Day 11: Chamonix, France - Goodbye Switzerland, Hello France!

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Chamonix, France

This was it.  It was time to say goodbye, to what would come to be our favorite place in Switzerland.  Mürren had been like a home away from home to us for the past 11 days.  It was so beautiful, we made a promise to ourselves that would someday return.  

We started our day with breakfast and finished packing for a big travel day.  Today, we would not only say goodbye to Mürren, but to the whole country of Switzerland. 

We made our way for the last time to the train station.  As we rode out of town, we said goodbye to our AirBnB at the end of town. 

We took our last cable car to Lauterbrunnen Valley and boarded a train that would take us far beyond were we had been up to this point.  

Since we had a Berner Overland pass, our travel was free throughout that Canton (region or county) of Bern in Switzerland.  Our 4-5 hour trip took us West and South in Switzerland.  We had a few connecting trains to board, but we made our way all the way to the town of Martigny.  We were traveling to a new place, but also traveling back into old memories of the past.  Journeys from another time.  

At the train station in Martigny, spoke to an old Swiss couple who were traveling on the same connecting train as us… The Mont Blanc Express.  

This train would take us out of Switzerland to Chamonix, France.  We would had to start purchasing train tickets— I new inconvenient and expensive reality outside of our experience so far.  

The train climbed in ever increasing elevation, out of the valley and up into the mountains, where locations and memories, seemed, to join together in a sporadic state of dejavu. I had been here before…

At last, after 5 hours of train travel, the train descended into the valley of Chamonix, the place were my European hiking adventures had started just 10 years earlier.  We were going back to the beginning.  

When I booked the AirBnBs for this trip, my #1 goal was CHEAP.  Traveling in Europe can be outrageously extravagant… but it doesn’t have to be.  Since I booked these locations so far out in advance, I was able to get very reasonable rates— comparable to nights at an inexpensive place on the California Coast. 

That being said, the lodging we had for the next days in Chamonix, was… different. 

The hosts were Italian and for some reason, the AirBnb app didn’t translate their messages.  We got off the train 10 minutes away from downtown Chamonix, with only a 5-minute walk to the chalet.  When we arrived, there was a family dog who was barking aggressively.  If you know Alina and Jonas, you know they don’t like being close to aggressive dogs.  So, I was able to talk with the hosts and they put the dog away.  

The room was 3 floors up a spiral like stair case in an old wooden, creaky Swiss-style chalet.  The stairs and floors were very creaky— so you couldn’t really sneak up on anybody— not that you would want to— it’s just a positive twist on security.  

After getting settled, we decided to walk to downtown Chamonix, only a 10 minute quick walk, but with a Kindergartener, you can plan on doubling the time and adding meltdowns to the itinerary.  

We made it, by the grace of God, and walked along the busy ski-town streets.  We walked to the Tourist Center and were able to get some helpful information about travel and activities to do.  We opted to get a Mont Blanc Multi-pass, which would give us free access to the busses, trains, cable cars, and ski-lifts.  We would be there for 5 nights, so we wanted to make the most of our short stay.  

We got directions to the nearest grocery store, which is called, “Super U”.  As we shopped for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to cut costs, we noticed the prices in France were much cheaper than in Switzerland.  This was a very nice perk.  

We loaded up our groceries and made our way to the bus stop to try out the local transit.  Unfortunately, the French are not as punctual as the Swiss, but it’s a very high standard to achieve. 

We got back to our tiny home at the top of the family chalet, made dinner, and went to bed.  It was a tiring day, but tomorrow, we return to a place dear to our families’ hiking history.  

Col du Balme.