My Way Alpine Tour June 2026 - Our magnificent journey!

Pre tour part 2: Vienna

On a friend’s recommendation, we sought out the Hunderwassser House, just outside the Ring tram path. Hundertwasser was an interesting post-war modernism artist from Austria, who designed (among many other things) an apartment building that had trees growing out of balconies, no right angles, with lots of colors and whimsy. Next to the apartment building, which is a residence, so no tours, there is Hundertwasser Village. That was an area full of shops, artwork, quotes from the artist, cafes, and uneven, undulating floors. It was wild and interesting to experience.

Cafés we enjoyed, along with the pastries:

Gerstner (since 1847): Gerstner Torte (delicious!) and Sacher Torte (okay - dry as many reported)

Cupola Hall Café: Apricot strudel (tart and good) & Cardinal Cake (excellent)

Beim Czaak (restaurant - but interesting dessert choice!): Eismarillenknödel (vanilla ice cream dumpling stuffed with apricots and rolled in hazelnuts on a pool of apricot sauce - very good)

Demel: Esterhazytorte (excellent) & Kaiserschmarrn (warm fluffy shredded pancake pieces with a warm plum compote - excellent!)

I hope to return to Vienna again - much, much more to explore!

Next up - off to Salzburg via train…eager to start our My Way Alpine Tour!

Our train trip was smooth and we enjoyed the views rolling through the countryside. We'd taken the advice from the RS book and Mark Wolter from Wolter's World to travel first class and make a seat reservation. So glad we did - it made the whole experience more peaceful for us. Several people came and sat near us, only to be asked to surrender their seats for the person who had the reservation. They made an announcement before we left the station "If you don't have reservations, please get off the train and catch the next one." Passengers chose instead to stand or sit in the aisles for around 3 hours, instead of wait for the next train!

We planned one extra night in Salzburg before the tour began, and added an extra night at the Hotel Hofwirt. We walked about 15 minutes from the station to the hotel. It was a lovely hotel, with an abundant breakfast and a 24 hour lounge with coffee and water available. Plus a short walk to the shops and streets that led to the river and over to the old town. My only disappointment was that our extra night was very expensive to add on - even telling them we were part of the tour. I asked about it, and they said because they didn't want us to move to a new room, they matched the one for the tour...but it was 320 euros - and I heard them quote a single room to two different guests to be 165 euros...hard to believe our room was worth nearly double that price. Oh well... everything else was nice. We met a friend from home there, who had just moved to Germany, and her single room was half what we were charged.

As we were rolling towards Salzburg, I tried to find us a concert experience for that night. We got the last three tickets for a dinner and candlelit concert at the Hohensalzburg Fortress. https://www.salzburghighlights.at We walked over towards the funicular to go to the top of the fortress, and had timed tickets to ride for free as a part of our reservation. St. Peter's Churchyard was beautiful, with lovingly tended gravesites. As we were walking on the path through the churchyard, the bells started ringing, and ringing, and ringing! We looked around, and saw the gated crypts, all in a row, and immediately felt we were in The Sound of Music - surely these were the spots that Maria and her family hid in for some of the last scenes of the movie. It was a special and surreal moment, seeing those sights with the bells continuing to ring all around us. Very cool. [ Two days later, our ideas were confirmed on our Sound of Music tour - that was indeed the spot that inspired that scene!]

To be continued....

Pre tour part 3: Salzburg and the start of the tour

The funicular was fun - and once we were at the fortress, we had great views of Salzburg and the surrounding mountains. We were welcomed into the dining room for our 3 course dinner, which was delicious. The windows were open, and we couldn’t believe our views - even with clouds, we were seeing snow on some of the mountains. After our dessert from the menu, our server brought us another treat to share - the Salzburg Nockerl, a light meringue dessert that was shaped like a mountain. That was a fun surprise!

Our concert was in a ballroom, several flights up from the dining room, with windows open to the night air. The room was candlelit, and our concert was a string quartet, and also a pianist for some numbers. We paid a little extra for assigned seats - worth it because all others were sitting in rows along the back row. We had a great view of the musicians. What a joy to sit in this space, hearing beautiful music from Mozart and Strauss, and being able to see out the window, too, to watch the night sky (including a big rainstorm, which made everything even more dramatic!)

After the concert, we walked back to our hotel through the rain, but it didn’t matter much - we had umbrellas or raincoats, and Salzburg was pretty at night, with soft lights and clean streets.

The next morning, we enjoyed an abundant breakfast, and then went for a walk along the river on our way to our class at the Edelweiss Cooking School. I’d signed us up for this via Viator, and it was so much fun! The school is in a cave cut into the cliff, a cozy refuge from the rain that day. We learned how to make apple strudel, and how to stretch the delicate dough carefully to unexpectedly large dimensions! Each group had their own unique markings on their strudel, for serving later. Then we learned how to make that Salzburg Nockerl, including whipping egg whites and folding in ingredients. The Nockerl dessert is meant to represent the three mountains around Salzburg - a very local delicacy.

