Switzerland & France

We flew on Friday evening and arrived to Zurich at about 0800. Flights to Europe are hard for us east-coasters. Between the flight service dinner, dessert and the breakfast, there's about 3 hours of sleep time. We arrived bleary-eyed, cleared customs and retrieved our car uneventfully. Saturday morning is a great arrival time when you're flying into a city, the roads are blissfully empty. When traveling abroad, we do our best to unplug and only turn on our phones to navigate car travel, thus avoiding marital strife. We stopped for coffee and a snack at a little lakeside shack in Sarnen and enjoyed a lakeside walk to stretch our legs after the flight.

Onward to Lauterbrunnen where we left our car in the parking garage at the train station and walked around this picturesque little Swiss town. We stopped at the grocery store located strategically by the train station for chocolate, water and other necessities, and boarded the cogwheel train up to Wengen. This train connects Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald via Kleine Scheidegg, and the views of the valley and waterfalls are stunning. It only takes about 15 minutes to Wengen and it's not expensive. Wengen is a car-free town that is mostly lodging, restaurants and outdoor shops/rentals. We checked into our hotel, the Victoria Lauberhorn, which was right by the train station but we never heard the trains going by. The hotel has a spa and pool, and an amazing breakfast included in the price, but the room amenities were pretty minimal.

Our hotel offered a discount on the Mannlichen gondola, a short walk from our hotel, so we decided to take it up and walk the Panorama trail, a meandering path that gradually descends to Kleine Scheidegg. It was beautiful walking amongst the wildflowers and in the shadow of Monch and Eiger peaks, with distant views of Grindelwald. Even with a slow pace and taking a lot pictures, this walk took us two hours at the most and we still had daylight to burn and energy to use up, so we decided to descend all the way back to Wengen. That seemed like a good idea at the time. We didn't realize it was a ~2000 foot descent! With wobbly legs, we arrived to town a few hours later and enjoyed a hearty, yet pricey dinner at Pasta and More, the hotel restaurant, drank some tasty wine and beer, and were asleep by 8pm.

The forecast ahead looks like every day is rain, oh dear...

We awoke expecting rain, but the day cleared and sun was projected all day! Weather predictions in the mountains are challenging. After an enormous breakfast at the hotel, we packed a few snacks, added on layers as you never know what to expect with mountain temperatures, and headed to the train station with a plan to train it to Alpiglen and hike the Eiger trail. When the lady said $70 per ticket, my jaw hit the floor. No. (Note: many people buy the Jungfrau pass in this region which is unlimited train and gondola rides - I think if you were going to be in the region for 3+ days, it makes sense but it would have been cost-neutral for us). We took the train instead to Kleine Scheidegg for half the price, and hiked up the Jungfrau Eiger walk to Eigergletscher (1.2 miles, 780 foot ascent), then down the Eiger Trail to Alpiglen (4.5 miles, 2400 foot descent) . We saw many trains depart up to Jungfraujoch - those who go say it's touristy but neat, and to go in the morning when the mountains aren't shrouded in clouds. Not our thing but lots of people do it.

We really enjoyed this hike and highly recommend it - it was peaceful with few other hikers. In all, it took us about 3-4 hours. It was this hike that we first observed that land in Switzerland is multi-use: hiking and cow grazing in summer, and skiing in winter. We were often hiking underneath chairlifts, dodging cow patties and swatting flies. It was a unique experience. In Alpiglen, we stopped for a snack: a memorable plate of french fries, a diet coke and an orange juice that cost us $20. We considered hopping the train at Alpiglen but we still had lots of the day left, so we decided to meander down to Grindelwald, that was an additional 2000 foot descent that we again didn't realize when we started. We passed so many beautiful chalets, pastures of sheep grazing, wildflowers and just enjoyed being outside in 70 degree perfection. The price of this afternoon was that our legs became noodles.

Food time! We ate outside at a cute restaurant and noticed all the food on the menu was some combination of cheese, ham and carbohydrate (bread/pasta/potato or all of the above). Shawn ate raclette and I had mac and cheese with ham and potato. It was heavy and delish. Navigating back to Wengen was actually pretty easy. We decided to not take the cogwheel and instead took the faster train to Gundiischwand, then Lauterbrunnen and onto Wengen. It was $15 a piece and took an hour. Not too shabby.

Rain - drat. Our plan for the day was to rent electric bikes in Wengen and ride down to Lauterbrunnen, through the valley and visit waterfalls but we were foiled by the weather. In an uncharacteristic move, we (well, let's be honest, I...) decided after a hearty breakfast to leave our lodging for the night and travel in search of sunshine, which seemed in abundance to the west. Biking was still on the itinerary and we found a small little town called Charmey that rented bikes at the US-equivalent of a YMCA along with a rough topo map of the area. This region has tons of trails that are sort of marked, but easy to miss as well - still building infrastructure it seems. We stayed on the marked trails well, through the town of Cresuz, and then found ourselves riding on a pretty rugged single-track mountain biking trail. I was wearing my Rothy's... but damn they held up well. Shawn had a blast, he loves mountain biking. Luckily it was pretty short and we emerged in a little hamlet called Botterens with a beautiful view of Lake of Gruyere. We turned south, had a few wrong turns, and smelled chocolate in the air so we knew we were close to the chocolatery Cailler--our destination. Unfortunately, we were unable to tour the factory because we forgot to ask for bike locks, but I bought chocolate in the store and we enjoyed it later on the TMB. Our next stop was for fondue at Chez Boudji - supposed to be fantastic, but my tush was hurting too bad, so we opted instead to just return our bikes.

