Swiss Alps to Paris
Chamonix, Murren, Zermatt
EasyJet flew us And the view did cue us Soaring up the Dalmation coast To Geneva or bust The Alps are a must So it's on to Chamonix Bernard there did greet us Showed us our room Tiny and tidy We'll spend one nighty And stare at the mighty Aiguille du Midi A ride to the top To see what I see Mount Blanc is quite a sight Of fright and delight Winks over my way And says try me? Maybe next year with a peer Kris needs a down day And I need more up So up to Brevant I ride For the steep hike down I dare not frown A perfect way to eat up a day
Then off to the city of Vevey A stroll through the old To good pizza we're told While eating our pizza A couple we meetsa Says there's music that's free And a bus with no fee Really just minutes away We heed the advice For the Montreux Jazz Fest Is now underway More party than jazz Much razzmatazz Then the woman from Ireland Belts out her tunes It's enough to encase a memory
Next we are off to Murren Just up the cliff From Lauterbrunnen At the Eiger Guesthouse we stay For three fabulous days Beneath great peaks in a row The Eiger, the Monch, the Jungfrau I try not to druel Like some climbing fool When we ride to the glacier by train The hike down is glorious And I'll sure need some morious So day three I go up to the Birg By a long circuitous route Enjoyably high Sharp at the prow A wee bit airy And sufficiently merry Even in meadows with cows
After all that We aim for Zermatt At a fine hotel we land Quiet and quaint And just off the bustle But up we must hustle To see the Matterhorn All stately and grand Surreal and unreal What an incredible peak A summit I'd seek If not for the cost of a guide
Day two is the cable As high as we're able Twelve thousand feet and more The views stupendous Ice sculptures tremendous Inside the glacier tunnel Ourselves we funnel Above the frozen cold Where a thousand skiers Are carving turns like it ain't July Near the Italian border Another hike is in order So I arrange to meet Kris below And walk like I'm walking on Mars Barren and rocky No place for hockey The Matterhorn towering high I collect a small stone to Carry back home With the memory burned in my skull
Then it's time to move on But I've got one more song To sing up the via ferrata I'll keep it quick I say to the spouse And sprint like a mouse Above the last house Put on the gear Pocket my fear And head up the rungs and ladders Not a soul in sight The cliff sunny and bright I finish part A in a jiffy They say part B might be iffy But by the bells in the city There's still time for this ditty So up I commit to the next The worst comes first A loosey-goose ladder A serious matter But narry a strain or pain In a minute I'm through So the rest I can do And I score Zermatt's finest ferrata
The train takes us back On a familiar track This time to the city of Basel We explore it a bit Eat kabobs while we sit And prepare for our last night in Paris Then home we will fly To our favorite blue sky Where friends we have missed Will be waiting For stories to share And clean underwear As our journey of the leg Leaves nothing to beg But home
Return to part 1 of 6--Vancouver to London