While everything baked, we were served a lunch of either goulash soup or vegetarian lentil. Then we all feasted on our strudel and Nockerl desserts. It was an excellent experience - great instructors, great value.

We bid farewell to our friend, who headed back to her new home in Munich, and then our tour began!

My Way Alpine Tour

We met our fellow travelers in the hotel dining room, in our first meeting with our tour manager extraordinaire, Gretchen. We learned that Gretchen had done this tour at least 25 times, and is also an editor for the tour books. She was wonderful, knowledgeable, and funny right from the start. 26 new friends to meet - and everyone was excited to begin. She offered an orientation tour afterward, which about half of us took - the other half went to find dinner. That’s one thing I really like about the My Way style - lots of choices about how to spend your time. I recommended our cooking class experience to our new friends, and they were able to sign up for one the next day! Their class made strudel and soft pretzels, and they really enjoyed it, too. Definitely recommend that as an option for Salzburg.

One thing to note about this tour - we had two nights and one full day per city, and one extra night in Lauterbrunnen planned in hopes of the best weather chances. That felt fast paced, and so this was in some ways a "sampler tour" for us to try lots of places and think about where we might return for longer visits. We made the most of each day, and fwiw, used packing cubes to make the moves between hotels go more smoothly. We left most things packed in the cubes except for the next day's outfits, and I wore my hiking boots every travel day since they wouldn't fit in my carry on bag. New for us this time - a few foldable hangers to supplement the hotel ones, to air out our clothes and help with some sink laundry drying. :-)

Part 4: Salzburg Tour Day 2

Bob’s Special Tours was our choice for our Sound of Music Tour. We preferred a smaller group - especially after seeing the bigger Panorama Tours arriving at the same sights we were seeing. If you let them know in advance, they can pick you up at your hotel that morning for a small fee. We decided to walk to the starting point - that was fine. I felt we had a more personal experience, I could hear our guide well, and we moved efficiently from place to place.

I didn’t realize that the first part would be a Salzburg city tour - bonus, as we hadn’t seen some of those parts of the city yet! Our guide shared so much behind the scenes information about the movie, the filming of it, and the real Von Trapp family. There were restroom stops along the way, and I was glad I’d brought water and could refill it as it was a hot day. Singing in the van was fun as we traveled through the countryside - but only a few of us were joining in, singing softly. Perhaps that was best for the non-enthusiasts. Ha!

Our tour ended in the beautiful Mirabell Gardens, and I was not the only Sound of Music fan enjoying the familiar sights from the Do Re Mi song. In fact, people were acting out the scenes throughout the garden, singing, or spinning and dancing happily along the way. Our guide said it was like that all day long! It was fun to see and experience.

Each day a schedule was posted, handwritten by Gretchen, with important information for the day, her contact info, and connections to the guidebook with page numbers for activities in the city. The next day’s schedule would also be posted that evening, so everyone knew what time we would be leaving.

We all received a special My Way Alpine Tour book, which had sections from the other countries’ guidebooks, since we would be visiting five different countries on our tour. That was an excellent resource before the trip, and along the way, as we were traveling. Extra bonus was the fun of knowing we were traveling with one of the authors of those sections! Gretchen made time each morning at breakfast, and on the bus on travel days, to touch base with each group to answer questions and offer suggestions.

Tour Day 3: Salzburg to Castelrotto a.k.a. Kastelruth, Italy

This was our first bus day, with our expert driver Maurice. Our bus was really long, which gave us plenty of space to spread out. It was comfortable - and even had seats that would extend into the aisle during travel for a little extra comfort. It was amazing to see how Maurice navigated some tricky turns and switchbacks with great ease.

We drove by Innsbruck, and across the Brenner Pass and Europabrücke, with dramatic views. Our rest/lunch stop was an interesting mix of Italian and Austrian foods and signage…welcome to the Sud Tirol region. We had another apple strudel opportunity…tasty with vanilla sauce!

The last part of the trip was pretty curvy - motion sickness meds and a Relief Band helped me out there. As we rolled into Castelrotto, the skies cleared and we began to see the striking peaks of the Dolomites. Our hotel, Cavallino d’Oro, dated back to 1326!! It was a beautiful hotel with tons of character, gorgeous views, and an Honesty Bar, where were we had a group Happy Hour hosted by Gretchen. The hotel was right next to a church on the small town square - so picturesque.

Several restaurants were recommended in our book. The first night we went to Liftstuberl, and ate on a picnic table in the cool clear evening with some of our new friends. All the food was delicious - especially the homemade barley soup I had! The sun was setting, casting beautiful light and shadows on the peaks around us. The second night, we chose Zur Alten Schmiede and had excellent pizza there, again with tour friends. We had such a great group of travelers - that was one of many highlights of the trip.