Onward to Gruyeres. Just a few miles down the road is Chateau de Gruyeres. There was a car-free village that we walked around and considered eating fondue but it was $$$, so we just enjoyed the shops for a bit. Had we more time, we would have considered a tour of the castle, but we enjoyed the grounds very much just the same. After walking for a bit, we went in search of cheese down in Moleson, which is a ski village with a downhill carts track. Everyone had a smile on their faces coming down the mountain - I think Shawn has regrets not trying it... It was quiet though, few people, and we loved it. We walked up to the Fromagerie d'Alpage de Moleson and shared a nice pot of fondue, potatoes and bread in a primative log cabin - we are short and our heads nearly hit the ceiling. It was a cool experience.

We booked a last minute lodging, Hotel de Leman, by Lake Geneva and enjoyed tea and beer with some incredible views of Vevey, Montreaux, Lake Geneva and the mountains beyond. A conference hotel with very few amenities close by, but that view....

Today was originally planned as a travel day, but because we'd already done the majority of the travel to Chamonix, we slept in, loitered a bit in Vevey, stopped to take pictures in the roadside vineyards and picked up groceries. We were pretty worried about the border crossing into France so we ate all of our fresh stuff and prepared to have our car searched. The border agent barely looked at us. Shawn was stunned.

We had chosen a few easy walks in Argentiere, which as an aside, if we would return, would probably hang out here more. Chamonix is great, but just mobbed with people. Overwhelming. The hikes we selected were fair and a good way to get in our exercise for the day.

Our lodging, Auberge du Montagny, was a B&B on the busline between Chamonix and Les Houches. It was fabulous, locally run, and we stayed there on our day before and just after coming off the TMB so they allowed us to leave our car and luggage with them while we hiked. We had a beautiful view from our room, and our hostess was helpful in planning our first TMB day and our transport back to the Auberge from Chamonix. The rest of the evening was spent planning for our trek! We had stopped at the grocery store for apples and snacks. I chose to hike light and just pack underwear, my layers and a 2 T-shirts - I'd wash my bra and socks at the lodgings. Shawn packed new shirts and underwear for each day.

We paid for the breakfast in the morning at our Auberge, which was a wonderful continental spread of croissant, cereal, fruits, cheeses and meats, and took the city bus from our stop to Les Houches. As I said above, planning the TMB is not easy because there are so many options. We luckily had 3 days of sunny 70 degree weather, and I think how we did it was perfect (I admit my bias). There are two primary routes to get to Les Contamines from Les Houches: via the traditional route through Col de Voza/ Bionnassay (recommended in poor weather, 16 km, 646 m elevation gain), or a more challenging route via Col de Tricot (18 km, 1478m elevation gain). We knew we'd want pretty views, but we'd read that the hiking from Les Houches to Col de Voza was pretty much a wooded path w/ 1800 feet of elevation gain and the Bionnassay route had some road walking toward the end - no thanks to either. So we decided the Col de Tricot route, and to take the gondola from Les Houches to Col de Voza and pick up the TMB from there. If you're a purist, you're probably cringing, but it was great! We wanted to ease into the hike and save our legs for the good stuff. It was still a respectable 2600 feet of elevation gain for the day.

This day was just BEAUTIFUL. Meadows of wildflowers, snow-capped peaks, a bridge over a gushing waterfall. It was stunning. The trail is busy, as you'd expect, so it's not easy to find a place to pop-a-squat in peace, but you make due and make friends along the way if you are so inclined. In France, the TMB trail markers are fantastic. We heard that as you cross into Italy and Switzerland, they aren't as great.

The descent from Col de Tricot is pretty steep, take your time. It was here that we started to notice a lot of trail runners training for the UTMB - those runners are just amazingly fit, wow. We were huffing and puffing and they were just sailing past us, sure-footed as billy goats. Trekking poles are mighty nice to have and we would highly recommend them for a hike of this nature to save your knees. The trail descends into a little group of buildings and the Refuge de Miage where we opted to have a bite of lunch. What do you do when you are hiking in the middle of nowhere France? Why you eat cheese, wine and orange soda while looking at the Domes de Miages! We watched hikers cooling off in the creek nearby and enjoyed this unusual amenity of hiking in France. The menu at the restaurant was fantastic and everyone should stop here for a snackaroo! After leaving this little refuge, there is a short ascent up, and we took a side trip up to Mont Truc. And then the looooong descent into Les Contamines. Hello again, noodle legs.

Les Contamines is a cute little town similar in size to Argentiere, and very walkable. Our lodging was Chalet Hotel La Chemenaz, a fine hotel located right off the TMB, in close proximity to a grocery store, with a balcony for me to hang up my drying socks, and an easy walk into town. We ate at a creperie called Ty Breiz - wonderful, highly recommend. Shawn got $5 worth of wine, it came in what was basically a bottomless teapot - easily 3 full glasses of wine. He felt good after.

