Chamonix

I had noticed that a cog railway service, the Mont Blanc Express, linked the towns of Chamonix, France and Martigny, Switzerland. How could I pass up a chance to see Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, and now also the EU, up close? I would also be passing near the meeting point of three countries, the third being Italy. Surely a more scenic way to enter Switzerland than via Geneva.

I remember a trudge up a hill to reach the youth hostel but it was exhilarating because of views like this.

I spent a night in the hostel. This was typical of the scenery there. The Alps and Switzerland never disappoint.

The next day I took the cog railway from Vallorcine over the border to Martigny, in the valley depicted. This railway is not part of the SNCF network, so the trip was not covered by the Eurailpass. But it was worth every franc. Another thing I had noticed was that the timetables of SNCF and the Mont Blanc Express were synchronised. Clockwork, as they say.

So finally I was in the Confederation of Helvatia.