...to be continued...

Part 5
Tour Day 4: Castelrotto and the Seiser Alm

An excellent breakfast at the hotel fueled us for our day exploring Europe’s highest alpine meadow. Special features - an excellent Hausgemacht karottenkuchen (homemade carrot cake), and honeycomb from a local farm! I asked if they might please share the recipe for the delicious carrot cake - and they did, taking time to explain how the European methods and measurements would work for the recipe. I’m eager to try that at home.

We took the steep gondola up to Compatsch (6,048 ft.) and wow, what a sight stretching out in front of us! Green rolling hills ringed with tall mountains all around…some with snowy peaks! There were wildflowers in the meadows…at first only dandelions, but as we walked farther afield, we saw so many pretty flowers! There were horses with braided manes, and cows jingling their cowbells as they grazed.

Many of our group took the Witches Trail, and really liked it, while also thinking it was a little more difficult that they expected based on the tour book. We opted instead to go up the Panorama chairlift (6,600). That was fun - sailing higher in an open chairlift, hearing the cows, and feeling the breezes. It was a beautiful area to walk along a paved trail, easy for bikes and hikers and families with strollers.

I tried something new, and loved the result. I set up my GoPro to take a video of us walking away from the camera through a meadow, towards the mountain in the distance. We stopped and stood arm in arm for a moment, then walked back. So simple…and the result was that I pulled a few really awesome still photos from the video, with great resolution, worthy of framing! Sharing that tip for fellow photographers…:-)

There is a restaurant at Panorama that we enjoyed, and as we were there, clouds rolled in and it got colder. Glad we had layers! We met up with other tour members along the way - many different paths were taken that day, and everyone enjoyed their days. I’d love to spend more time in the Dolomites.

That evening, we had a surprise alphorn concert in the square - lovely to hear the three players harmonize with beautiful resonant tones. Meanwhile, a group of older teen boys and young men were practicing carrying huge heavy banners around the church square for a pageant/parade for the upcoming Sunday holiday. What holiday? They didn’t know how to say it in English. That was fascinating to watch them supporting each other. I asked them how heavy the banners were and they said about 35 kg! A beautiful day and evening in Castelrotto.

Some friends went to Bolzano, and really liked it, saying it felt more like Italy. It was a 50 minute ride each way, full of switchbacks and Mario Andretti-style bus drivers as reported when they got back. So we knew that wouldn’t be a trip for us! We were sorry to have to leave the next morning. We loved this part of the tour!

Tour Day 5: Castelrotto to Füssen

This day started with the same curvy roads and retracing our steps on our way back by Innsbruck to get to the Bavarian Alps. Gretchen kept watching the weather and the Zugspitze live camera, and it never cleared enough for us to stop and make the trip to the summit. Instead, we visited Ehrenberg Castle, which was an interesting stop. Two castle ruins to explore, and a suspension bridge over the highway that our braver tour members traversed across. Well, several went across and back. Some went a short distance out, and doubled back, unsettled by the bouncing and swaying sensations. Nope! Not for us.

Füssen was a pretty town, and our hotel was right in the center of town. Gretchen recommended Kyodai as a good restaurant choice, especially if anyone was seeking a different cuisine after all the Austrian/German fare we'd had so far. Several of us went there, and it was delicious, with generous portions. I recommend making reservations - we only got in because we came early, without reservations.

Part 6 Tour Day 6: Füssen
There was enough time when we arrived yesterday to take a bike ride around a lake, and many people enjoyed that, after being in the bus for much of the day. Gretchen and Maurice joined the group, but we did not. It was a pretty ride, we heard.

Today was the day to visit the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, and Gretchen helped people plan out their days accordingly. She also told us about the luge ride near the castles. My husband had already seen the castles, and we were both content to see them from afar, away from crowds, so we chose a different plan for the day.

We took the bus to Tegelberg to take the lift to the top of the mountain. Along the way, we saw the castles, with parasailers gliding by - beautiful! The view from the top of Tegelberg was lovely - we could see eight lakes from there, and it wasn’t very crowded.

The Fly Royal Paragliding School is there, and we spent a lot of time watching the instructors train their students how to launch off a mountain safely! It was fascinating to see those lessons up close, and even hear them counting “Eins, zwei, drei! Schnell Schnell!”(“One, two, three! Fast! Fast!”) Even though we don’t speak German, it was clear the messages the students were being given, from directions to encouragement with lots of smiles and reassurance. I think we saw at least 30 parasailers, solo and tandem, launching off the launch pad. They were watching the wind closely, and everyone waited, and then when the conditions were right, off they went, one after another! Some of them yodeled once they were sailing, some sailed through clouds and disappeared for a few moments - so fun to watch.