Breakfast was a quick meal of raspberry tartlets and fruit bought at the grocery the night before. We were on the trail by 0630 to get ahead of the crowds. Similar to Day 1 of the TMB, there are many routes for Day 2 as well. Traditionally, Day 2 is Les Contamines to Les Chapieux via the Col de la Croix du Bonhomme (18 km, 1316 m elevation gain). Since we had only 3 days and planned to end in Courmayeur, we opted to cut off some overall distance and time by bypassing Les Chapieux and took Col des Fours variant east and spent the night in Refuge de Mottets. This route does add distance and elevation to Day 2 (20 km, 1579 m elevation gain), but cuts about an hour and a half and ~300 m elevation gain on Day 3. Day 2 was a laborious ascent - amazing views in every direction but be prepared this is a legitimate workout - eat your Wheaties, folks. We hiked steadily, took tons of pictures, had a blast watching marmots fighting, enjoyed waterfalls and fields of wildflowers and snow covered peaks and again got passed repeatedly by trail runners. We thought we were pretty fit before we started this trip, pretty humbling. On the descent from Col des Fours, we enjoyed two huge chocolate bars - the joy of hiking all day = devouring 1500 calories of chocolate guilt-free We had to laugh because we passed 3 signs, each about a mile apart, that kept saying that the Refuge was an hour away... We finally arrived at Refuge de Mottets at around 1730 that evening.

There are several lodging options on this route, but I would avoid Refuge du Bonhomme. While the view was spectacular, the restaurant was fly-ladden and there were pit toilets (albeit pit toilets with a view). We did eat lunch here and I still kind of get the willies thinking about it. Refuge des Mottets, however, WOW!! Luggage service is available here if needed. There are several room options to meet different budgets. We had a private room with shared bath: the room was a bed with a small chair but it was warm and comfortable. The shared bath was unisex and more than adequate for our floor. Dinner was served family-style at 1900 and included in the cost of the room. We had a phenomenal four-course meal of cucumber salad, soup and bread, boeuf bourguignon, and dessert while sharing in great conversation with our fellow hikers. Following dinner was a sing-a-long. After dinner, we settled our bill not realizing that cash was preferred, we luckily had just enough euro on us!! Phew - we wanted to be sure to pass along that key tip. This stay was a highlight of our trip and we are most appreciative for a memorable night.

Day 3 may have been saving the best for last. We again awoke pretty early and were the first to breakfast, also included in the cost of the stay at the Refuge. You could also purchase a packed lunch if you were running low on food. Breakfast was simple: bread, jam, cereal, coffee and juice. We were on the trail by ~0730, one of the first out of the Refuge.

The traditional Day 3 on the TMB is Les Chapieux to Refuge Elisabetta. Since we had taken the variant, our day was going to be Refuge des Mottets to Courmayeur (~18 km, 1100 m elevation gain), so we were expecting another tough day. The hike up to Col de la Seigne was a gradual ascent that took us about an hour and a half at an easy, its-still-early-in-the-morning pace, but the rewarding 360-degree view is a stunner. We had the place to ourselves and it was our favorite spot on the TMB, hands down. It marks the border crossing of France into Italy and has big views of Mont Blanc and Val Veni.

We passed Refuge Elisabetta and Lac Combal and thought most of our climbing was done. Wrong! The next ascent to Mont Favre Spur was beautiful, but a real leg burner. Meandering along ski slopes for a while, we eventually arrived to Refuge Maison Vielle which was hopping with mountain bikers, hikers and tourists who had taken the gondola and chairlift ride up from Courmayeur to enjoy the view. Facing another 2000 foot descent was just not in our repetoire, so we splurged for the chairlift ride, followed by a gondola ride into Dolonne for ~$30 per person (and they accepted credit card). Note I had done research before we left, with information tough to come by, that these run only in summer months and the last ride leaves at 1730, so if you are meandering, make sure you know when you need to be there. We had arrived to the chairlift at ~1300 with plenty of time to spare, and the descent was just beautiful.

Dolonne is a picturesque, quiet little suburb of Courmayeur and easy to walk around and navigate. We were huuuungry and panicked for a second that Italian restaurants often close after lunch until dinner. Luckily, we happened upon Ristorante Lo Sciatore and devoured a 16 inch roasted vegetable pizza together, then ate a bowl of gnocchi for Shawn and tagliatelle bolognese for me. Mmmmmmmmmm perfection. We walked into Courmayeur and I had booked us two bus tickets back to Chamonix via the Mont Blanc tunnel. The bus was around an hour late, but we eventually made it back and hopped the city bus back to our Auberge filthy, full, tired and completely content.

We awoke early and drove from our Auberge to the Geneva airport, ate some good ole McDonald's and boarded our flight back to the US. The return flight is our way of catching up on the rest we completely didn't have during our week of travel. Oh and movies! We can usually get 4 in during one 8 hour flight - isn't that what most people call vacation??