Saturday August 18 - Grindelwald - Chamonix
We were up early to pack up and depart for the 3 hour dirve to Chamonix. We left around 9:30am and reached our holiday apartment around 2pm to find that we able to get in early which was great ….
We dropped our bags and checked out the apartment which was at first (and second) glance very disappointing - no where nearly as nice as the one in Grindelwald.
We found the “largest” Carrefour which somewhat to our dismay was just a hyped up version of the Carrefour petrol mini-mart. Nevertheless we bought stuff for breakfast and sambos for dinner. After unpacking our groceries we walked into town - it was hot (high 20’s) and sunny. It’s about a 10+ minute walk to the centre of town which was bustling - we stopped for a drink but could not get a snack (we were hungry having missed lunch) then went home to unpack and have our sambos for dinner.
Sunday August 19 - Chamonix
We went to Brevent (taking the gondola to Plan Praz then a cable car to Prevent) - from here we walked back to Plan Praz where we had lunch then took the cable car back down.
Monday August 20 - Chamonix
We went to Flegere and took the cable car up then a chair lift to Index - from here walked to Lac Blanc then back down to Flegere by another route which was a very tough walk.
Tuesday August 21 - Chamonix
We took the cog wheel train to one of the glaciers (Montenvers Mer de Glace) where you reach the start of the glacier by gondola - it was really alarming to see how far the glacier had receded since our last visit to Chamonix (circa 2004). Now in addition to the gondola down there are 500 steps to the tunnel through the glacier. After hauling ourselves up the 500 steps we hiked to the Signal - a very steep (1.5 hour) trek up - but it was a great vantage point - we hiked down in 45 minutes then took the cog wheel train back to Chamonix.
We had planned to wander into town for dinner but changed out mind when the (usual) late afternoon thunderstorms moved in. So we stayed home for pork cutlets.
Wednesday August 22 - Chamonix
We took the gondola to Plan Praz and from here we walked to Flegere on one of the “balcony” walks - but due in part to a detour the walk turned out to be quite challenging - particularly for me.
On an amusing note - on the way up the gondola we chatted with a man (a Pom who lives in Hawaii) who was paragliding - we asked lots of questions about the sport as Chamoinx seems to be the world headquarters - he mentioned his wife was doing the same walk as us in the opposite direction. We jokingly said we’d say hello to her - he mentioned she had pigtails - and low and behold we did meet her and had a quick chat.
Back at home - we wandered into town to do some shopping and check out restaurants - but ended up buying veal chops and staying home for dinner. Thunderstorms moved in around 6:30pm so this was a good idea.
Thursday August 23 - Chamonix - Aiguille du Midi
We got up early for our “reserved” trip to A de M - we took the Navette (small electric buses which whizz you around the town) to the start of the first tramway and to our surprise there was no queue so we hopped right on - no need for a reserved spot. We were up up and away by 9am (our reserved spot had been for 9:20am with a 9:50am departure). At mid-station we changed to the second tram - the highest tram in Europe. It was a wonderful sunny day on top - it seemed much warmer than the 0℃ forecast - no need for the hats and gloves, just puffers. After taking many photos and wandering around all the outlook spots we headed back to mid-station. It was too early for lunch so we bought a takeaway sandwich at the restaurant.
From mid-station we walked to the Signal then from there back to Montenvers Mer de Glace (the glacier tunnel) and took the cog wheel train home. The full walk took us 3 hours not counting the short stop at Signal. The train was a zoo being peak departure time.
Back at home totally exhausted we had showers and five’es then went out for dinner at a sort of family style restaurant - great value and pretty good food. We had brought our rain jackets and umbrellas and by the time we left the restaurant we needed them as the rain had moved in (as it did pretty much every day).
Friday August 24 - Chamonix
It had poured rain all night and was still very overcast in the morning so we had a well-earned slow start to the day. We just did a medium walk to a lake where you can watch rock climbers in training.
Saturday August 25 - Chamonix
We tried to go up to Plan Praz (one of the major gondolas up from the town center) but having walked up the steep hill to the gondola we found it was closed indefinitely - upon questioning the lady at the (closed) ticket office it seemed it would be closed until at least Tuesday. Instead we did the southern Balcony walk - a long but not too hard 2 hour walk. We stayed home for dinner.
Sunday August 26 - Chamonix
It very cold morning (5℃) so we changed our plan to go up to 3400m and took the bus to Les Hoches - where we went up the gondola then walked about 45 minutes to the cable car - instead of just going down we did another very tough walk - a circuit walk where the outbound part was extremely steep - there was even a warning sign at the bottom. However I made it (quite) easily - at the top we had our packed lunch then took the return part of the circuit which was much easier. We took the cable car back to Les Houches (another part of the town) then the bus home.
We went out for dinner - Atmosphere - pretty good but we preferred Les 4 Seasons.