It started raining so we went into the self serve cafeteria there, and enjoyed Kartoffelsuppe and Kaiserschmarrn with a view of the changing cloud scene and snowy peaks. The potato soup was hearty and delicious, and this time, our fluffy shredded pancakes were served with homemade applesauce - delicious!

When the weather cleared, we went out again to enjoy the view, and I made a small watercolor painting of the Forggensee (the largest of the lakes). I brought a small travel set of paints and a water brush, and that made it easy to sit for a while and paint a scene for fun…a different way to remember the view along with our photos and videos.

Below us was the luge course, and a few of our tour mates were able to try it. In fact, thanks to our WhatsApp group text, we think we may have seen Gretchen and Maurice sailing down the luge from our high vantage point on the mountain! That looked like a lot of fun - but between the rain that closed the course for a while, and our timing in getting down off the mountain, we didn't get to try it. Our friends really enjoyed it!

Side note - that WhatsApp group text was a great way to stay connected with the group, since it was a My Way tour. Updates from Gretchen in real time, postings of her daily schedule, and helpful hints from friends who were early birds and could tell us about conditions on mountains and lines (or no lines!) all helped make the days even more enjoyable. It was easy to make recommendations and share experiences.

We had great views of the castles again on our way back down to Füssen, by gondola and then bus. A beautiful and restful way to spend the day.

That night, Gretchen arranged an optional group dinner at our hotel restaurant, Altstadthotel Zum Hechten. 2/3 of the group opted to have the dinner, and we were able to choose off the full menu, settling up the bills ourselves at the end of the meal. I liked that freedom to choose, rather than a set menu with few choices. We shared a Mediterranean gnocchi dish and a fresh fish entree - both were good. The apple strudel, though, was our least favorite of the trip so far, and we’d had ample opportunities to sample strudels along the way! The conversations with our new friends was the best part of that dinner together.

Tour Day 7: Füssen to Lauterbrunnen
Our travel day took us by beautiful Lake Lungern, with a lunch stop at a spot offering delicious and expensive Holy Cow Gourmet Burgers, among other things. There was a map showing where in Switzerland their ingredients were produced, and the quality was good…perhaps justifying the priciest burger we ever bought! We enjoyed every bite!

As we approached the Jungfrau Region, the mountains were taller, and snow-capped. Entering the Lauterbrunnen Valley was awesome, truly. Seeing the high cliffs and even higher mountains, and many waterfalls tumbling over the cliffs as Maurice drove us through the valley before circling back to our hotel was a wonderful welcome to the region.

We had seen the Hotel Staubbach on our first trip to Lauterbrunnen, and never thought we’d be staying there ourselves on a future visit. So, when we walked off our bus, seeing the beautiful Staubbach Falls so close by, and then entered the hotel, I was so happy and grateful that this would be our home for the next three nights. Adam was our host, and he greeted our group so warmly, with a welcome drink and assurance that his hotel “had the only ice machine in Europe!” We laughed, and were also glad the cute tabletop machine was available with ice throughout our stay.

When we opened the door to our room, and then the French doors to the balcony, we were stunned. This would be our view for the next few days: the glorious Staubbach falls close enough to see and hear, and an expansive view down the valley, with cliffs rising to Murren on the right, and Wengen on the left. A huge Wow! moment for us.

The weather was beautiful - especially appreciated since we’d had some rain and clouds along the way. So everyone scattered to enjoy the beauty, by walking in the valley spotting waterfalls, or heading up to Murren or Wengen and beyond. We chose to go back to Murren, where we’d stayed in September 2024, hoping to revisit Café Liv and enjoy walking around the car free village.

The Grutschalp cable car is under construction, so we took the Post Bus to Stechelberg and rode the new Schilthornbahn. This is now the world’s steepest cable car, and wow, what a view as you sail upwards, leaving the valley below! Murren is quiet and beautiful - at least it was on that sunny Sunday afternoon and evening! Walking along the path among chalets with well tended gardens and gorgeous poppies and irises and other beautiful flowers just made me smile and feel at peace. Everywhere we looked was a beautiful scene, both on our side of the valley and across to see the stellar trio of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau mountains.

The guidebook advice to do the math and determine if it is worth it to buy a pass was good. Gretchen said for the length of our stay, it probably wasn’t quite worth it, and that was our experience. You can add up the rates for the trips you plan to take, and see if the Half Fare Card or the Berner Oberland or Jungfrau passes make sense…it’s all expensive, no matter what you choose. We think we spent nearly the cost of the passes by paying point to point - but not quite the total cost. So for us, no passes. Our hotel gave us a guest pass for the bus, which was helpful.

However, when we were staying for a week in Murren in 2024, we did buy the Half Fare Card and the BO Pass, which gave us the freedom to travel anywhere we wanted (but not Jungfraujoch, nor Schilthorn) for free on the pass. It just didn’t make sense for this tour for us.

