Day 3 Trekking Le Ville de Glaciers to Courmayeur 10 Miles, 2400 ft Ascending, 2700 ft Descending I’m pretty sure that heaven and earth meet here, in La Ville des Glaciers, in perfect harmony. How can I be sure? Because here I stand, in a beyond breathtaking valley, surrounded not just by mountains and all …
Day 2 Hiking Contamines-Montjoie to Les Chapieux 11 Miles, 4300 ft Ascending, 3000 ft Descending “This is the best tasting gum I’ve ever tasted” said Carolyn of Canada. These are the small delights one enjoys after having hiked for 8 hours, about 5 of which were up up up and the other 3 down down …
Day 1 Trekking Chamonix to Cotamines-Montjoie 9 Miles, 2200 ft Ascending, 4000 ft Descending The word in French is “Col”, which, loosely translated, means “You will sweat like a beer bottle in the sun both ascending and descending”. We are heading for the Col de Tricot, a 7000 foot pass between two taller peaks. This …
29 July 2018 Frankfurt to Chamonix via Geneva I’ve had 4 cups of real European coffee and it’s not even 6:30 am. Given that I’ve been up since 3:30 am, this seems mathematically okay. Plus, it’s my most favorite part of the day so this is a little like heaven if heaven also includes alarm …
11 Sep 2011 Wissembourg, France to Zweibrucken, Germany (77 Km) The Pfalzerwald. Our trepidation at passing through this unknown forest quickly dissipated with each bend in the path snaking gently and scenically out in front of us. This is biking nirvana, a cycling tourist’s greatest hope and pleasure: a never-ending road as smooth as silk, …
10 Sep 2011 Baden Baden, Germany to Wissembourg, France (68 Km) The overripe pear fell straight down between us onto the bike path with an audible SPLAT. “It’s a good thing I have my helmet on” said Gina. For the third time this year, it feels like Autumn is here. First it was Tasmania in …
07 Sep 2011 Breisach, Germany to Colmar, France and Back (55 Km) Germany is like a giant magnet and we, little bits of steel. We tried leaving Germany behind this morning, heading out under threatening skies, the streets and air still damp from last night’s rain, our cycles and selves crossing over the Rhine into …