Category Archives: Alps & Other Big Mountains

Festival International des Balloons à Air Chaud

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Post by Lauren

I bet the suspense was killing you to know if we went back to the Hot Air Balloon Festival!! Well, I happen to have the best husband in the world and am delighted to inform you that my dreams came true of seeing the balloons!

As I mentioned, the drive was a little crazy getting to this little Alps town. But, it was a little less hair-raising to do it in the daylight. Here are a few shots of the drive in through the mountains:

I am pretty much content for the entire year after getting to do this. It was absolutely beautiful.

Vibrant Verbier

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Post by Lauren

For Gabe’s birthday, he had an easy wish: skiing in Verbier. We planned the trip about 3 weeks ago and the last hotel room left in the entire valley was a hostel at the base of the hill in Le Châble. We were excited to get it. Also, we have friends with a chalet there and could rely on their expertise for what to do in the chic mountain town at night. Plus, I was actually excited to ski after my lessons the week prior.

We met A & A in the parking lot Saturday morning, along with their friend J. We climbed about a half hour in the telecabin and were greeted with snowy skies. I immediately noticed the complete lack of green runs. Literally, no greens. Apparently they don’t exist in Switzerland like they do in France, where we’d been skiing prior.

Also, let me disclose that in a normal world, the easy skiing would be at the bottom of the mountain. Not here. They put it in the middle, so that you have to do a red to get to the blue, etc. etc. Not cool.

Planning out our routes

 

On the first run, we all went as a group of five. We did some blue then a red before lunch. It was way over my level. Gabe commented the blues at Verbier were like blacks in Virginia & West Virginia.

 

Snapshots from skiing Verbier

 

After lunch, we split off from the guys so that they could enjoy skiing sans babysitting. They assured us we’d taken a wrong turn before and it was possible to do the blue the whole way down to Verbier village.

 

At least we knew there were trained dogs to save us in case of emergency

 

And, we set off. We found that blue they mentioned and followed it…and…it led back to a black. Way worse than the red from before. We could see where the blue was supposed to go but it was chained off because of a recent avalanche.

There was literally no way to go but down.

Me, attempting to side step the entire black. This was moments before the ski patrol came over and told me it wasn't wise for me to be on a black. No S&**, lady.

 

A and I survived to tell the tale. However, after that second run, we decided that spending the afternoon in L’s chalet would be a safer adventure for us.

The guys rejoined a few hours later, loving life after their mountain exploits. We all got ready and went over to the chalet for an awesome dinner before going out.

Afterwards, we headed to T-bar with the group. There were some amazing live musicians and it was a great evening. We really enjoyed the stark contrast to Gstaad nightlife.

 

Nightlife in Verbier

We had so much fun that we missed the last bus back to Le Châble and our hostel. It was a 75 franc ride back down the mountain ($85). Whoops! But well worth it as we really loved the night time atmosphere in Verbier.

*I was also severely scolded by my french tutor for skiing Verbier. She informed me its one of the hardest places to ski in Switzerland. I now learned not to assume that all slopes have pistes for beginners. But in turn, she gave me a great list of places in France that are “my speed”.

Gstaad: Home of the Rich and Famous…and Dreadfully Boring

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Post by Lauren

Our hotel on Friday night after the Balloon Festival in Château D’Oex was in Sâänen, which was only a ten minute drive from Gstaad.

Although we were planning to ski in Verbier the next day, we were very excited that we were staying near Gstaad as we have heard the skiing was amazing…so naturally, we thought the nightlife would be as well.

We did not do any research on this subject prior to coming. First mistake.

Gabe attempted to look for “Best Bar in Gstaad” on our walk into the charming town. Funny that only one bar entitled “Richi’s Pub” came up. Silly iPhone, not working properly. So we thought.

And these were the views on the streets at 10pm in Gstaad on a Friday night:

 

The only action we saw were some local guys practicing on the hockey rink:

 

 

We did end up finding Richi’s….the only bar in town, and stayed for one drink because we had made the effort. Such an adorable town, but so boring at night! There was not a soul to be found out in the night air.

