I have never like snow on the streets and walking on it. To be warm at home and watch it fall -it’s fine, but I can’t stand cold weather, as well as wearing a lot of warm winter clothes to go somewhere,

however, everything has an exception!

And my exception is Chamonix and the fact that you almost get on Mont Blanc! A place that is like in a fairy tale and you are amazed by the lots of snow and breathtaking views. A place where everything is infinitely clean and white, quiet and peaceful! A place where you seem to be in the air and on the ground at the same time, where time seems to have stopped.

It was the end of October, and my trip to Switzerland was my third for the month, after spending a week in Egypt and then a weekend in Athens. Admittedly, I was a little tired and overwhelmed with emotions of all the travelling, but one day my friends and I decided to go to Chamonix in France. We had rented a car therefore we could go wherever we wanted.

So we went to Chamonix. As we were travellign in the car we set the good mood and filled it laughter, good stories, funny selfies and videos and top-notch music. This was just the beginning of this great day!

As we traveled, the Alps showed majestically – high mountains covered with bright white snow, and peaks were hidden behind the clouds so it was very difficult to distinguish where the mountain begins and ends. Definitely there was a lot of charm in these views, which is hard to resist, but somehow it prepares you for a meeting that I personally did not want to have. A meeting with the winter itself, with the snow and the cold weather. A meeting in which the cold wind caresses your hands, and the first snowflakes settle down on your face in a friendly and in the meantime wet way. At that moment a voice inside me said, “Let winter begin now!”

And so, in jokes and banters, we arrived at Chamonix. We parked and the moment I got out of the car I felt that winter was already here and I was not prepared to meet her at all. Especially in terms of clothing – summer sneakers and socks that do not cover even the ankles, and thin pants. However I still had a slightly thicker blouse and leather jacket on top and thankfullyI had taken a scarf, too. But that was not a matter of a choice as I before I had come to Chamonix I was at at warm places and honestly, I was not prepared for such a winter story!

Anyhow, this did not stop neither me nor my friends to take a walk around the city and we went to the lift station which leads to Mont Blanc. As we arrived at it, the staff informed us that due to technical reasons the lift can only take us to the first observation deck. Well, it’s still something so we got on the first gondola that came and we started elevating. As we were going higher and higher the scenery below our feet was changing rapidly – the deciduous trees disappeared, here and there we could spot some rocky cliffs and suddenly everything was covered in snow. Chamonix was getting smaller and smaller, and the view was really breathtaking and it would be really difficult for me to describe it.

After I got off the gondola and took a few steps in the snow, I realized many things, but the first one was that it was hellishly cold! Cold, in some strange way. There was no wind here, and that’s when I realized how quiet it really is and all you can hear is either your footsteps or those of the people around you. You can every hear your thoughts, your breathing and your heartbeat! Everything is so white that even your eyes can’t believe what they see. High rocky peaks covered in snow and a white sky, and you still can’t figure out where the mountain starts and where it ends. In the distance you can see a little blue in the sky and that seems to spoil your view, because everything is so white around you. It’s truly majestic, but somehow mysterious and scary – all these snow-covered slopes are high up and all sorts of thoughts cross your mind at first. But then it’s as if everything around you is on pause and you’re intoxicated by what you see! And you get enough of looks. Admittedly, no matter how cold I was, I didn’t want to leave.

I will never forget this place, because the white views fulfilled me and told me that I was at the right place, at the right time. A place to help me keep holding my head straight and deal with all difficulties, whatever they may be!

I didn’t expect to come right here, in so much snow, so high and at a such unique view. I felt just like a young man in love – just when you don’t expect, the love appears and it seems to fall on your head like a snow. Why did I feel that way? Well, I had the feeling that soon the snow was going to fall onto my head, too. 🙂

Going back down the gondola lift, I was already longing to eat something warm and tasty. We got back the town and went for a walk to find a nice restaurant to eat. The atmosphere in the town is typically alpine and everything reminds you of winter and winter sports. No wonder Chamonix was chosen to host the first Winter Olympics in 1924. Long before being proclaimed the best resort in Europe for advanced and master skiers, Chamonix was a major mountaineering center and a summer capital for climbers.

Certainly the City is during summer is much more pleasant, because in and around Chamonix there are many thing to see – from here the cable railway “Bellevue”  stars and you can take this train, which gives another unique view with Mont Blanc on one side and Brevan on the other . If you walk a little, you will be able to see the other side of the mountain with St. Gervais, Sallanches and the Bionnassay Glacier. Two more trains depart from here – the Mont Blanc train from St. Gervais Le Faye, which offers beautiful views of the valley, and the Le Tour train, which goes to the Franco-Swiss border in the mountains and from its last stop you can go up to the glacier  “Le Tour”. How do I know all that? I read he information boards in the town and I definitely want to come here again in the summer!

We also managed to find a nice restaurant where we ate onion soup and fondue, both of which were fantastic! I can still feel the taste of the cheese! But I’m not going to talk about the cuisine for someone might get hungry. 🙂

It was time to go back to Geneva and when I left there it was as if a part of me had not come down from the snowy peaks. It was as if my fears and anxieties had remained there deep down into the rocky ground, which was all covered with snow. I felt that they were burried very deep, and so must they be. The snow-covered ground was more attractive and brighter on the gray rocky background, and I am glad that I walked on it!

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