Switzerland - July

Walking into ZermattWe arrived in Zermatt 2 hours after leaving Chamonix, we checked into our hostel and had dinner. After dinner we went for a walk around town before retreating to the pub as rain developed. The showers hung around the next day but we were still keen to get out and walk so we chose a low altitude loop of the valley. It was a good combination of forest, grassland and mountain chalets so we were never far from a hot cup of coffee.

Monta Rosa Peak and the Gornergletscher

The next day we went off on our most ambitious walk from the gornergrat railway station across the Gornergletscher to the Monta Rosa hut and back down to Zermatt village. The bad weather cleared early in the morning and we had awesome clear skies.

Crossing the Gornergletscher

We dropped steadily down to the glacier and began to cross it. It was fascinating with crevasses, deep blue pools and massive rocks, after an hour on the ice we clambered up the valley side to the Monta Rosa hut. At the hut we sat back in the sunshine enjoying a cold beer, lunch and the spectacular glacial scenery all around.

Lunch at the Monta Rosa Hut

The old man springing over the crevasses
Views of the Matterhorn heading back down to Zermatt

After lunch we headed back the way we came as far as the train station, after that we continued on down to the Zermatt Village enjoying great views of the Matterhorn. We got back into town at 7pm, 10hrs after we started walking. After dinner we went back into town for a couple of beers to celebrate our last night in Zermatt.

The next day we packed up, got back into the car and headed over to Milan. It was a good drive as we went up over the Simplon pass and then down past lake Maggiore in Italy where we stopped for lunch and a swim. We then drove on to Milan to return the rental car and have our final night. On Sunday dad took the train down to Florence for the first of his conferences. It was a great trip, we saw lots of cool stuff and got some awesome hiking in.

France - July

Glacier des BossonsAfter our short but action packed weekend in Denmark we headed down to the alps for the main part of our holiday. We flew into Milan, picked up our rental car and drove to Chamonix. We checked into our hostel and went for a quick walk up to Glacier des Bossons.

Mt Blanc across the valley from Brévent The next day we set out on our first major walk, we started at the top of the Flegere and headed off towards the Brévent enjoying the great views across to Mt Blanc. We stopped at the top and were dissapointed to find the restaurant closed so we continued down along the ridge and were stoked to another small chalet perched on the mountain side which served cold beer and hot meals. After a great meal we headed back down the steep mountain to the valley 1500m below and back to the Hostel.

One of the many mountain side chalets
Fondau in Chamonix
That evening we went for a fondau in Chamonix, a good local dish. We sat under cover due to the thunder storms coming in and out of the valley.

Lac Blu with Aiguille de Midi in the back ground

The next day we took the Legendary Aiguille de Midi cable car up to the spectacular height of 3800m, 2800m above the valley floor. We then took the next cable car across the Vallee Blanche to Italy with amazing glacial views all around. We then headed back down to Lac Blue for lunch and a swim before jumping in the car and driving to Zermatt in Switzerland.

Denmark - June

Dinner in Copenhagen Dad arrived in the Copenhagen the weekend after the Scotland trip, I picked him up and we went back to Ella's apartment where we stayed. That evening Dad, Ella and I went out for dinner with Niels, Linda, Bror and Bjork at a Italian restaurant in town.

My birthday presents from Bror and Bjork

Linda and Bjork enjoying the meal

I was given my birthday presents a few days earlier by Bjork and Bror =) Dad had not seen Niels and Linda for 7 years so there was a lot of catching up to do. The next day I took dad for a quick tour of Copenhagen before heading over to Odense for the weekend. We were treated to even more good festivities at both Bjarne and Lene's and Mormor's.

Scotland - June 08

Picking up Stig from Sarah and Shays houseAfter 7 years down under it was Dads turn to visit Europe again. Ella and I flew in to Manchester friday morning and met Dad and Linda to the Airport where we picked up the rental car and headed to Sarah and Shays. We had a cup of tea and a good but brief catch up them before heading up to Arrachor in Scotland for the weekend where we were to attend the Burden family re union.

The Arrachor Hotel from the Cobler

We drove for 5 hours up to Arrachor on the west coast 1 hour north of Glasgow. We had no problems except bad coffee at the motorway service stations and the rush hour traffic in Glasgow. We got up early the next morning, ate our bacon and eggs breakfast before Stig, Ella and I headed up the Cobler to check out the famous peak.

Grandad's bridge - still looking good

The rocky peak of the Cobler

The eye of the Needle
Looking back down to Arrachor

It was a good 5 hour return walk allowing for an hour at the top to climb the three summits, there was a lot of rock scrambling involved so was pretty cool. We ate lunch and then headed back down in time to catch the reunion party at one of the local cafes.

Uncle John and Dad
The reunion was great, we were around 80 people, very different people of all ages and from all over the world. It was funny to talk to the people and think that we all came from my grandparents.

Some of the rellies back at the Arrachor hotel
Arrachor in the morning sun

On the Sunday we drove over to Loch Fyne for a fine lunch at the famous sea food restaurant. We then went to the Glengoyne distillery for a Scotch tour before taking Stig to Glasgow airport to catch his plane back to the US. Linda, Dad, Ella and I stayed another night in Arrachor before heading back down to Manchester. It was a great trip and fun to meet up with Linda, Dad and Stig on the other side of the world.