Monday August 27 - Chamonix
As planned and booked we went up to the Mt Blanc Glacier via the Mont Blanc Tram - which is actually a 115 year old cog wheel train which takes 1h10m to climb from 600m to 2400m. The 9:30am train was packed - “SRO” - in fact many people were standing. At the top on the most wonderful sunny day the views were outstanding - we did the 1+ hour trek to the (almost) edge of the glacier then hopped on a return train at 12:30am so we would still have time to visit the Gorges de la Diosaz - with it’s suspended walkways taking you up (and up) the gorge (300 steps in all).
We stayed home for dinner.
Tuesday August 28 - Chamonix
A perfect day - cold in the morning particularly on the peaks (0C) then a high of 28C in the village. We took the bus bus to Argentiere where we too 2 tramways to the top of Aguille de Grand Montets - 3300m. From the top you then walk down 300 steps to the edge of the glacier and the start of the only ski run down (looked like a “triple” black diamond) - there were lots of people trekking on the glacier (with guides and the full mountain gear) - we did the steps down and up then Dieter went up even higher (140 steps) the lookout - view was spectacular in spite of being a bit hazy - you could see the Aiguile du Midi and the Mt Blanc.
We went back to middle station where we did a walk to Pont de Vue - where you could overlook the lower part of the glacier - where again people were trekking views were amazing. The walk was arduous particularly given the altitude but we made it there and back.
We took the bus back to the city for some shopping and happy hour at our favourite pub (L’M) then home before going out for dinner at 4 Seasons.
Wednesday August 29 - Chamonix
Another great morning - we took the train to Valorcine where we took a gondola up the mountain. To our surprise (and error) our multi-day all area lift pass had expired so we had to buy a ticket. Also we needed to modify our planned walk as the cable car on the other side of the valley was broken-down. We walked up to Col de Balme then took a chair-lift to the start of the broken down tram where we decided to walk down to Le Tour where we got the bus home - just in time - we just made the bus and the rain closed in as we boarded.
We went home showered and changed then went into town to do a bit of shopping - as the rain had stopped. On the back from town it started pouring again so we made a run for it and stopped at the Mirco Brew Pub which is about half way. We had a drink and dried off then continued home by which time the rain had stopped . We stayed home for dinner.
Thursday August 30 - Chamonix
We went up to Plan Praz (half way to Brevent) as the gondola was back in service. We planned to walk to Lac Cornu (1h30m) but got on the wrong trail and had to turn around after about 30 minutes. We asked directions from a couple of young blokes who went on their way up to Brevent (on this quite difficult trail) - they mentioned that they had summited Mr Blanc the previous day - in one “go” - 19 hours. So we offered them our congratulations and asked how many other people went on the summit - they said well over 200 - amazing (to us at least). After this mishap we took a different trail and again turned around after about 45 minutes - we went back down the gondola and headed home. We stayed home for dinner.
Friday August 31 - Chamonix - last full day
We had only planned a light day as we needed time to pack and get ready to depart early on Saturday. As it turned out - it was a rainy day so we took it easy. I spent the day sorting out our luggage - re-packing etc and cleaning up the apartment.
Saturday September 2 - Chamonix - Bern
We left early at 9am and drove to Bern for an overnighter. We made good time and arrived by mid-day. After checking-in to Hotel Baeren (Bear in English) and parking the car at the Casino a few blocks away - we had lunch at a bit of a tourist trap in the center of town - it was all very busy as it was market day. The lunch started off on a bad foot when my flamenkuken was cold - on sending it back all they did was put the same one under a grill for a few moments - I was clearly unimpressed. In the end the waiter compensated us very nicely by given me a complimentary dessert an another glass of wine - so we left happy.
The Hotel Baeren did not live up to it’s Trip Advisor reviews - it’s 4* but has no mini-bar, no air-conditioning, a crappy shower over the tub and a breakfast which was about a 1 out of 10 - it did have a Nespresso machine however so I’ll have to give it one-blob - the room was quite spacious, modern and very clean.
It was a cool and rainy afternoon so we just walked around then went out to an Italian restaurant (Lucce) which was excellent - when I knocked over my glass of wine spilling half of it - they immediately brought me a new carafe (complimentary).
Sunday September 2 - Bern - Stuttgart - Munich
We left Bern around 10am to drive to Stuttgart to drop our car and fly to Munich for yet another overnighter. The drive was very tedious - heavy traffic and several traffic jams and the usual dual-GPS squabbles. Nevertheless we arrived at Stuttgart airport later than expected but still in plenty of time for our 5:15pm flight to Munich which was delayed by 30 minutes.
We were able to check our luggage all the way through to Singapore (even though we’re staying overnight in Munich). We arrived at 6:30pm and walked over to the Hilton (formerly the Kampinski) - we had been allocated a room in the new tower which was ultra-swish - my Gold status also gave us a free breakfast and free mini-bar (beer, Soft drinks and a few snacks).
We had dinner at the hotel restaurant and went back to our room to watch some of the US Open before sacking out.
Monday September 3 - Munich - Singapore
We left the Munich airport Hilton around 10am for our 1pm flight to Singapore …. see Bawah Island blog