excentric music, with a modest mention of her own contributions, eg. as a great photographer. Very worth to visit. The workshop itself is a look worth too: it is a former horse relais on the Berne-Paris route! Arrange a visit before hand, Tel. 079 240 20 73 or '32 951 23 71; www.iroise.ch/fondation-wiggli

In one of the Wiggli Publications, we also came accross one of the very best descriptions of the Franche Montagnes we love:

"Wer Oscar Wiggli (in Muriaux) aufsucht, durchfährt eine unschweizerisch grossatmige, akzentarme, wortkarge Landschaft, lange Strassendörfer an Talhängen, dann Hochflächen, Hochweiden, langausschwingende Horizonte, Niederungen mit schweigenden Herden von Pferden und Fleckvieh."

And if you happen to be in Muriaux on the second week end of February, then do not miss on the Winter version of the Marche Concours! Dressed up like Russian Tsars, parallel sledge runs to the sounds of dramatic music are great to watch, or you let youself draw by gallopping horses on skies - maybe something for godfather Phil, too?