Day 5
Today we were going to leave France head into Italy then
return to France and end our day in Switzerland. The first part of the journey
I had ridden before on my very first Alpine bike ride and wanted to share this
with the rest of my family as I knew the roads and views were stunning. The
rest of the ride would be a surprise to us all.
Today would take us from Bourg, up the D1090 through La
Rosiere onto St Bernard’s pass then into Italy on the SS26, we would then head
on through the Mont Blanc tunnel. Once back in France we would follow the D1506,
once this hits Switzerland it turns into a random road we’ll follow this into
Martigny then join the 21,9 and then the 11 to get us into Interlaken, then if
we had time and depending on the weather we would head to Lauterbrunnen.
We woke to lovely blue skies with just a wisp of thin white
cloud. Breakfast was the same as yesterday, as this was the only hotel we would
be staying in twice. The bright skies lifted our spirits as yesterday was a
little on the grey side. I was really looking forward to today’s drive as I had
ridden it before a few years ago and knew what sights we were in for. 
I love this road from Bourg to La Rosiere, it winds its way
up the mountain side through villages and forests and as you climb the views
just get better and better. We did make one little mistake and came off the
main road and dropped into one of the villages. I could see from the Garmin
that the road would join the main road again so we kept on going. What I hadn’t
banked on was the very steep assent from the side road back onto the main road.
We managed to pull out ok, but my brother Ian and son Martin both struggled to
get out. I ended up standing on the main road and directing them so they could
get a run up to get out. My mother told me off for picking the route as I tried
to explain that I’d never been there before and wasn’t aware of the slopes.
However this was soon forgotten as we arrived in La Rosiere
and found somewhere to park. The sights
were just as I remembered them, if not better. We saw snow-capped mountains,
forest lined valleys and far down below we could see the town of Bourg. We took
a break here for a photo opportunity before carrying on our journey up to and
through Saint Bernard’s pass. This part of the drive is quite straight forward
but, despite being June the road was still lined with snow, in some places feet
deep. As we passed the monument we once again pulled in for another photo
opportunity. We took selfies next to the monument, threw snowballs, and watched
Marmots play on the mountainside.
We hadn’t gone far, and because of the stops we were now
running behind our time schedule. We set off again and passed into Italy here
the roads got interesting again as they wound their way down the side of the
mountain. It’s funny how parts of the road you remember and other parts you
don’t. We made good time and we were soon at the entrance to the Mont Blanc
tunnel. 
Unless you have to or you want to, I personally would avoid
the tunnel and go the long way around. I had decided to add it to our route as
some of the family had not experienced it before. I did however forget how
extortionately expensive it is. Once through we stopped to regroup and take a
break. It was then I noticed a view that I had seen the last time I’d came
through. There above was Mont Blanc, snow-capped in all its glory.
Our next stop was going to be in Chamonix. We were going to
visit a tourist attraction called Walk into the Void where you can walk out
into a glass box, high above the valley, to get a true panoramic view.
Unfortunately we were well behind time so sadly decided to give it a miss.
I was now into new territory, I had never been this way
before. Despite the road being a normal size
carriage way it seemed wide, but then everything seemed bigger, the mountains
the forests the skies etc. We were making up time and enjoying the ever winding
roads that rolled through the countryside. We left France and entered Switzerland
the roads wound their way through spectacular wild countryside.
Soon, way below us, like a model village appeared the town
of Martigny. We weaved our way down the mountainside, the town spread out in
front of us, once on the valley floor we followed the 21 then the 9 toward
Aigle, the valley was flat and was a mixture of towns, villages, and perfect
square fields. Hugh mountain ranges framed both sides. At Aigle we left the 9
and joined the 11 heading toward Interlaken. This road left behind the man kept
valley base and we were once again back into the natural green wilderness.
We travelled up the 11 for a short while when I decided that
we had made good time and all deserved a break to stretch our legs and have
some lunch. We stopped at a hotel on the main road called Hotel Le Relais
Alpin, for no other reason than it was there. The views were breath taking and
coffee and hot chocolate were the order of the day.
It was now mid-afternoon and I guessed we had a two hour
drive to Lauterbrunnen. As the weather was
nice, I wanted to see it today in case tomorrow was not as fair. We then of
course had to find the hotel. After a nice rest stop we once again headed off
up the 11, this was a nice road to drive
and once we got to Spiez we followed the lake into Interlaken and then onto
Lauterbrunnen.
We arrived at Lauterbrunnen in the early evening. In the pictures it is depicted as a small
rural village that’s dominated by its waterfall that falls hundreds of feet
from the mountain top to the valley bottom, but in reality it’s not quite as
the pictures suggest and has multi-storey car parks and a massive railway
station. I was a little disappointed to be honest. However put this to one side
and walk towards the waterfall and you can see its beauty and wonderment. We enjoyed
our time there and even walked our way to the viewpoint below the waterfall,
making sure we took plenty of photos. We decided that we would also eat here
and found a lovely restaurant just on the edge of town.
Evening upon us we decided to make our way back to Interlaken
to find our hotel, surprisingly it wasn’t that far away and we had passed it on
our way to the waterfall village. We booked in, just in time to see the sunset.
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