We were later told that Gstaad is the playground of the rich and famous and that they don’t go out.

In writing this post, I Googled “Gstaad nightlife” to see if we were missing out on anything, and the top mention was this site. I noted it gets updated once a year.

So, if you are looking to get away to a quiet destination without any disturbances or things to do at night, we wholeheartedly recommend this town. For a glimpse of a pulse, we would recommend Zermatt or Verbier (check out tomorrow’s post!).

Gratitude Friday: Ski School

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Post by Lauren

This week, class was in session for A, S & moi. Ski school that is.

While I was by far the the worst of the three, I convinced them to take ski lessons with me for the day. The womens’ club has a ski group and the leader takes beginners in the month of January for an introduction and a lesson. And January is running out fast!

I obviously needed some skills based on the last adventure, so we set off for Les Contamines, France for some education on how one skis the Alps properly.

Luckily, the place was a ghost town on a Tuesday. The lack of crowds immediately made me more comfortable. Part of the fear is lack of control. Mainly, hitting a small child.

We started on a blue and Ski Angel (our name for the nice lady from AIWC) led the way, and like little baby ducklings, we followed.

We went slowly, and after a few runs, our confidence built. We were ready for ski school!

 

Ski School

 

Our instructor, Odile, taught us the basics in a combination of French and English. It ended up being more than skiing…it was also a good French lesson. We learned that to snow plow is “chasse-neige” and that the technique of side slipping down a mountain is “descendu en escalier” . She had us (me in particular, being the worst) follow in her tracks so she could teach us how to S curve back and forth properly. I learned that when transversing, the skis should always be parallel, you should stand up straight, and put your weight into the front of the boots.

We also took lots of types of lifts.

There is the bubble lift, the “Télécabine”

There is chair lift, the “Télésiège”. A took this of me & Odile.

 

There is also the butt lift, or the “Téléski”, captured by A.

 

We went on a few runs on green and then Odile took us to a blue. After completing that, we took a lift to the tippy top and then we saw…..

Black Olympic sign - yikes! Photo courtesy of A.

 

Yup, that is a black. Covered in snow. Named Olympique. Okay, so we didn’t do all of Olympique but we had to take it to connect to another area of the resort.

After our two hour lesson, we met back up with Ski Angel for another run.

When we got to the car, I realized that while we had done at least 10 runs, I didn’t fall down once the whole day. Quite a contrast to falling about thirty times in one run on our previous trips. My husband was on a business trip and didn’t believe it when I emailed him to tell him I was safely back in Geneva. In fact, I am not sure he still believes it!

A great ski day at Les Contamines

 

 

So, gratitude for more confidence and a great experience!!!

Bon weekend, everyone!

Castles of Sion

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Post by Lauren

We had heard from S that Sion was a neat place to stop on the way back from Zermatt. So, since she is always full of great advice, we stopped. We were not disappointed. We ended up climbing to the Chateau Valère. The landscapes with the Alps and the Sion hillsides adorned with castles were quite beautiful.

 

Next time, we’ll climb up to the other castle.

 

Adventures in Zermatt

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Post by Lauren

We just got back from a fabulous trip to Zermatt. Do you know what Zermatt is famous for? It is renowned for the views of Matterhorn….a pointy mountain carved by the movement of the Ice Ages. For a detailed look of what Matterhorn looks like, see S’s blog here or our friend D’s husbands photography from his adventure there here.

You might now ask….Lauren, why do you not have any photos of the Matterhorn if you spent all weekend in Zermatt? Well, they got so much snow there, that it blocked the visibility. What a bummer for all of us to miss the mountain! Nonetheless, Zermatt was adorable. We had a great time enjoying the snow fall and exploring.

Zermatt does not have any cars. You can only access the town by a little train. We arrived around 7pm and decided to find our hotel Blauherd on foot. It felt like we were walking inside of a snow globe.

After checking in our adorable chalet, we set out for some Zermatt nightlife. We dined at Restaurant Du Pont which is known for their traditional raclette, fondue and rosti dishes. It was quite an experience, made more special by an older gentleman in the restaurant.

