After our quick trip home to Canada, we flew back to the Netherlands to pick up the van and carry on with our adventures. Our plan was to drive to Switzerland and do some reconnaissance for Phase Three: Relocation, and beat the heat at the same time. It was around 35C in NL, so we were really hoping the mountains would be cooler! On our way, we stopped for a few days in France at a campsite between Nancy and Strasbourg. I searched on Park4Night for campsites with a pool, and we picked the first one that had space! It was a nice campsite, and it gave us a chance to unpack, recover from jet lag, and settle back in to van life.
One issue we noticed on moving back in to the van was a suspicious smell in the bathroom. You may recall from my last post we had some issues with the grey water tank becoming a bit rank in the heat, but in this case it only seemed to smell in the bathroom. So, it was time to face my fears and do a cassette toilet deep clean! I first scoured YouTube (haha) looking for videos on how to take it all apart and give it a good clean, and then I procrastinated for half a day doing other cleaning and organizing chores. Once I got down to it though, it wasn’t all that bad. We first emptied it as usual, and then I gave the rubber seal area a wipe-down with some paper towel. We added some “bio” laundry liquid from the UK (containing enzymes) and filled it completely full with water, and then let it sit in the sun for a few hours in front of the van, giving it a swill every now and then. (You can just imagine what people thought as the two of us struggled to carry the extremely full and heavy cassette back to our site!) After a final few rinses, it seemed good as new!
Another chore we needed to get done was laundry. We’d purchased washer and dryer tokens from reception, so we started with our sheets and ran the cycle. When Jacob went back to check on them a little later, the machine had stopped but the cycle wasn’t finished. After trying to get help from various people, it turned out that there had been a planned power outage during the wash cycle, so it hadn’t finished correctly. It seemed like the final spin was the only step missing, so Jacob moved the sheets to the dryer and started the next load of clothes in the washer. Once that was done, we tried to get the dryer started with everything but our delicates in. (It costs between 3-5€ per token so we try to consolidate loads for drying). It wouldn’t turn on, though, so after pushing various buttons and trying to swap plugs with the washer, I went to reception again to get help. I was quickly informed that the dryer was not working at all, which made me more than a bit miffed as we had been sold a dryer token! Drying sheets outside is a real pain, so we would’ve washed them elsewhere if we knew, not to mention that the final spin hadn’t happened so they were far wetter than usual after a wash cycle. All this to say, we ended up at 7pm hanging our washing all over our campsite, two full loads of laundry spread between three trees and a borrowed laundry rack! Unfortunately, the sheets didn’t dry before bedtime, but we just chose the driest one to lay down on the bed and put it back out on the line the next morning.
One strange thing about French campsites is the toilet (washroom) situation. From our experience, you can choose at most two out of the following three luxuries: soap, toilet paper, or a toilet seat. The first campsite we stayed at had soap and toilet seats, but no toilet paper. The second campsite we stayed at (in Chamonix, more on that below) had toilet paper, but no soap and no toilet seats. I’m not sure why these items are considered optional, but we now go prepared with soap and TP - carrying a toilet seat around just seems a bit too cumbersome. (Looking for something to dry your hands with? You can forget it!)
After two days of getting organized and one day of lounging by the pool, we were ready to get going again. Unfortunately, as we were packing up, Jacob was stung by a wasp! It got stuck between his foot and his Croc (the classiest of summer footwear) and couldn’t get out. This did not bode well for our hiking plans, plus it was pretty uncomfortable for him to drive! Thankfully it healed pretty quickly over the next day or so and we were still able to do some hiking when we got to Chamonix. At some point we’d decided to head there first and check out the French Alps before going further into Switzerland. This turned out to be a good decision, as we discovered while driving through Switzerland that our UK data does not work there!
For our first two days in Chamonix, we stayed at a popular camper spot near the golf course where there is unrestricted public parking. The views were absolutely stunning! I felt very small looking up at the giant, jagged mountains above. Aside from the views, my favourite part about this spot was the toilet along the trail nearby. From the outside, it looked like a standard wooden enclosure for a pit toilet. But inside, it had a nice, clean flush toilet, and even a little bar of soap next to the sink! Such luxury!
To make the most of Chamonix and Mont Blanc, we purchased the two-day Mont Blanc Multipass which allows you to use a variety of gondolas, chair lifts, and trains in the area. We started off day one by taking two gondolas up to the Aiguille du Midi viewing platform at 3,777m. They call it a “viewing platform”, but up there you can find a cafe, a gift shop, several washroom facilities, and a veritable maze of tunnels and wooden decks that give you panoramic views of Mont Blanc and the surrounding mountains. The views were absolutely jaw-dropping, as you can see in the photos below. To be above the clouds and in such close proximity to these massive peaks was phenomenal.
Aiguille du Midi gondola
The impact to our bodies of being so high was immediately apparent, however: we got off the gondola, walked up the first set of stairs and were breathless by the top! The oxygen level there is 65% of normal, where Mont Blanc summit is 60% and Everest summit is 30%. They had a small display in one of the tunnels which showed the impacts of oxygen deprivation on the body. I can definitely see why hikers and climbers need to acclimatize before attempting any sort of activity that high. We saw a few climbers attempting the Mont Blanc summit while we were up there, and even though the peak looked close from where we were, they were only small specks way in the distance! It really put the scale into perspective.
