This week involved an impressive number of trains, gondolas, bikes, playgrounds, and desserts. There was also a rare kid-free hike for Mom and Dad, although Nolan and Nina barely noticed our absence because they were busy living their best lives with Alpine Nanny.
Mürren & Allmendhubel
We started the week with another great day in the mountains and a slightly later departure from Camping Jungfrau. We walked into town, stopped at the bakery, and then began the day’s transportation marathon: cable car to Grütschalp, mountain train to Mürren, and eventually the funicular up to Allmendhubel. Getting anywhere around here requires at least three separate vehicles, but the views are incredible and the kids consider every transfer part of the attraction.
In Mürren, the kids played at a local playground while Mom did some window shopping. Then we headed up to the sunflower playground at Allmendhubel, where Coons ran into the same work friend and her family again. Nolan and Nina played for nearly three hours, which is basically an all-inclusive resort when there is a restaurant right beside the playground. Mom and Dad ordered drinks and a meat-and-cheese platter while the kids ran around independently and made new friends. Everyone was living well.
Nolan connected with an eight-year-old boy from England, and the two of them played so well together that the age difference didn’t seem to matter. Nina was equally happy at the playground, choosing it as the best part of her day. Mom’s favorite part was pretty much everything: all the transportation, the playground, the kids playing independently, a good dinner, and—perhaps most importantly—a hot shower by herself.
After finally pulling everyone away, we hiked downhill for about an hour. Nolan chose hiking with the family as his favorite part of the day, while Dad loved watching the kids play and then hiking down toward Mürren. We made our way through town, caught the train and cable car, and walked back to camp. Coons cooked dinner and took the kids to yet another playground while Mom showered and cleaned up. Then we packed early because checkout was at 10 a.m. and everything gets wet overnight. Nothing says relaxing mountain holiday like strategically packing your entire house before the dew arrives.
Blausee & Naters
The next morning we packed up Camping Jungfrau, which was genuinely sad, and drove Lightning McQueen to Blausee. We ate lunch, hiked to the lake, took a glass-bottom boat ride, and—naturally—found a playground. The kids also discovered a very cool slide that required hiking up before sliding down, giving them the perfect combination of physical exertion and repeated opportunities to launch themselves toward the ground.
The lake and boat ride were big hits. Nina loved seeing the fish and hiking, while Nolan put the boat ride on his list of favorite things. Mom loved watching both kids tackle the big slide. It was a beautiful stop and a good way to fill the gap between our 10 a.m. campground checkout and 2 p.m. Airbnb check-in.
Then came the transportation event of the day: Coons drove Lightning McQueen onto a train. The entire van. On a train. Through a mountain. Dad and Nolan both picked this as one of the best parts of the day, and honestly, it is hard to compete with putting your camper van on railway tracks and letting someone else drive it through the Alps.
We continued to our Airbnb in Naters, where the adults immediately began doing Airbnb things. Dad worked, Mom worked and did laundry, and the kids watched television and called Yaya. We ordered takeout and went to bed. Not every night can involve a mountain playground and a meat-and-cheese board; sometimes clean clothes and Wi-Fi are the adventure.
Camping Attermenzen
Our 11 a.m. checkout in Naters gave us a gloriously lazy morning. What a difference an hour makes. After packing, we went grocery shopping and drove about 40 minutes to Camping Attermenzen, our base for visiting Zermatt. There were no designated sites, so we picked a spot and set up Lightning McQueen wherever it seemed to make sense. This is both freeing and slightly stressful when your house has wheels and you have to decide where the front yard goes.
The kids headed to the playground while Mom and Dad got some work done, and then Mom taught school for the day. After dinner, Coons went back to work while Nolan and Nina played with our neighbor, a two-and-a-half-year-old from the Czech Republic. The evenings were getting darker and colder, so eventually everyone retreated into the van.
We also packed everything that night for an early start the next morning. And by “early,” we mean 8 a.m., which currently feels like the crack of dawn for our family. Mom and Dad from three or four years ago would be screaming at us right now…
Zermatt & Gornergrat
We were up at the very early hour of 8 a.m. and on the bikes by 8:30. Since everything had been packed the night before, we rode to the station, took the train into Zermatt, and met Berney, our Alpine nanny for the day. She arrived with a very cool double stroller, and Nolan and Nina immediately climbed aboard with absolutely no concern about being left with a stranger in the Swiss Alps. It’s nice to see how deeply attached they are to us.
The kids happily rolled away with Berney while we went to a bakery for breakfast. We ordered a quiche and what the woman described as chicken sausage. It was a hot dog in pastry. Still good, just a slightly aggressive rebranding.
