Today we sadly left our lovely German village (Auf Wiedersehen) & proceeded to drive over the border & back into Northern Switzerland. Our goal today was a 280 k drive from north to the south of Switzerland & finish up just over the border in western France at Chaminox & due to the perfect Swiss roads we arrived in southern Switzerland at Martigny, a couple of hours ahead of schedule, even with stops included.
We had intended to drive past the Matterhorn which is just nearby, but the logistics were far too complicated & even though the weather was fine, the tops of the surrounding 4000 metre peaks were hidden in cloud & so the Matterhorn would have been obscured anyway.
During the trip south we skirted between & around the major cities of Zurich, Berne, Basel & Geneva & drove high above the magnificent Lake Geneva. The entire North West of Switzerland seems to form 1 big metropolis. I guess that is because that is the area that doesn't have enormous mountains.
From Martigny we turned West & climbed back up into the southern Alps (I will never get sick of the Alps), & drove through the mountain passes to Chaminox France at the base of Mont Blanc, with its enormous glacier & ice fall towering over the town. Following a short stay in Chaminox we decided it was far too busy & touristy for us & drove further into the mountains to Megeve, where we found a lovely B & B just on the edge of the village. Finding a suitable home in the evenings is always the most stressful part of the day.
As we had a great run today & went a little further than planned we will have a very easy drive into Briancon tomorrow (our home base from 2 weeks ago).
We had intended to drive past the Matterhorn which is just nearby, but the logistics were far too complicated & even though the weather was fine, the tops of the surrounding 4000 metre peaks were hidden in cloud & so the Matterhorn would have been obscured anyway.
During the trip south we skirted between & around the major cities of Zurich, Berne, Basel & Geneva & drove high above the magnificent Lake Geneva. The entire North West of Switzerland seems to form 1 big metropolis. I guess that is because that is the area that doesn't have enormous mountains.
From Martigny we turned West & climbed back up into the southern Alps (I will never get sick of the Alps), & drove through the mountain passes to Chaminox France at the base of Mont Blanc, with its enormous glacier & ice fall towering over the town. Following a short stay in Chaminox we decided it was far too busy & touristy for us & drove further into the mountains to Megeve, where we found a lovely B & B just on the edge of the village. Finding a suitable home in the evenings is always the most stressful part of the day.
As we had a great run today & went a little further than planned we will have a very easy drive into Briancon tomorrow (our home base from 2 weeks ago).
An old castle & vinyards overlooks Martigny as we begin to climb back into the Alps.
A final photo of Martigny in the valley below as we begin our climb proper into the Alps.
The face of the glacier over Chaminox.
A short break in the valley in Martigny.
The glacier & ice fall over Chaminox.
One of many old railway bridges still in use, with the road going underneath.
Swiss roads
The Swiss lowlands. (A relative term)
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