Café Liv was closing when we arrived, so we made a plan to return another day. We had dinner on the terrace of Hotel Edelweiss, which offered a dramatic view down a wildflower-covered cliff to the valley below, and excellent views of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, which gradually changed colors as the sun was setting. Gorgeous! Several of our tour friends arrived there, too, and we shared dinner and travel experiences and plans as we had our dinner.

Great report -- fun to read and useful for future planning!

Thanks, avirosemail! I learned a lot from this forum as we were planning - I hope my report will help others as they plan their alpine adventures!

Day 7, Lauterbrunnen, continued:
Later that night, the falls were illuminated until about 11 p.m., and then it went dark. I could still hear the rushing waterfall, but couldn’t see it. I kept checking the sky, and was delighted to see stars! It became dark and clear enough that I could take some longer exposure photos from our balcony with the stars and the cliffs - it was fantastic.

Tour Day 8: Lauterbrunnen - Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg
Everyone’s spirits were high at breakfast today, as the weather was clear and beautiful. Some of our friends left really early to catch the first cable car up to the Schilthorn - they were so glad that they did that! They were able to pack in a very full and wonderful day by leaving so early. We did not leave quite so early, and enjoyed our excellent breakfast fueling up for our much anticipated hike.

We took the train to Wengen, climbing up the other side of the valley from Murren. Once in Wengen, it was a short walk to the cable car to Männlichen, soaring up to a spot between the valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. We paid extra for the Royal Ride on top of the gondola, which was fun and worth the €10 for two of us.

The Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg hike was awesome, and was fairly easy for me - someone with a healing foot injury. I had borrowed poles from our hotel - was able to do that in Castelrotto and Lauterbrunnen, but not Chamonix, fwiw. Before beginning our hike, we checked out the playground there - fun for kids of all ages, and especially noteworthy to see the giant cow slide! I climbed up to see the view, and was treated to a cowbell concert played by a little boy inside the cow! I played a tune, too - couldn't resist.

This hike was snowed in with a surprise early September storm when we visited last time, so we were delighted to be able to do it on our tour. It’s a gradual descent, even though it doesn’t look like it on the map. The views were spectacular, and we kept stopping to take photos of wildflowers, banks of snow, expansive meadows and mountain ranges…couldn’t believe we were really there, hiking in such a stunning setting. We’d brought a travel picnic blanket and some snacks, and found a great spot about 2/3 of the way down the trail. An awesome rainbow or cloud iridescence appeared in the clear sky above the mountains, and everyone was stopping to take photos of that phenomenon. It lasted about a half hour, shifting shape and gradually moving over the mountains. I painted a small watercolor there, trying to capture the beauty of the mountains, blue sky, and shimmering rainbow. It was a breathtaking sight.

When we approached Kleine Scheidegg, I was on the lookout for a pond of water I’d seen online, and hoped to take some reflection photos. I found it, and enjoyed taking pics of the mountains reflected in this still water. Then we had a snack at a cafe there, soaking up the views and watching the train disappearing into the mountain, taking people to the Jungfraujoch. We went back to Wengen and then Lauterbrunnen, feeling tired and happy.

We stopped at the Flavours Cafe for a pick me up coffee and coffee cake, and then decided to walk to the local Coop to get a light dinner. Everything is close together in Lauterbrunnen. The prices in the Swiss restaurants were steep, as expected, so an occasional picnic meal worked well for us. Hotel Staubbach had a small picnic room we were welcome to use, and a fridge for leftovers. That was a peaceful way to end our day. The three young cows that grazed outside of the hotel provided mooing commentary as we ate - funny!

Our tour group was a great group of people, and many times at the end of the day, we gathered in the hotel and relaxed and talked about our day's adventures. That was a nice feature of this My Way Tour.

Tour Day 9: Lauterbrunnen day 3

The clouds came in, and that gave the whole valley a different, mysterious look. We chose to return to Mürren to wander, go to Café Liv, and perhaps go further up to Allmendhubel, if it was clear above this layer of clouds. It was not. So, we walked through the mist, enjoying the peace, flowers with raindrops, and a cozy coffee and cake break at the café. Highly recommend this café, with delicious sandwiches and baked goods that are sprinkled with edible wildflowers.

Allmendhubel is a great spot to visit, for its creative playground, excellent views, nice restaurant, and starting point for several great hikes. We visited it 3 times on our last trip - and regretfully skipped it this day because of the foggy and rainy weather. Sailing back down to the valley included time in a cloud, with no visibility at all…then breaking through to see the green valley and houses.

Our return to the hotel by bus was halted by a cow traffic jam, and laughter as the farmer was trying to get her cow out of the road, and the cow preferred to travel alongside the bus for a few moments.