At first, we weren’t sure if he’d wondered in off the streets but then he came and presented Gisele and I with a postcard of the restaurant….it was the oldest restaurant in Zermatt and ventured back in the kitchen. We then realized he was the owner!

As an appetizer, a broth came out with a piece of cheese on the plate and a basket of bread. We didn’t quite know what to do until the old dude came over and started making hand movements of how to cut the cheese into the soup and then crumble the bread into it. So, it made a french onion soup. He then came over with a bottle of red wine and proceeded to pour a very large splash into each of our bowls. Simply delicious!

It was followed by a salad and then the main course of sausage and rosti. Rosti is a potato dish that it prevalent in the German part of Switzerland, in the mountains. Halfway when we were taking a break he shook his head, grabbed Gabe’s fork and force fed him more of the meal. We unfortunately didn’t get a photo of that!

 

We had heard from S that there was a cool bar near the beaver statue in the town centre. We looked high and low and finally saw the little critter buried in the snow. Elsie Bar was a treat and we were entertained by a group of Swiss Germans having a fabulous time and joking with the guys that they would like to trade wives for the evening. Some francs may or may not have been offered. Don’t worry, we didn’t swap.

 

Finally, we ended up at Brown Cow Pub, a vibrant apres-ski bar that had a continual loop of extreme sports playing. We hung out there and then walked home around midnight as it continued to snow.

Overnight, we received about a foot of the white stuff. The proprietor at our hotel was continually scraping all night long outside on the front terrace.

We had a nice breakfast at the chalet and then set off to explore Zermatt while hoping for the skies to clear up.

 

No such luck seeing the famous peak in person, but it was still a really enjoyable trip to spend some time in this Swiss alpine town.

 

 

In Winter Wonder with Pascal and Giselle

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Post by Lauren

It’s an exciting week in our Swiss household! We have guests Pascal and Giselle, in from Richmond, VA. Geneva has been really behaving, showing its pretty blue sky. We didn’t even know that was possible in the winter here.

So, we feel very grateful that while they are here, they can actually see the mountains instead of the perma-cloud layer that hovers above us usually.

When they arrived, we forced them to stay up and took them around to Carouge Saturday market day and then to Annecy, France so that they could be out in the daylight to help with the effects of jetlag*.

Market day was a little quiet in the winter vs. summer, but still very enjoyable as Carouge always is with its simple Italian architecture and colorful artisans:

 

A quiet day at the Carouge market

 

Next, we went to Annecy, France for lunch. Pascal and Giselle had their first savory crepes. Did you know that a crepe can be a dessert and a meal? Kind of like a wrap…with a pancake. They ordered hamburger ones….check them out below. Even though it was about 20 degrees, there were still a ton of people enjoying the Saturday blue skies and even a crew team practicing in frigid Lake Annecy below snow capped mountains.

The next day, we ventured to Chamonix & Mt. Blanc. We took the Auguille du Midi to the top, the world’s highest vertical ascent cable car. Gabe and I had done this back with Henry Birmingham on July 4th weekend, but boy, what a difference winter makes.

Everything was snow covered and beautiful. We were in awe of the off-piste skiiers.

After the dizzying adventure up Mt. Blanc, we had a nice warm raclette meal in Chamonix, the base village. Very soon, there will be a cheese tutorial on The Swiss Watch Blog so you can learn more about this fabulous Swiss dish. It’s soooo good.

The famous French ski town was bumping at dusk and into the evening, full of skiers and snowboarders returning from the mountain.

You are probably wondering why we keep taking Pascal and Giselle all over France when we live in Switzerland. Actually, because Geneva is surrounded by France, the alpine areas of France are much more accessible to Geneva because of the topography. See my ski map, complete with flags, to check this out.

Don’t worry, we’ll take them around in Switzerland soon. Stay tuned….

*When you visit us, we will also do such mean things as to not allow you to sleep and force you to be in the daylight to reduce your chance of jet lag.

