Chamonix

For our first Ski/Snowboard trip since moving to Amsterdam we spent a long weekend with Courtney, Michael, Chad, Erin and Ali in the lovely Vallee De Chamonix Mont-Blanc.  We flew into Geneva, Switzerland and hopped on a 1.5 hour shuttle ride to the town.  Ali kindly provided 2 bottles of wine to celebrate our arrival, which were promptly consumed on the way!!!  Chamonix is located in the Rhone-Alpe region in south-eastern France. We rented an apartment right in the heart of the ski town, surrounded by the French alps.  Once you are at the peak of the mountain you then can see the Alps stretch over Italy and Switzerland.  Chamonix shares the summit of Mont Blanc.  Mont Blanc is the third most visited natural site in the world and highest European mountain west of Russia.  Chamonix is a popular winter sports resort town for the most extreme winter enthusiasts such as rock climbers, extreme skiers, paragliders, rafters, and ice climbers.  Endless snow-capped mountains, rocks and untouched powder made every view absolutely breathtaking.

The first day of skiing included a short bus ride to Les Grands Montets (3300m).  The ski shop recommended that mountain since Chamonix really had no new snow in weeks.  Here we enjoyed the sunny weather and awesome trails.

Chad, Ali and myself stuck together while Kirk and Michael took the gondola up to the summit for some more difficult areas of the mountain.

We all met up for a big lunch and beers and lounged around in the hot sun before finishing up the day with a long and final run.

Our last day of skiing was split between Brevent - Flegere (2525m), which was walking distance to the town, and Courmayeur (2755m), which was located on the other side of a 7 mile tunnel directly through the Mont Blanc mountain and across the border into Italy.  Chad and I just did a half day on Brevent because the mountain was nearly a complete white out.  Kirk and Michael hired an off-piste guide and spent the day in Italy.

Kirk and Michael's guides - the official Compagnie des guides of Chamonix - took them through a very full day of off-piste skiing (Kirk was the lone snowboarder), showing them everything Courmeyeur has to offer. Highlights included a trip up 3 gondolas to a very remote, powder-filled, run that lasted about an hour, and an amazing Italian 3-course lunch that included 2 different starters, 3 different types of pasta, 6 different desserts, wine, beer, hot grappa and coffee. It's difficult getting back on the mountain after a meal like that, but they managed.

Each night we ate delicious meals and sipped on local wines!  We had French and Italian cuisines like French onion soups, pork filets injected with cheese, cheese fondue and raclette, steak on a stone, seafood pizza and gnochhi.  For the morning we ate buttery croissants and treated ourselves to macaroons, my favorite being pistachio.

Besides skiing and boarding the various runs of Chamonix we spent our time exploring the city, walking around, shopping, bowling and apres skiing.

One particular bar (Chambre Neuf) tailors to those looking to spend their apres ski guzzling pitchers of beer and dancing on tables - what else would you do?  Skiers and boarders still in their snowgear sang along to the live band and danced the night away! 

On Monday Kirk took an early flight out to Vancouver, Canada for work and the rest of us had the whole day to soak in the mountainous surroundings and tour around.  A somewhat clear day we made our way to the Aiguelle du Midi cable car (gondola).

Constructed in 1955, it was the highest cable car in the world; taking you up to 3,842 meters above Chamonix.  The first section of the cable car starts in Chamonix (1,035 m), crossing the forest above the treetops, to reach an altitude of 2,317 meters in 8 minutes.

Mont Blanc can be seen to the right with the Bossons glacier at the bottom and the Mont Blanc at the top (4,810 m).  On the left is the Aiguille Verte, the Durs and the Aiguilles de Chamonix (Grands Charmoz, Aiguille de Blaitiere and Aiguille du Plan).  We arrived at the Plan de l'Aiguille.  The second section the cable car reaches and altitude of 3.777 m.  This short trip took us over the seracs and snout of the Pilirins glacier, as well as the hanging glaciers of the north face of the Aguille du Midi.  Here you cross the footbridge that links you to the North tower.  Also at this point skilled and experienced climbers have access to the Vallee Blanche.

It was amazing to witness mountaineers traversing the face of the mountain.  The cable car experience is not recommended for people for whom rapid changes in altitude can cause illness.  We definitely felt the difference and felt a little high, winded and one almost fainted.

We then took some time to do one last stroll thru this fantastic ski town!!!

This was a beautiful and unique way to see Chamonix before heading back to Geneva and then a short flight to Amsterdam!  We are so happy to have experienced our ski trip with such a wonderful group of people. Can't wait for next winter's travel!!!

The Prague

Wat is er nieuw in Amsterdam?

Dutch 101.  We just started our Beginners Dutch Lessons at Weiden + Kennedy.  The course lasts for 7 weeks, meeting once a week and going over common phrases, vocab and pronunciation.

On January 20th we went with our friend Tim to see Drake perform at the Heineken Music Hall! It was our first time to that venue and he put on a great show. He didn't even miss a beat when a huge fight broke out right in front us...so that was nice.

On a lazy Saturday, we took the 30 minute train ride to Haarlem - a small-ish town outside of Amsterdam.  With our friends Scott and Jo, we walked around and scoped out shops, cafes and the markets!

For our first abroad Valentine's celebration we jetted of to Prague!  We stayed at the Marriot which was conveniently just outside the Old Town Square.  The weekend was chilly, sunny, and pretty quiet.  The winter weather keeps the tourists to a minimum. Our first night was spent walking thru the Old Town Square, Prague's historical center which includes the Gothic spires of the Tyn Church, the statue of the former Jan Hus, and the Astronomical Clock on the Old Town Hall Tower.  We then ventured across the Charles Bridge and had a late bite at Kolkovna Olympia where we stuffed ourselves with goulash, boar, dumplings, cheese plates with garlic and potato pancakes and of course chasing it down with large glasses of Pilsner Urquelle - the well-known Czech brew.

After dinner and drinks we strolled through the park on Kampa Island and admired the stunning view of the bridge, river and picturesque Prague.

We started Saturday off with coffee and bagels at Good Fellows Coffeeshop before exploring around The Jewish Quarter.  The Jewish Quarter contains the Maisel, Pinkas, Klaus, and Spanish Synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetery and Ceremonial Hall.

We carried on through the main square and did a bit of window shopping, specifically hand-made glass, before heading across the Charles Bridge and hiking up to the Castle.  The bridge was filled with tourists and artists - painters, etchers, pottery and photos galore.  We walked around Lesser Town, grabbed a bite at a small smokey restaurant where we devoured more steak and dumplings and chugged dark/light mixed lagers.  It was so hard to believe the amount of smoke in the restaurants, bars and cafes, but I guess that's the Czech Republic for you!

 Just before entering the Castle, we enjoyed the spectacular view overlooking Prague. The Castle was massive and according to the Guiness Book of World Records, the largest coherent castle in the world.

For Valentine's dinner on Saturday we hopped on the tram out to Andel and dined at Pravek - caveman inspired quisine.  We ate boar, ostrich and mash potato logs while sipping on Czech Pinot Noir.

After dinner we had drinks at the Hilton's Sky Bar - a very popular posh night club with good music and signature cocktails.  Our last day was spent shopping, after a yummy breakfast at Cafe Louvre, and then a short flight back home!  We hope everyone had a lovely and happy Valentine's day!