So many possibilities for this region, so little time! People visited the Trummelbach Falls and really enjoyed that experience - a good one for a rainy day. Others ventured to the Ballenberg Open Air Museum near Brienz. It was interesting to see, they said, but they were disappointed that there weren’t any English speaking docents at many of the different exhibits - only Swiss German. They would have liked to be able to ask some questions. Just sharing fyi.

Tour Day 10: Lauterbrunnen to Chamonix

We left Hotel Staubbach with regret, after one more delicious breakfast. On our way to Chamonix, we drove along Lake Geneva, and stopped in Gruyère for a lunch break and a group photo. This was the last day with our excellent driver Maurice. We really appreciated his expert navigation.

Hotel Lyret was our destination, right in the heart of Chamonix, and situated alongside the Arve river. We had the pleasant sound of rushing water at this hotel, and great views of Mont Blanc.

...to be continued...

Enjoying your report so far. I stayed at Cavallino d’Oro in 2006 on a RS best of Italy tour. I still remember (and dream about) the warm from the oven raspberry pastries served at breakfast. I should have asked them for the recipe!

I loved this tour so much! Sept. 2023. I arrived 3 days early to Salzberg, flew into Munich. I loved this extra time to sightsee on my own before the tour began. Then I flew home from Paris CDG after taking the train from Chamonix to Geneva to Paris. I spent the night at the Paris Hilton Airport Hotel before my morning flight home.

This is a marvelous tour! I like your pre tour days in Vienna too. I love Vienna and spent additional days post tour on the Berlin Prague Vienna tour. Which reminds me I also went to Vienna on the Munich Salzberg Vienna tour in December 2019. So many wonderful memories!

I really appreciate the notes about Vienna as I plan my trip.
Glad you had this great vacation!

This tour sounds so wonderful! I’m looking forward to the rest of your report.

Thank you for your wonderful, detailed report, Laurie! We are signed up to take this tour next July, and reading your trip report is getting me all the more excited. Much appreciated, and looking forward to the next installment.

Really wonderful, detailed trip report, especially about Vienna. It's on our short list to spend a week, so many museums & cafes. And your planning sounds excellent, figuring out that a first class train reservation would ease the stress, arriving early for the tour. Thanks!

Sounds just lovely.

Thank you, Laurie, for this wonderful, detailed report. I'm on the My Way Alpine trip Sep 14-25.

Thank you! :-) I'm glad you're enjoying my report - I can see why some travelers choose to take this tour more than once! It was full of wonderful experiences!

Tour Day 10: Chamonix, continued
Several of the main lifts were still closed when we got there, so Gretchen’s daily note was really helpful to see options for each day. She always referred to pages in the tour book, too.

After our long travel day, if was great to stretch our legs and walk around, perusing menus and getting oriented. We chose to have an early dinner at Breizh Cafe, a crepe restaurant that has several locations in Paris (and Cancale, and Tokyo!). Savory galettes and sweet crepes were a delicious welcome to the French Alps. More wandering and gelato for dessert, and then we went back to relax at the hotel. There was a pool! I enjoyed several evening swims, with blue skies and mountains around me.

Tour Day 11: Chamonix and Aiguille du Midi

After another delicious breakfast, the mountains were calling us… and off we went to the Aiguille du Midi. We had reserved a time, but once in line were able to go up a little bit early. It was a beautiful, clear morning, and we packed a few layers in our day bags, as it was warm in the valley, but we were heading up to 12,602 ft! The first gondola took us to Plan d’Aiguille, where we transferred to the second one. We stood facing Chamonix, so the view was dramatic as we soared higher and higher. I was next to a French woman, who was exclaiming “Oh, la, la! Fantastique! C’est magnifique!” I couldn’t agree more - and had fun sharing that wonder with her, adding in more French phrases of awe. It was a true joyride to the top!

The views were crisp and clear, and also cold in the wind. My sweater and windbreaker and scarf were enough - but a thin pair of gloves would have also been good. When out of the wind, but in the sun, it was comfortable for me. The Step into the Void part had a long line - we skipped it as we could see the box from one of the view points. It was funny to see people posing in mock terror…and also be around people who were trying to be brave and take their pictures, but also sincerely concerned about the height, and fear of dropping their cameras. I was glad I had my phone on a lanyard!

That evening, Gretchen hosted a Happy Hour in a nearby park, as one last time for us to gather as a group. We enjoyed lots of snacks and drinks and laughter as we shared the highlights of our day. Such a beautiful setting, too, as we had views of mountains all around. We each shared one Wow! moment with the group, and hearing the various highlights reminded me of just how many wonderful moments we experienced on this My Way tour. It was a lovely way to end our time together.

Later that evening, as many of us were in our rooms packing, I noticed that there was a gorgeous pink glow on Mont Blanc range, and I sent a picture and a message on our WhatsApp chat. I was imagining that many were focused on on packing, and I was right - so that opportunity to share worked out great! The alpenglow only lasted for a few minutes, but many of us were able to enjoy it. Tip: keep watching the mountains after the sun sets…you might get a fantastic glow. It did not happen every night - that evening was special. It was a glorious way for us to end our tour in Chamonix.

