As mentioned last post, we left very little time to do everything I wanted to do in Switzerland, so we decided to back-track from the Riviera and head North through Piedmont.
On 28th this led us to a beautiful spot called Montescheno, which we knew nothing about other than it is the location of an Airbnb that seemed about the right distance and direction.
This proved to be another unexpected treat. After quite a bit of Autostrada driving - a little bit quieter as its Saturday - we had an entertaining drive up a steep valley to Montescheno where we arrived just after 5.00pm at this beautiful villa perched high above the Ossola valley.
Next day we left Montescheno around 8.30am with a tinge of regret that we couldn’t stay longer and headed for Zermatt.
The route runs to the end of the Ossola valley and then winds up to the Simplon Valley and over the Swiss border at Zwischbergen.The weather was stunning and the drive was lovely, not a lot of traffic on the road which was a pleasant surprise for a Sunday.
We reached Täsch which is the gateway to Zermatt and the end of the road for tourist cars. Booked the return Gornergrat railway tickets which was great. Lots of photos from the top and some video on the way down.
Next stop Montreux on the "Lake Geneva shoreline" or Lac Leman if you prefer. Nice view from our hotel room.
The next day we headed for Chamonix, briefly crossing into France. Took the Aiguille De Midi cable car. The trip is amazing; the second stage especially which gets you to over 3,800 metres is epic with the final crawl up the rockface pretty intimidating.
At the top there is the usual high altitude wind, genuine cold and thin air which took me straight back to Nepal. Spike was a trouper though and layered up with a scarf, she managed to deal with the light-headedness and the cold way better than I would have expected.
After warming up again in the beautiful weather down at the base we headed back into Switzerland to our next Airbnb at a place called Arbaz, high above the upper Rhone Valley. More beautiful views and a really relaxing quiet spot for the night.
Next day we started early for Interlaken, which was to be our last sightseeing stop before heading to our next long stay at a town called Gailingen, close to Schaffhausen which is where our big event is being held on 6 October.
I guess everyone knows about Interlaken, but it's stunning.
So that was our blast through the Swiss scenic spots. Pretty tiring but we've got a few days of relaxation planned.