A day trip to Montenvers.

In the Fall, when one of Dan's best friends from college was out to visit us, we decided to take a day trip to Chamonix and Mont Blanc, something that is not uncommon for us to do any given weekend day. However, we wanted to make it special and change things up a bit. We decided to do something that was new to us as well as our friend, allowing us to see one of our favorite towns in France in a new light. 

You may remember from a post a few months back when we were thwarted from taking the telecabine up to a popular hiking point on Mont Blanc, called Plan de l'Aiguille du Midi (2317 m.), because Oswin was too young. Someone suggested that next time we try to take the train up to a different point on the mountain, known as Montenvers (1913 m). Well, this is the story of that train ride. 

When we arrived at Chamonix we were amazed at the difference from when we had been there just two weeks before. On the occasion of that thwarted telecabine ride we found a surprisingly 70 degree day, one that far from had a shortage of sun or greenery. Fast forward to two weeks later when I almost slipped and fell getting of the car because of an icy patch. It was so so SO very cold. There was snow and ice in certain spots. It was fast becoming ski season in Chamonix, and all we were missing was a big pot of fondue to warm our bones.

After walking through the town a bit, we headed over to the train station to purchase our tickets and waited for our cogwheel ride. The journey took about 30 minutes, and the scenery was beautiful, though Oswin was far more interested in the people on the train than the surrounding Alps. 

We arrived at the end at the Montenvers station to see one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. Just look at that peak! 

It took my breathe away. I hadn't researched anything about Montenvers before heading up, and its sheer beauty was a very welcome surprise. There are steps leading down to the glacier below, but as it was slippery and we were sans appropriate footwear (and avec enfant), we decided to wait to head down that path until things begin to thaw in the spring or early summer.

We stayed at the top for an hour or so, explored a crystal cave, took lots of pictures, and had a hot chocolate, before heading back down the mountain to the slightly warmer Chamonix. The sun was beginning to set, so after a little more wandering around this alpen ski town we headed back to the car to make the drive home.

If you're heading to Chamonix I highly recommend taking the trip up to Montenvers. There was no age minimum for kids, so it's nice to have a kid-friendly option for going a bit higher on the mountain. It's beauty is awe-inspiring, there are paths to be explored, and you might as well as see this beautiful glacier before they all become a thing of the past. I will say that if you're going with kids, leave the stroller at the bottom or in your hotel. We saw several people really struggling with their strollers, both in finding a way to fit on the cogwheel train with the other passengers, and trying to maneuver the icy paths. Carriers all the way for those babes, if you ask me.

A la prochaine friends...

Honey

Oh, and hey, speaking of carriers, don't forget that we've got our first giveaway going on right now for a Sakura Bloom ring sling! This giveaway will close at 11:59 EST on Friday the 23rd, so head on over to get those entries in now! You can enter once, or as many as eight times, depending on your social media following/liking/etc. preferences. Here's the link to enter!  Bon chance!

The Montreux Christmas Market

Shortly after returning home from our road trip to Germany for the Freiburg Christmas Market we found ourselves on the road again, this time en route to Montreux, Switzerland. We were excited to add another new Christmas Market to our current list, as well as to return to one of our favorite Swiss cities. This was our first trip back to Montreux after a few years, and it was just as great as we had remembered.

There's something funny about the ecosystem that is this small Swiss town on Lake Geneva. Despite being surrounded by Alps, it has a somewhat tropical climate. And when I say tropical climate, I mean that tropical plants grow naturally, all year round. Palm trees, on Lake Geneva, while staring at snow capped Alps. You get the picture.

This Christmas Market was very different compared to what we had just left in Freiburg a few days earlier. It was also very different then the other Christmas Market on our Swiss list, Basel. But it was different in a very quintessentially Swiss way. In one word, classy.

Seriously, classy. You won't find many ornaments for sale at the Montreux Christmas Market (I saw about 3 different kinds, with the cheapest being in the 7-9 CHF area for one Christmas ball), but what you will find is a makeshift little "chalet camp" (for lack of a better term), that screams luxury. Log cabins were erected with roaring fires (though as it was pretty warm when we there, only a few were lit), one could choose to drink their cheer and eat their snacks either outside in a festive chalet courtyard, or an "inside" area on the lake, and people congregated en masse. Even the smaller vin chaud stands offered covered areas, decorated in a chalet theme (of course), with heaters. Heck, the port-a-potty was the nicest I've ever seen, and was heated. The Swiss know how to do luxury and comfort, that's for sure.