From there, Mom and Dad boarded the Gornergrat Railway and rode to the summit. The views of the Matterhorn and glaciers were incredible, and the weather was perfect. We spent some time walking around at the top and then began hiking down, taking our time and exploring side trails because, for once, no one was asking to be carried, announcing an urgent potty need, or wondering when we would reach a playground.
At Rotenboden, we stopped for a snack and waited for the wind to clear the water. We continued downhill, saw what we think was a marmot, and watched the crowds slowly disappear. The landscape kept changing as flowers and trees began appearing, and eventually we reached Alphitta for lunch.
Lunch was wheat beer, a delicious white wine, a meat-and-cheese board, and pork belly. The owner, Dave from Ireland, was a great host, and the whole thing was exactly as wonderful as it sounds. Both Mom and Dad chose the hike, Matterhorn views, glaciers, food, and time together as their favorite part of the day.
Meanwhile, Nolan and Nina were having an even more indulgent day with Berney. Thankfully for mom, Berney was a fantastic communicator, and sent multiple pictures of the kids smiling, laughing, and singing. They visited Wolli Wonderland adventure park and a playground in town, went into stores, and consumed a steady supply of treats, ice cream, hot chocolate, and other desserts. Nolan’s recap involved meeting Berney, desserts (before lunch), a “bug crawler,” umbrellas, sheep, and the list goes on and on…
We took the train back into Zermatt, did a little window shopping, and found the kids drinking hot chocolate with Berney at pick-up. They had been perfectly happy all day and were sad to see her go. We returned to camp, cooked dinner, and did some school while Coons worked. Nina still chose playing on the playground in the dark as her favorite part of the day. Matterhorns and Alpine adventure parks are nice, but apparently darkness really elevates a playground.
Furi
The next morning we slept a little later, ate breakfast, and biked to the train station. We juuust missed the train, caught the next one into Zermatt, bought more clementines, and then juuust missed the bus. Our timing was impeccable.
Eventually we made it to the Furi gondola and headed up for a short hike to the Hängebrücke Furi suspension bridge. The kids crossed it without any fear, which was Mom’s favorite part of the day. Nolan loved the hike and watching Nina be awesome. We also found a wooded playground, which Nina selected as her highlight because Nina remains extremely consistent in her travel priorities.
We had planned a more ambitious day, but it simply wasn’t in the cards. Instead, we hiked back to the gondola and stopped for lunch at Restaurant Furi, where we finally got our fondue. Coons picked fondue as the best part of his day, no additional explanation needed. The kids liked it too, although they also had spaghetti in case melted cheese and bread somehow failed them.
Then it was gondola, bus, train, and bikes back to Camping Attermenzen. We cooked dinner, the kids played, Dad worked, and everyone packed up for bed. It was our final night near Zermatt and our last full day in Switzerland, which none of us were especially ready to leave.
Switzerland to Camping Les Bords de Loue
We packed up Lightning McQueen, ate breakfast, and reluctantly started driving out of Switzerland. Our first stop was Domaine des Iles park in Sion, where every parking lot appeared to have a height barrier. This is one of the less glamorous parts of camper van life: finding a lovely family stop and then discovering your vehicle is simply too tall to participate.
Coons dropped Mom and the kids off at the park and went to get groceries and gas. They played on the playground and ate lunch before we reunited for the three-hour drive into France. Parts of the drive around Lake Geneva were beautiful, and the French side included some windy roads, but otherwise it was an uneventful travel day—which is always the preferred kind when Lightning McQueen is carrying our entire family and most of our belongings.
We stopped for the night at Camping Les Bords de Loue, ate dinner, did school, and then Dad worked while everyone else handled dishes and bedtime packing. We were officially back in France and beginning the long push toward Calais.
Châlons-en-Champagne
We had another lazy start while Coons spent an hour sorting out our UK visas. Then we drove about three hours, with one stop for gas and snacks, and arrived at Camping de Châlons en Champagne for a single night. We unpacked, Mom taught school, and then we loaded everyone onto the bikes and rode into Châlons-en-Champagne for dinner.
Our first restaurant was not serving food yet, even though it was 7 p.m., so we kept looking and ended up at Tresor du Liban, a Lebanese restaurant. It was fantastic. We ordered appetizers and mains, and Nolan and Nina tried all kinds of new foods and ate incredibly well. Both kids chose dinner as the best part of their day, with Nolan specifically highlighting that he tried new foods. Mom’s favorite part was watching them crush the meal, and Dad’s was simply going out for an awesome dinner with the family.
The waiter was incredibly kind and even bought lollipops for Nolan and Nina. With everyone full and sugared up, we biked back to camp, showered, and went to bed. The next day we would continue to Calais and get ready to cross into the UK, but for one night, a surprise Lebanese feast in Châlons-en-Champagne was a very good way to finish the week.