Briefly - Switzerland

Saturday 6 July

This morning after a nice cup of tea on the terrace at La Balance Hotel, Maree, Mel and I set off for Chamonix.  Jess emerged briefly to say goodbye - she and Baptiste are staying on to attend 2 more nights at the festival - music all night, sleep all day!  It seems that they loved it.
There are several routes to Chamonix and as we had all day and lovely weather we chose the scenic one.  Our first leg took us back towards Besancon on the autoroute but only as far as Baume-les-Dames where we took an N road south through the hills of the Doubs department and into the Jura  Mountains.  At times the countryside was heavily wooded and at other times we saw beautiful farmland with huge Montbeliard cows grazing peacefully.
A short detour took us deep into a forested valley to the riverside village of Lods (yes, another of the Plus Beaux Villages de France).  It is a serene and pretty place, tumbling down the hillside to the river's edge.  The waters of the river are crystal clear and we spied huge trout swimming leisurely about.  As Maree said "stress would be a foreign word  - you could live here."

River Loue at Lods

After our morning coffee in the sun on the terrace of a small hotel we took the road up out of the valley towards Pontarlier, stopping at a belvedere to view the village from high up.

Lods from Lookout

 At Pontarlier we were well into the Jura (high hills rather than mountains really) and suddenly the road became quite busy with traffic heading into Switzerland. At the border we had to queue to hand over our 40 franc for the privilege of driving for a couple of hours on Swiss roads.  At least there was no stopping at peage booths along the way and the roads are fabulous.  Although the day was warm and sunny, a heavy haze obscured the Alps until we passed Lausanne and turned off the motorway to visit Montreux on Lac Leman - home of the famous jazz festival. 



Montreux, Switzerland

We found a parking building close to the lake without difficulty and emerged right on the foreshore where there was a big market in full swing.  A short stroll along the lake front brought us to some restaurants and we chose one with a middle eastern theme and lunched on crunchy salads while gazing across the lake to the mountains.  Not too shabby indeed!  Montreux is a large town, of course immaculate in a very Swiss way.  Above the town are vast areas of vines which thrive on the south facing slopes - I had never really associated Switzerland with wine.   The lake front is beautifully landscaped with flowers and trees and there were heaps of people out enjoying this lovely Saturday afternoon.




Looking across Lac Leman to the hazy Alps

Our route continued along the lakefront and past the Chateau Chillon (nowhere to park) before we rejoined the motorway and followed the Rhone Valley up to Martigny.  On each side high snow covered mountains were appearing - Swiss Alps to the left, French Alps to the right and straight ahead.  Ken had told me about the St Bernard dog museum in Martigny and this was a must see for Maree who has owned these magnificent dogs in the past. The museum is quite new with a wonderful display and some very impressive paintings of the dogs.  The best part is the kennels where visitors can mingle with resident dogs under strict supervision.  They really are gentle giants!

  

Friendly St Bernards, Martigny

 Soon it was time to tackle the final section of our journey - over the mountain pass and back into France. The road is very good, very steep and very winding with huge drops into the valley below - a favourite with motorcyclists and bike riders!  Maree, who is not fond of heights, was very brave and we were rewarded at the summit, Col de Forclaz, with spectacular views in all directions.  There were many cars parked at the Col which is the starting point for a number of hiking trails through the alpine meadows

Col de Forclaz, looking down to the Rhone Valley, Switzerland

Col de Forclaz

Then it was downhill, past Trient, and across the border into France.

Trient, Switzerland

The road along the valley to Chamonix follows the  Arve River and is very narrow, twisty and busy but has the redeeming feature of being exceptionally scenic.  The glaciers of the Chamonix Valley can be seen clearly from the road but there are few places wide enough to stop.

Heading towards Chamonix

 
Finding our hotel, La Croix-Blanche was a bit of a mission because of the one way street system but the nice thing is that it is slap bang in the middle of Chamonix.  Out the front door and into the middle of the action.  Chamonix is stunning, overlooked by Mt Blanc and dozens of other lofty mountains.  It has been established as a tourist destination for more than 200 years so many of the buildings, including our hotel, date from that time.  We ate at a nearby restaurant ( just a snack) and took an evening stroll through the pedestrianised streets.  Lots of people and live music on this Saturday night and daylight until 10.30 pm.  My, the flowers sure know how to bloom in profusion with super intense colours - flower boxes everywhere!  The setting sun on Mt Blanc - gorgeous!  Hotel is very comfy.  All in all a splendid day.