The French & Swiss Alps,
Part 2
After a day of rest, we set
off on our next big adventure, the town of Chamonix and Mont Blanc.
Chamonix/Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc (White Mountain) is the tallest
mountain in Europe and the summit was first reached in 1786. The
adventure associated with this feat and the surrounding countryside
resulted in the birth of ski resorts and alpine climbing/exploring
as winter sports. These developments were centered in the town
of Chamonix which is at the base of Mont Blanc.
Today, there are still many people who
come in the summer to climb up Mont Blanc and La Mer de Glace,
the large glacier just next to it. In the winter, this entire
region is packed with skiers.
We chose to take an easier route to
see this area--or so we thought. In 1955 a cable car route was
opened that extends from Chamonix, across two of the summits adjacent
to Mont Blanc and over La Mer de Glace, and down into Italy. Our
plan was to take the cable car to the Italian border and back
again. Lots of scenery and not a lot of walking.
What we really ended up doing was taking
the cable car to the Italian border and then back down to the
last stop before Chamonix. From there, we hiked across the face
of the mountains to La Mer de Glace returning to Chamonix on the
cog railway. The approximate path of our day is highlighted on
the map above (the hiker is looking at the key to the colors).
Since this wasn't our original plan, we were only lightly prepared
for the hiking portion of the trip. We had our boots, weather
gear, water, and munchies. We didn't have a map, just a map-less
guide book and the postcard above.
What we learned the hard way was that
the hike was several kilometers long on a narrow trail with a
shear drop off one side. Beautiful, exciting, and long. In fact,
we were concerned that we'd miss the train down. In which case
we'd end up staying at the hotel located at the train station.
It turns out that we did catch the last train of the day. Many
thanks for this success go to our leader of the hike, Juli, who
kept up a steady pace that the rest of us struggled to match.
(Watch out, she's tough.)
Here's some pictures of our visit to
the tallest peak in Europe:
Geneva
If
we thought we were tired after the first hike down into a valley,
it was nothing compared to how we felt after Chamonix. We needed
a day of rest and we took it. We enrolled Juli and Alex in a day
of local activities at Avoriaz; art and pony riding for Juli,
hiking and mountain climbing for Alex, and then drove down to
Geneva where we enjoyed a quiet lunch in a sun-lit street cafe
followed by window shopping on the "golden mile" along
the shore of the lake.
It was here that we saw the monument
of Geneva. Many cities have memorable architectural buildings.
Paris and the Eiffel Tour, London and Big Ben, New York and Times
Square. In Geneva it is the water cannon. According to the literature,
it is a high tech affair with a full time meteorlogical staff
that assures that water will not spray in any way or direction
that is hazardous or violates Swiss law. We're not sure we quite
understand the concept or the history. Regardless, it was a nice
restful day for all of us.
Gimmelwald
One of our guidebooks, Rick Steve's
Europe Through the Back Door (John Muir Publications) describes
Gimmelwald as the Switzerland of "Heidi". And it is.
Gimmelwald is a small town located on the top of a steep cliff
and may be reached by foot, cable car, or helicopter. Being located
in avalanche country, the town can not be developed and so has
survived as a rustic remanant of the Alpine culture that was.
On our last full day in the Alps, we
approached Gimmelwald from the bottom of the cliff. Whereas most
of our hikes to this point had been downward, this last one would
be upward. Straight upward. This time Lori was the leader as the
children were both tired and had to be "encouraged"
from behind. We had forgotten the guide book but remembered the
magic word Gimmelwald. The day would have been much easier had
we realized that the recommended hike was a level one from one
cable car to another... We also missed going to the summit made
famous by a James Bond movie via cable car so we'll just have
to go back!
On the way up we saw locals harvesting
wheat by hand, waterfalls, cows that would talk with you, and
more wonderful vistas. On reaching the village, we enjoyed a warm
lunch and a cold glass of wine overlooking the valley where we'd
started the morning. The children then enjoyed the local playground--the
slide was particularly quick and enjoyable. A cable car ride then
returned us to our car below.
Our return to Avoriaz
brought us back along the shore of Lac Leman and through Swiss
Customs. This is a strange sensation now in Europe. Within the
European Union, free borders are the rule. Switzerland has not
joined the EU and so border checks are still necessary. Perhaps
a bit informal in the small town we passed through, but still
official. Juli also fell in love with the many tunnels on the
highway, screaming with joy as we passed through each one. Her
brother soon joined in--making each tunnel a wonderful experience
for tired drivers.
For each of us, the French
and Swiss Alps were a wonderful place to visit and enjoy. We can
well understand why Heidi wanted to leave town to come back to
these hills. So do we.