Tour Day 12: Tour ends in Chamonix…but we stayed longer.
You know it’s been a great tour when it’s hard to say goodbye to your new friends! Many farewells and handshakes and hugs were shared at the Happy Hour, and also at breakfast this morning.

We had planned to stay two more nights in Chamonix, and that timing was good, because all the lifts on the other side of the valley opened the day after our tour ended.

We visited Montenvers after breakfast on Day 12, and ran into fellow tour members, which was fun and unexpected after the farewells.

...to be continued...
Laurie

I did this tour in September 2024 and loved it. Your report is bringing back so many great memories. So far it looks like we stayed at all the same hotels, which I also loved every one of them. Looking forward to the next installment. Regina

Tour Day 12, continued...Montenvers

There’s a beautiful terrace at the Hotel de Montenvers, so we sat there in the shade of an umbrella, and had a delicious lunch. After the pace of our previous days of traveling and touring, this was the beginning of our winding down and taking more time to savor where we were. I painted a small watercolor while we sat there, and we lingered over a delicious café gourmand selection of tiny desserts.

Then we walked up to the Temple de la Nature, one of the first refuges in the Alps, dating from 1795-1909. There was a short movie playing inside, telling about famous writers and artists who had spent time there creating, writing, and immersed in the beauty of the region. It was mindboggling to see the images of people making the climb to this special spot overlooking the glacier. Lord Byron, Percy and Mary Shelley, Victor Hugo, Georges Sand, Dumas, Liszt… Wow! Inspiring.

After wandering around the area more, including seeing the small and interesting Glaciorium, we reluctantly boarded the cogwheel train and made our way back down to Chamonix. Dinner was at Le Monchu, recommended in the book. This was a good place to go for fondue and raclette, as we saw many around us enjoying those regional foods. For us, salade Niçoise, French onion soup, and two crème caramels were just right. Our server asked us where we were from, and when I said “Michigan - America,” he swept his arms wide and said, “Everyone here is from America!”

Our neighbors heard us, and told us they were from Ohio, and we had a nice chat. They had just come in from Geneva, and told us about seeing storefronts being boarded up in preparation for 50,000 protesters expected for the G7 Summit that was happening soon. They bailed on their Geneva plans and came to Chamonix a night early for their tour. She showed me two photos of boarded up stores, and we decided to scrap our plans to spend any extended time in Geneva before flying home. We’d been emailed by the airline, our hotel, and Mountain Dropoffs to expect significant delays due to many border crossings being closed for the G7, and had been considering other ideas. Our Ohio friends clinched it with the photos. No use taking an Old Town tour and chocolate tour if protests are expected…

Fortunately, I had enough time to cancel things without penalty, booked an airport hotel for the night before our flight, and then found a new place to stay in Chamonix for a bonus night, as we couldn’t extend our stay at the Lyret. Happily, we went back to the Auberge du Manoir, (a “Hotel du Charme” which was really charming). We had stayed there on our last trip, and it felt great to go back there once again. We changed our Mountain Dropoffs date, as they couldn’t offer a refund but worked with us to reschedule, and all went well in the end.

Post tour: Chamonix 2 nights + bonus 3rd night

We were among the first travelers of the season to go up to Le Brévent, as the lift opened this morning. We took a local bus (free) to get there. It would have been a long, steep uphill walk to get to the cable car. Like Aiguille du Midi, this was a two step process, changing cable cars at Planpraz. Below us, on the first leg, we saw an extensive series of switchbacks with hikers making their way up, and a few trail runners!!

We decided we’d go straight to the top of Le Brévent before it got crowded. It was cool to be way, way up high, and marvel at the rock climbers who were reaching the summit up some sheer rock faces! The top of Brevent was rocky, with very little snow. From that thin-air vantage point, we had spectacular views of the Mont Blanc range, and it was awesome to see the tiny Aiguille du Midi station across from us. Amazing to think we’d been there just two days earlier.

The lifts on this side of the valley had closed - literally - the day before we arrived in Chamonix in mid September 2022, so this was especially great to be able to go up there this day.

What an amazing trip, report and useful information for anyone planning to join this tour or a trip to these places.
I know it takes time and effort to write these, to thank you for taking the time to write and share with the group.

What a great trip report!!! So helpful!!! I’m sure I will be rereading many times before my Sept. tour.

Good news for our tour—the Grutschalp cable car reopens July 11th.

Laurie, when you were in Castelrotto, how did you get to the gondola up to Compatsch? Did the tour bus take everyone, or did you take the local bus? If it was local bus, did the hotel provide a transportation pass or did you need to buy a bus ticket?

Carrie, we took the local bus to the gondola station, and used the Sudtirol Guest Pass from the hotel. It was a short ride.

