Geneva, Switzerland, Stop 8 and Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France, Country 3, Stop 9

So gorgeous that it doesn't look real!!!

(This is a combined post since both stops were short. )

July 3

Our last day in Lauterbrunnen and we pack it full of activities. After breakfast, first up is the post office. We foolishly allot not enough time for it so we have to take a later bus to our second stop, Trummelbach Falls. The falls can be viewed underground and accessed by funicular, tunnels, platforms and paths and are quite incredible.

After the falls, we take a gondola back up to Murren to show the kids the view and they are pretty impressed. We eat at a place called the Eidelweiss Café and if you ever find yourself in Murren, I can highly recommend it. Food is good and we are happy but it’s mainly the view that people go for.

Mia legally drinking in Murren

We head back to the hotel and pack up and Dmitri and I briefly visit Staubbach Falls before we say a fond farewell to Lauterbrunnen.

Today’s route is Lauterbrunnen-Interlaken-Bern-Geneva. It takes just under 4 hours and we walk from the train station to our hotel. We wanted to break up a long travel day into 2 days because we have a drive from Geneva to Chamonix the next day to visit Dmitri’s cousin. As we get closer to Geneva, we notice that we have left the German-speaking part of Switzerland behind and French is primarily being spoken.

The Ibis hotel is clean and we are in 2 rooms, which is a step up from the 2 bunk beds in a room the size of a closet we had in Lauterbrunnen. The views around town are, sadly, not as charming as in the other Swiss cities we have been in. I think we found one of the few places in Switzerland that is ugly. On the same block as our hotel, there are prostitutes on the corner. Ah, travel.

Dmitri, Mia, and I go for an outstanding Thai dinner and it’s almost worth the location of the hotel to have stumbled across this place.

The one touristy thing we do in Geneva is visit the flower clock!

***Dmitri: This was one of the rare occasions when we have quit a place early. Our hotel/hostel in Lauterbrunnen was loud and our room was right over its pub. We were catching both the late- night noise and a lot of smoke. You get what you pay for, and it wasn’t enough, so we ditched a day early in favor of Geneva. You know the old saying: Better hookers on your block than smoke in your eyes. OK, that’s not really a saying, but maybe it’ll catch on.***

July 4

Happy 4th of July, Americans! We miss hamburgers and fireworks and pie, but are very much looking forward to seeing a familiar face today. Dmitri’s cousin Anouschka lives in Chamonix and we are headed to meet up with her today.

But first! Hassle at the Geneva airport. Ugh. We arrive by taxi to the Swiss side of the airport and attempt to walk to the French sector to pick up our rental car. No dice. Can’t get through without a boarding pass. Can’t get a boarding pass even though it’s less than 24 hours until our flight because you cannot check in online. In covid times, you have to check in at the airline desk before each flight to show vaccine cards, negative PCR tests, and passenger locator forms.

So we take a taxi from the Swiss to the French side of the airport and pick up our rental car. Travel does not always run smoothly and with covid thrown in there, things can get messy. We are happy to be doing this process at the start of the day rather than after transit from Lauterbrunnen.

We arrive in Chamonix to pouring rain but are thrilled to see Anouschka and Johan. They take us to a lovely place for lunch and walk us around Chamonix. It’s wonderful and we can see why they live there. Anouschka came 20 years ago for a ski season and stayed on and Johan has a similar story. They have made Chamonix home and are very happy with their small village. Even in the rain, it’s wonderful, and it doesn't rain the entire time. It’s a great day, catching up with them and seeing their home and calling Aunt Sharon in Marbella over FaceTime. She has never met Jack and the last time we saw her in person, Mia was 2 or 3 years old.

Dinner is lovely and we chat about being ex pats. Then it’s off to bed because the Geneva airport awaits us early tomorrow am.