First temple trip

The nearest temple is in Bern, Switzerland. We rented a car the size of a matchbox and took the scenic route up the border of Italy and France. We saw old Roman roads, picturesque villages, WWII shelters and bullet holes, flatlands, numberless hillside hamlets with stone churches, and in one valley maybe 45 minutes long we counted 26 castles from the 1100s to the 1800s! We broke up the drive by stopping for the night in Chamonix (shAw-mon-ee) at the foot of Mont Blanc. We stayed in a cute little inn with lodge-like interiors. The room had all sorts of nooks and crannies and the girls played hide-and-seek for an hour without running out of hiding options!

This is a view of the mountains casting a shadow on the clouds...magnificent!

A walking street in Chamonix with Mont Blanc in the background

We loved this place so much we changed our route home to pass through and stay again. It's Swiss/French architecture, relaxed attitude, spectacular scenery, and amazing bakeries made us

dream of frequent returns and a chalet of our own. I kept wishing that all of my friends and family could experience it, too, but all I can offer is a few point and shoot photos. I hope someday you can pass through.

On the way back home we stayed with an older couple (like a bed and breakfast without the breakfast) in a quintessential chalet with it's overflowing flowers and tidy wood pile ready for the cold weather to set in. The girls were such amazing travellers we bought them a huge sucker at a fun candy shop in town. For those who know how rare this happens, you can imagine their utter happiness.

From Chamonix we drove through "other worldly" (as Geoff commented) mountain passes into Switzerland, grabbed a picnic lunch and headed up to L'Abri, the little Christian commune where Geoff's parents were married in 1971. It still exists and young people these days come to stay and study about God, and find themselves. We were able to tour some of the chalets, visit the chapel, and imagine Keenan and Mesha in their wedding gowns starting something that is continuing strong today!!!

The girls on the stone fireplace in the chapel were the wedding ceremony took place

A 200 year old barn in Huemoz, the tiny town where L'Abri is located

Ceci trying to make a good choice

We love Switzerland. We couldn't look hard enough at the green pastures along the freeway that rolled up the mountains, lakes that weren't overcrowded with development (at all), mountain peaks and rivers that made our eyes pop again and again. I love their chocolate, the cows with heavy utters and clanky bells, and their modern and efficient design mixed in with the old as the hills villages. We stopped at Vevey because didn't Ian serve as a missionary there? This is a "Swiss Riviera" town on Lake Geneva that is loaded with charm and we were remiss to only pass through.

The temple was amazing and I'll write a post about it tomorrow. It was a fabulous trip. We got a crash course in European driving, basic communication in Italian and German, local histories, exchange rates, and sufficient public bathroom knowledge to make an addendum to the Lonely Planet books! The girls were squished in the backseat for long hours and kept themselves busy for the most part; they are great travel companions!

A common sign...just missing the bell!