Passport 2 Travel

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and drove to Annecy, called the Venice of the Alps because of the canals that cut through the old part of town, Vieil Annecy, with its arcaded streets.

The town opens onto one of the best views of lakes and mountains in the French Alps with its lakeside promenade.

At an altitude of 3,369 ft., Chamonix lies in a valley at the junction of France, Italy, and Switzerland, and is the historic capital of Alpine skiing. This was the site of the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924. Surrounding this charming, old-fashioned mountain town are the Aiguilles de Chamonix and Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and western Europe, at an elevation of 15,780 ft.

We woke up early and after breakfast we boarded the cable car in town for the ascent to the Aiguille du Midi station at an altitude of 12,405 ft. The cable car rises about 1,970 ft between towers.

Once at the summit terraces, the first thing you notice is how much colder the temperature is. It was blustery and snowing, but the views were breathtaking!

Jason feels on Top of the World!

Thrill seekers come here for mountain climbing.

After breakfast we checked out of our B&B and drove to Stechelberg where we parked the car and took the cable car to Gimmelwald, a small village in the Bernese Oberland that still retains its authenticity and charm.

The welcoming committee. Where's the Travelocity gnome?

Then we took the cable car to Murren.

We then drove to Zermatt by way of the Grimsel Pass, a mountain pass that crosses the Bernese Alps at an altitude of 7,100 ft. We parked the car in Tasch and took the train into Zermatt. Unfortunately the Matterhorn was hidden behind some clouds, so after walking through the town, we took the train back to the car in Tasch and drove to Chamonix. Fortunately, we were able to find a nice room at the first hotel we stopped at just outside the town core. We then got a delicious dinner in town.

Woke up early and after breakfast made our way to the bus station that took us to the gondola cable car to Mannlichen, a 30 minute ride with spectacular views. From there we hiked about 1 1/2 hours to the Kleine Scheidegg station. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day with views of the Jungfrau.

Jason with one of the friendly cows grazing in the high alps.

The Jungfrau cog-wheel railway which makes the journey through the tunnel and up the steep climb to the Jungfraujoch - the Top of Europe, at 3454 meters, Europe’s highest altitude railway station.

The train journey to the Jungfraujoch through the rock tunnel of the Eiger and Mönch offers views of the Eiger north wall and surrounding glacier from two intermediate stations, the Eigerwand and Eismeer.

Jason at the high-Alpine ice and snow viewing platform at the Jungfraujoch.

We then took the train to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and had some pizza and beers before taking the train back to Grindelwald.

We got up early and had some breakfast on the deck at the Aescher Guesthouse before hiking back to the cable car and the ride back down to our car. Then we drove to beautiful Lake Lucerne and walked around.

Then we continued our drive through beautiful Switzerland, passing through Interlaken, and arriving at our B&B in Grindelwald. After we checked in we got some dinner in town.