Happy New Year folks! I wish you all many good moments, exciting travels and all kinds of adventures :) May it be better than the previous year and full of new opportunities.
I’m back on the blog after a longer absence. Time flies so fast and I can hardly believe that the last post is from October… During that time many good things happened, I met new friends and tried some new stuff. Luckily for me, year 2018 ended on a highly positive note, as I had another chance to visit the Alps with The Best of the Alps team! First snow, breath-taking views, the best company, fast cars and crazy good food and wines - that was pretty much it!
Let me tell you (and show you) more about this awesome roadtrip through 4 alpine ski stations, located in France and Switzerland: Megève, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Crans-Montana and Grindelwald, all powered by Audi that made it possible for us to visit the most incredible places safely and comfortably.
Our trip started in Megève that happened to be particularly rainy. However, in spite of this unpleasant aura it was still possible to get some nice night snaps…
… and classic raindrops shots as well ;)
It was not before the late afternoon the next day that snow has finally arrived, making the whole town look totally different.
It also enabled taking some cool photos of our cars, in the forest covered with fresh snow.
Faster than I’d wish to, we were hitting the road to get to our 2nd destination - Chamonix where I was more than happy to realize that winter had started for good.
Our one day stay started with a visit at Rabbit on the Roof - Peter Steltzner’s workshop, where he produces handmade, wooden skis, perfect for freeriding. Being a good skier myself since early childhood, I was amazed by his beautiful work and grateful to learn more about how such skis are being made, step by step.
I really enjoyed hearing the story of this Californian guy who, through many twists and turns, managed to make a living out of what he loves the most - skis, snow and mountains.
If only I could try one of those beauties one day…
After this extraordinary visit, we headed to a train station, direction Mer de Glace. The train itself turned out to be a really nice subject for photos, with its red cars and old-school look.
Once there, we were blown away by one of the most spectacular views over the largest glacier in France and unbelievably sharp mountain ridges. I could spend hours just staring at this.
After leaving those beautiful heights, we headed to QC Terme - another great place to admire the most picturesque mountains, yet much warmer and more comfortable ;)
This was a well deserved moment of relaxation, making it possible to gather up some forces and to continue the exploration of Chamonix whereabouts.
Our next stop in Crans-Montana brought about what I love the most - winter sports!
I started skiing at the age of 6, but since I live in Paris, it’s really hard for me to find time for this and I definitely don’t ski as much as I’d love to. That’s why I was super excited to try out Crans-Montana slopes, covered with first snow.
After a few hours on the slopes, the most delicious lunch at Hotel Le Crans was all I needed to get ready for another winter activity…
… snowshoeing!
Having already done that the last time I was in the Alps, it was much easier to get used to the equipment and enjoy taking photos of this winter wonderland.
I’d do anything to spend more time in Crans-Montana, but already the next day we were on our way to the final destination - Grindelwald.
I heard a lot about this town during our first roadtrip in the Alps, in March 2018. Sammy Salm from the Best of the Alps, used to live there for a couple of years and he made me very eager to discover the place.
We arrived to Grindelwald in the afternoon, just on time to walk around the center a little bit before the dinner. The town turned out to be just as charming and pretty as Sammy was telling us. A true Christmas village surrounded by giant mountains, some of them being more than 3,000 m.
After a delicious dinner, full of cheese, and a good night of sleep, we got up early to catch a train to Kleine Scheidegg, a mountain pass and train station situated below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks.
Once there, we got ready for sledging. The region of Grindelwald is known for its traditional, wooden sledges and it was really cool (and a bit scary ;) to try them out. This is how it looked like:
And that would be me screaming and crashing into a wooden fence ;D
After this fun activity, involving lots of laughs and some unintentional rolling in the snow, we jumped to the 2nd train, going even higher.
The incredibly picturesque Jungfrau railway, took us steeply through tunnels inside the Eiger and Mönch mountains, up to its terminal at the Jungfraujoch - the highest point reachable by rail in Europe, situated at 3,454 metres.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the Top of Europe building which includes several panoramic viewpoints and is connected to the Sphinx Observatory, the 2nd highest observation deck in Switzerland.
After an afternoon at Jungfraujoch, we made it just on time to the lower parts of the mountains, to admire the last rays of light on those impressive peaks.
The next day we were already going back to Geneva, to catch our flights and go back home after a whole week in the Alps, full of great encounters, breath-taking sights, delicious food and lots of wine ;)
Till next time!