After a great time in Beaune, we headed to Chamonix in the French alps. What a wonderful place! We had a beautiful drive on back French roads through wine country stopping to get a one of many amazing meals! Crepes and pizza...yummy! On the way to Chamonix we learned about French toll roads (which lines to go in!) and went over one of the most incredible bridges I have ever seen...long and HIGH!
In Chamonix we had a great hotel with a SPECTACULAR view of the alps...including Mt. Blanc. We rode cable cars up to the top with great views of Mt Blanc...always winter that high up! We enjoyed cloud covered mountains for a few hours and just as we decided to head down to hike, the clouds lifted and we were at the top of beautiful rocky, snow covered peaks. we took only one of the 2 cable cars down and hiked above tree line for a few hours...colors changing, huge peaks, sun out! Really great! We took another train down; it was from another valley, again another glacier! No matter where you turned, it was SO beautiful! We also had a second day of beautiful weather and a nice leisure walk along the glacial river. It is so different; it is sort of milky and greenish blue!
After 2 great days of hiking/walking in Chamonix we returned the rental car and took a beautiful scenic train through the alps from Geneve to Interlaken, which would act as a base for the next few days! The train, which I have seen advertised and read about in guide books, really was nice! It has clear ceilings so you can see all of the mountains that surround you and it takes you over dozens of bridges and through dozens of tunnels! We went through little Swiss towns well equipped with cows (wearing bells!), lovely chalets, overflowing planter boxes, and rolling hills contrasting jetting mountains!
In Interlaken we joined up with my friend Renee and spent the next few days hiking! The first day hiking was along the base of the Eiger rock face. Mom was loving the wild flower seed collection and I loved catching up with Renee. We had a great picnic lunch (wine included, love dad for carrying it!) and stayed in a great lodge in Grindelwald. The following day we had another great hike, stunning views of glaciers, Eiger, Jungfrau and alps, and another great lunch with another great bottle of wine! The Bort lodge was also amazing, views, food, place! Our third day in the area, again a GREAT hike, loaded with glaciers, we were joined by the local military! Apparently Switzerland lets France and Germany use the Swiss alp for fighter plane training; we had jets buzzing the mountains around us all morning...cool the first couple times, a bit noisy after the third or fourth round! We had a great hike and a beautiful bus ride back to Interlaken, through the smallest town in Switzerland!
Although I had been to his area a few times before, this was the best time I had there! I did a few different hikes and they were all so different. We ate amazing food (usually i have some cheap snacks) and had wine all the time! Yum yum! I don't think that I will get enough Alp hiking! After all this hiking, we are back to Basel, then to Colmar and Freiburg! More up next!
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