Our first Alpine skiing

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Post by Lauren We just so happen to live in the epicenter of the best skiing in the world. Most of these places are less than an hour and a half away from our house.     If you live in the Alps, you are supposed to be able to ski. And well. I have historically not been a good skier, but bought equipment in the US in August so that I could try it out again. I mean, we live in the Alps. How can I not give it another whirl? And, I ended up getting everything used for about 180 USD; not too bad, considering new equipment here is 2000 CHF. So, armed with my new gear and a pack of 8 friends, we set off to La Clusaz in the French Alps for the day to explore the alpine ski action. It was only about a 45 minute drive.

Getting geared up. Thanks to A for getting the group shot prior to lift off. The little specks in the distance are little chalets. So cute.

And….I fell about five times trying to get from where we were to the first lift. I was a bad skier in the US, but a bad skier in the US makes for a miserable skier in the Alps.

My husband is the type of person who says he’s not a great skier but he is. He has gone multiple times with Henry Birmingham at his place in Jackson Hole. He did not marry his match in this department.

We rode an extremely long lift to the top. They don’t have lifts that long in Virginia and West Virginia – the two States where I have skied prior. Everyone said it was a normal hill but it was crazy scary to me. Fear set in. As the group set off, we set a meeting place for lunch. I made it my goal to survive getting halfway down the mountain to this chalet. It had red lounge sofas outside. I just kept visualizing them and basically snow plowed the entire way, 1000 metres. Even with snowplowing, I still managed to fall a dozen more times. One time I lost control and zipped headfirst into the powder. if it was golf, I would have been in the rough.

Taking a break after falling a ton! Did I mention my husband was good at skiing? I must mention that he is also patient. His first Alps run in his life, he had to babysit me as I teetered down the mountain.

And….we finally made it to the chalet.    As the group was starting their next run.

Reporting back to the group over lunch, A commented… “Oh yea…we saw you from the lift. We saw like one leg in the air, face in the snow, skis everywhere. Couldn’t get my camera out in time, though.” So blame her that you don’t have any eye candy. After a delicious French lunch and a glass of Bordeaux (no hot-dogs & chicken sandwiches on this mountain, ladies and gents), I got back on the skis and we headed to the bottom. Still continuing to snow plow. And fall. The group gathered at the bottom to take an enclosed gondola to ascent back up to the tippy top. Even further up than where we were last time. No way in hell I was getting on that thing. I chose to stay at the base on the green we’d found on the map. I ended up being the only one over five years of age who wasn’t an instructor on that particular run. I didn’t care. I was way more comfortable there.

Notice the tiny skiers. This was my happy place.

When A & S tired of the slopes, they joined me and we ice skated. J kept going with her mad snow-boarding skills!

I had a lot more fun on the ice. Don't judge the face we were still wearing our helmets.


It was a great new adventure. However, I will not be getting on a blue hill anytime soon in this region of the world. Going to be sticking to my greens. And perhaps taking lessons soon…. We both slept really hard Saturday night. I woke up a bit earlier than Gabe so made this visual treat about our Ice-capades in my time waiting for him to awake. Enjoy.

Gratitude Friday: Autumn in Switzerland

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Post by Lauren

This Friday, I just wanted to express my gratitude for Autumn in Switzerland. Since our house hunting fell in Winter and our move in Spring, Fall is the last season that I have yet to see. It was worth the wait…..

 

Bon weekend, everyone!

 

Gratitute Friday: Painting en plein air

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Post by Lauren

It’s been a great week…..I got to paint 3 times outdoors in the last 8 or so days. I am very thankful for the burst of beautiful weather before we head into winter here in Switzerland.

The first time, I painted on the right bank, and had a glorious view of Mt. Blanc. You have to look really hard at the above photo, but you can see the snowy white mountain range almost disguised by the clouds. Here was the result:

The second time, I did the left bank in the financial district. This little guy kept hanging out after I shared a part of my baguette.

The third time A met me. It was the best time for three reasons. One, I had company. Two, she brought wine. Three, some Americans tried to buy her painting on the spot. An interesting time!

Bon weekend, everyone!