Looking at Mont Blanc up close
View from Aiguille du Midi station
Although we couldn’t get enough of the views, after an hour or two we felt pretty drained from the lack of oxygen so decided to head down again. Back in town, we saw a sign advertising the iconic red Montenvers trains to the Mer de Glace glacier, which was also included in the MB Multipass. We both love a good train ride, so we decided to do that next! Before heading to the station, we popped into Moody Coffee Roasters for an iced beverage each.
Mer de Glace glacier
Visiting the glacier was sobering. As with Columbia Icefield in the Canadian Rockies, they have plaques which mark the recession of the glacier. Mer de Glace is retreating extremely rapidly, which was sad to see. Other than the glacier, the main attraction of this site is the ice cave. To get there, you take a small gondola, and then descend around 550 steps before reaching the entrance to the cave. A testament to how quickly the glacier is receding: each year they need to add around 40 steps to the walkway in order to reach the ice. The ice cave was really amazing inside, and had various carved areas, like a set of couches with a table in between, and a bar area where I assume they actually hold events. I felt like it was a bit incongruous, though, to be shedding light on the climate emergency while also hosting hordes of tourists inside the ice. But hey, I was one of those tourists, so I guess I don’t have much of a leg to stand on.
The ice cave at Mer de Glace
Once we climbed all of those steps and got back up to the top, we waited for the next little red train to take us back to Chamonix. I’ve since learned that the day after our visit, two workers in their early 20s were tragically killed at Montenvers in a construction accident, and the site has been closed since. I was really distressed to hear about this, and have been thinking of their families since.
Back in Chamonix, I discovered that my camera battery was nearly dead! With a day of hiking ahead, I needed to make sure I could snap away to my heart’s content. Unfortunately, my camera battery is the one electronic device I can’t charge using the van’s 12V “leisure battery” as it doesn’t have a USB charger. So we looked up a nearby cafe and brought the charger along to see if they’d plug it in for me. The cafe/bar we went to is called Le Petit Social, and it had a super fun atmosphere. With a pink neon “Après Ski Chamonix” sign and Lange Girl posters on the walls, it really made me want to come back in winter to enjoy a hot chocolate after a day on the slopes! The servers were nice enough to charge my battery as well, so we enjoyed a few drinks and a chat while we waited.
The next morning, we awoke to a mix of sun and clouds. Our plan for the day was to hike to Lac Blanc from the top of La Flégère gondola, and then make a loop with another lake and take l’Index chair back down to the gondola. The forecast indicated the clouds would clear late morning, so we were hopeful that by the time we were up near the lake it would be clear enough to see Mont Blanc. Thankfully, there wasn’t a long queue for the gondola, but there was a steady stream of people in hiking gear making their way up. Lac Blanc is one of the most popular hikes in the area, which became very apparent as we got underway. We passed many people as the elevation got steeper.
Looking down on the top of La Flégère ski area
Before we reached the lake, we were enveloped by clouds and it started getting chilly. Thankfully we’d brought extra layers, but I started to regret wearing shorts. The lake itself was beautiful, especially shrouded in mist. I loved the moody vibe! It was also very crowded up there. I managed to capture the two photos below without anyone in them, but for the rest my attempts were thwarted by all the hikers swarming around.
Misty Lac Blanc
Another misty shot of Lac Blanc
It looked like things would start to clear up soon (weather-wise, not people-wise!) so we opted to have a “chocolat chaud” each from the little cafe next to the lake. (No summit in the Alps is too high for a cafe!) Thankfully it did clear, and we had lovely views across to Mont Blanc.
Looking out at Mont Blanc
As we continued on from the lake towards l’Index chair, it became clear that many people take the chair up and then traverse across to the lake, rather than dealing with the elevation gain from the top of the gondola. Unfortunately this meant that we had a steady stream of people coming towards us, which is much more awkward than passing people in a unidirectional traffic flow. While we enjoyed the views and the exertion, we’d had enough of the crowds and decided to take the chair down without doing an additional out-and-back to another lake. We stopped for a tea before heading down, and I loved that they had a Pétanque pitch next to the cafe! Pétanque definitely seems popular in France, as the campsite we were staying at also had a well-used pitch, and a weekly tournament! Back at the cafe, they also had a lounge chair that said, “Je peux pas, j’ai Pétanque” - “I can’t, I have Pétanque”!
Riding the chair lift down to the gondola station was so magical! I was just in awe of the scenery, and it was nice to be able to watch it all from the comfort of the chair. Plus it really beats a steep descent, especially on the knees! This was another moment where I got really excited for ski season!
Once we were back at the van, we headed out to find a campsite. Showers were our top priority! All the sites with online booking were already full, so we were hoping to get a spot at a non-reservable one. After stopping by four different sites with “Complet / Full” signs, we found one with a spot - or rather, an empty area where we could park the van. It didn’t seem to be an actual pitch, but there was enough room for us and we could have lovely warm showers and get cleaned up after the hike. We ended up staying there two nights, with a chill day in town the next day (which was yesterday). This morning we woke up to rain, and so didn’t mind having to pack up and head out. (We also didn’t mind leaving behind the screaming baby in the tent near us, who cried more than I thought possible for a baby to cry!) We are now parked near Annecy, and are excited to explore this city over the next few days. More on that later!