11.28.2009

Journey to the Alps

For the final part of our European adventure, we took the scenic Golden Pass train to the land of mountains and lakes in Switzerland. From Avignon, we headed to Geneva and transfered to the Golden Pass line to a small town called Lauterbrunnen.
Lauterbrunnen Train Station

This little town served as our springboard for trains, gondolas, cable cars, and hiking trails into the alps. After gathering some supplies at the local Co-Op grocery store, we went to bed early to get an early start on hiking the next day.


The forecast for our first full day in Lauterbrunnen was mostly cloudy, something that was unfortunately common given the fantastic views. In the morning, we strategized a bit and watched the local weather channel with live web cams from several mountains and saw a clearing on the top of the Schilthorn. That was enough for us to change our plans and start with a journey to the top. This involved taking a gondola to a train, to two more gondolas through a lot of clouds and fog. Eventually, we pierced throug the clouds at 10,000 feet and had some great views at the top of the Alps with the clouds finally below us. Fun fact: the Schiltorn was featured in the James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." The chief villian's layer was actually the building at the top of the mountain.

View from the Schilthorn

More of the Alps

View from the Birg Gondola Station


Later that morning we headed down to lower (and cloudier) territory to take the North Face trail through a series of small Swiss Alp towns and farms. It took us a little bit to find the trailhead, mainly because there were three cows standing smack in the middle of it. Although the clouds were obstructing the higher mountains, we had a nice view of the valley as we winded through swiss farms. We had some excellent super fresh cheese along the way and even almost got hit by some wood being thrown to a wood pile.
Hiking Through the Cows


After eating a quick lunch with some food from the local Co-Op, we headed to another hike on the other side of the mountain (toward Jungfrau). Unfortunately, the clouds descended again and what was supposed to be one of the most scenic hikes was mainly spent in the clouds and fog. We returned tired and hungry for a traditional Swiss dinner. The cheese fondue was yummy, but it was odd that it only came with apple dippers and we were charged a dollar for each shot of tap water I drank.

11.12.2009

French Wine Country - The Rhone Valley

Our second day in wine country was spent in the Provence region in the Chotes de Rhone wine appellation with our home base in the city of Avignon. Since we were traveling by train, we decided to splurge and take a guided minivan tour of the region. Englishman Oliver Hickman (who now lives in France to grow his own wine) whisked us around the region to taste 18 different wines at three different estates in the region and teach us a bit about the different wine-making regions.

It was right in the middle of the fall harvest and a great time to taste some wine. The region is known for the reds, and we tasted some great and relatively cheap reds (finding those cheap reds in the U.S has proven more difficult).

We went to one winery in Vacqueyras in the morning where we got Olivier all to ourselves for our tasting. He was very knowledgeable, teaching us about the characteristics of the wine and providing lots of specifics on each wine we tasted. He was also very affable, very English, and just a fun guy to hang out with tasting wine all day.

At Vacqueyras Vineyard


After lunch we saw two more vineyards in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region. The wines here have been famous ever since the Pope moved from Rome to Avignon in the 14th century and instilled wine-making in the region. Due to the interesting "terrior" which consists of vines growing through a meter of large stones with grenache grapes and 700 years of good marketing, it's the most famous wine in the region. Their reds have a nice blend of smoothness, with hints of fruit and spice; I highly recommend them. We shared the afternoon tour with three other slightly older couples (even one from Charlottesville), which was also surprisingly fun; after we were left alone after a tasting, they were the ones to start helping themselves to more samples for us all!

The Grapes and Stones of Châteauneuf-du-Pape

After getting back from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, we toured the city of Avignon, from its Palace of the Popes, the temporary Papacy in the 14th century, to the bridge to nowhere. All in all, one of our favorite days!