The style at this market was also different than we've seen at other European markets, with plenty of big fur coats, high high high heels, and leather pants to dot the Christmas Market landscape along the lake. This was reflected in the goods being sold at the market, as there were plenty of leather goods, fur hats, and fancy gloves being sold for the luxury lover on your Christmas list.

We also experienced what was the second most beautiful sunset I've ever seen in my life. (Here was the best.) It really looks like we were in Tahiti, don't you think?

There were artisans at this market as well. This stand featured a glass blower who was making goods on the premises, and he certainly had quite the crowd to perform for. This was as close as I could get to snap a picture.

Something surprising about Montreux's Christmas market? No bratwurst. Yes yes yes I know, it's the French speaking part of Switzerland, but it's a Christmas Market!  What did they have plenty of? Very expensive tartiflette, and churros. Yep, churros. I was unaware that churros were so big in Montreux.

All in all I would definitely return to Montreux's Christmas Market, but more for the people watching and Swiss cheer than a typical European Christmas Market feel. This was no Freiburg, but that's ok. We had a lot of fun, were able to walk the beautiful paths along Lake Geneva under palm trees, and ate some overpriced potatoes and cheese. I also may or may not have procured a set of nesting dolls with Freddie Mercury on it. Winner winner poulet dinner!

Next time I'll remember to pack my leather pants though...

A la prochaine friends...

Honey 

Freiburg Finale

I'm already missing the warm coziness of Christmas. I'm not prepared to end this holiday season quite yet, which I guess is good since I still have a few European Christmas Markets to talk about! 

This is the finale of our three day trip to Freiburg, Germany for the Annual Christmas Market. It's still our favorite of all the Christmas Markets we've been to so far, two years running. (You can read my little tips and reviews of those market in the European Christmas Markets tab, soon to be fully updated for 2014.) If you remember from my last post on Freiburg, we began that Friday at the Freiburg Munstermarkt in search of our Cinderella brat, and then headed back for a last spin at the Christmas market to pick up a few last minute ornaments, presents, plates of food and a cup or two of liquid cheer before heading back home.

By Friday afternoon the market was really packed, which added quite a bit festiveness to the atmosphere, but also made maneuvering a little less seamless. Using a stroller would have been a nightmare, as was evidenced by those using them. In a crowded Christmas market such as Freiburg's babywearing was surely the way to go. Oswin was right in the action and loving the lights, accordion players, and all the people. It was as if she wasn't quite sure what to happily freak out about first.

It turns out the appropriate answer to her question was everything, absolutely everything at once. Talk about sensory overload for a little country girl!

We grabbed some warm beverages and striebele, which is very similar to funnel cake, and took in the crowd. I was sad to be leaving when the weekend was only just beginning, but happy we were able to squeeze in a trip, especially on such short notice.

Our times at the Freiburg Christmas Market will always be some of my fondest memories here in Europe. After almost five years it still blows my mind that we can hop in the car, cross country borders, and within three hours be eating brats and drinking liter beers in Germany. It used to take me longer to drive from my parent's house to Penn State for college! Being able to road trip truly opens so many avenues for travel in Europe, without the airline regulations or luggage restrictions, and I'm so thankful we've been able to take advantage of that.

I really hope that we can return to Freiburg for a third year of their Christmas Market and Friday Munstermarkt, especially now that we know where to find our favorite bratwurst, a decent cup of coffee, and late night spaetzel. Some people don't like to return to the same place twice, but for us it's a lot of fun. You learn the spots to go for this and that, and how to get around. We even stayed in the same apartment as we did the year before, and it felt a lot less foreign to us. It was nice to know what to expect of your living arrangement, especially when traveling with a baby.

I couldn't really end a final Freiburg post without showing the goods, could I now? This picture doesn't do justice to these cute ornaments, but you get the idea. Some wooden pine cones, walnuts and pretzels, some little wooden gnomes in knitted sweaters (I've name the old one Gandalf the Grey and the younger one Bilbo), a few wooden snowmen, and the start of our kitschy 70s looking ornaments collection. And yes, that is a ballerina pig you see: one for us, and one for Oswin's collection.We rounded out our haul by purchasing a bag of gluhwein spices, two large hurricanes for votive candles, a special light for atop the tree that is traditional to Freiburg (it looks atomic, which is great since I don't do stars on top of Christmas trees), and finally, after three trips to Germany, my very first Stein. Ahhh it was a good trip indeed.

We took a few days to recover from that little road trip, but not too long as we were heading to Montreux, Switzerland for their Christmas market. Which surprise surprise will be my next post. Stay tuned!

A la prochaine friends...

Honey