We used our phones and/or travel apps to buy tickets for the lifts as needed.

Laurie 😊

Thanks Laurie!!

Post Tour: Le Brévent and Lac des Gaillands
...Note - there were other lifts that would still be closed until later in June, just FYI. Mid June-Mid September, roughly, seems to be the range for these lifts.

We went back down to Planpraz after savoring a snack along with the views, simply because it was a little hard to breathe up there for me. Planpraz was more comfortable and had cafes and tables with umbrellas. We lingered there longer, just sitting on the grass gazing at Mont Blanc. I propped my phone against my day bag, and used the timer to take some pictures of us sitting on the grass with the mountains filling the frame… a great final scene for our wonderful alpine adventures. Another tip: the newer AI clean up features helped me remove the family who was taking tons of photos trying to get just the right one while I was doing the same. An excellent editing tool! Keep the parasailers, take out the other tourists! :-)

On our last day, we continued to have excellent weather, and I wanted to go to the Lac des Gaillands, a nearby park with a small man made pond. I was hoping to get some pictures of the mountains reflected in the water. I asked our friends at the Hotel Lyret about how to get there, and told them what I was hoping to do. One young man’s face lit up, he pulled out his phone, and showed me a gorgeous photo he’d taken there. Sold!

Off we went with our hotel pass, taking the free local train just a few stops to Les Planards. I think we were the only tourists there, and it was nice and quiet. There was a park across the street, with lots of families. There was also an Escalade - a climbing wall. It was lovely there, watching the reflections on the water, and a young boy fishing along the shore. We were there in the late afternoon, just after 4:00, and the reflections were beautiful. It was worth the trip.

We ended up getting on the wrong train, and had a joy ride in the valley for a while. I thought Les Houches would be a good place to get out and explore, as it was a bigger city. Don’t make our mistake - that train station is not in the center of town like Chamonix. Just a parking lot and a steep walk into town. We decided to relax and study the map and wait a half hour for the next train back.

Le Fer à Cheval is a good restaurant in Chamonix that we’d enjoyed twice on our last trip. We chose to have our dinner there, and I had the Salade Berger which was as delicious as I remembered. The warm goat cheese wrapped in phyllo was a highlight! My husband’s lake perch dinner was excellent, too. I made a reservation while we were waiting for the train, but when we got there, we saw several parties just walk in after us. This is another place to get fondue, which I did last time.

Nearby that restaurant is a Cooperative store for the Val d’Arly, with many local foods - worth a stop! They will vacuum seal cheese for your trip home. The yogurt I bought there was delicious.

Homeward Bound: Geneva and borders closing due to G7 Summit

We used Mountain Drop-offs for our ride from Chamonix to Geneva. It was €85 for two people, and was a “shared ride” that we had to ourselves. The bus would have been cheaper, for sure, but door to door service in an air conditioned vehicle was worth it for us. We were traveling to Geneva during the G7 Summit, and there had been protests the day before - good thing we changed our plans. We were picked up at 6:30, and wondered what our experience would be. Our driver said earlier in the day, and all day for the two prior days, there were huge delays at the few border crossings that were open. As we got closer to Geneva, we saw a convoy of 15 French police trucks, lights flashing, driving away from the city. Our driver said “They’re done controlling people for the day!” No traffic was behind them…they had closed the highway.

...to be continued...

Homeward Bound: Geneva to Frankfurt to Home...

The Mountain Dropoffs shared ride ONLY drops off at the airport, so we asked to be dropped off where arrivals pick up hotel shuttles. Then we took the free shuttle to our airport hotel. It was easy. We settled in for the night, reserved the 6:30 shuttle for the next morning, and had one more night’s sleep. We chose the B&B Hotel - service was nice with shuttles, but the pillows were stuffed so full I gave up and slept with a folded towel for my pillow. We left too early to enjoy the breakfast, so can’t comment there. The main benefit was the ease of getting to our gate in time.

Our flight to Frankfurt arrived 15 minutes early, but then we had a very long delay at the Border Control. Even with Lufthansa’s layover times, and already going through EES on our way over, it wasn’t enough time. We were so grateful to see that they had held the plane for us as we hurried to the empty gate with a Rotary Club exchange student who was also heading home. The crew greeted us warmly, and one minute after we stepped on the plane, they announced “Boarding is complete!” :-) Whew!

This was a magnificent alpine adventure for us, and I would highly recommend the My Way Alpine Tour. We were able to explore some awesome new places in Europe, and return to some of our all time favorites, as well. I’m still smiling as I reflect on all that we were able to experience.

I hope my report is helpful to people planning alpine adventures. Thanks for reading along, and for your kind responses. :-)

Please feel free to ask any questions. If I can help, I’ll be happy to, paying it forward for all the advice I’ve received from the RS forum over the years! :-)

Laurie :-)