Lake Champex, Switzerland

I'm about 10 miles from the Swiss/Italian border and I'm cycling up to the mountain village of Lake Champex (population 600). 
 

Entering the village of Lake Champex.

Whoa, rounding the bend after the welcome sign in the previous photo I see military equipment parked on the side of the road.

It seems I've come upon Lake Champex Artillery Fort.

Built between 1940-1943, the fort was designed to guard the Great St. Bernard Pass against invasion by Italy during World War II. 

We aren't talking about a rinky-dink fort. Tunnels totaling almost a half-mile zig-zag inside the steep mountain side.  The place could accommodate 300 soldiers.  Two 75 mm guns and eight 105 mm guns were pointed towards the mountain pass.

The fort was decommissioned in 1998. Tours are given but, it's not open today and you need an appointment. I've visited several decommissioned WWII mountain forts in Switzerland and they are fantastic! 

I'm standing on the patio deck of a hotel directly above the artillery fort. In the distance is the Great St. Bernard Pass---which is where the artillery is pointed. 

Unfortunately the mountain face is sheer and there's no way to hike down and catch a peek at the gun placements.  

This is a view from the hotel patio toward another road through the mountains but, doesn't go to Italy. 

Lake Champex.

The water coming out of the fountain is ice cold!

Another view of Lake Champex

Main drag through Lake Champex.

Village has one bakery and take a pass as nothing looks good. 

Colorful exterior of restaurant .

So, I cycled up to Lake Champex and now will be heading down the backside of the mountain. 

Coming down the backside I pass probably more than 50 cyclists coming up. Why so many coming up this way? A heatwave has been hitting Europe the past week with temperatures everyday hitting 100 plus. Turns out the backside road is in the shade. Wish a local would have clued me in. 

The town of Bovernier has a giant bee(?) alongside the busy road. Don't know if that gets tourists to make a beeline to the exit and check out the town. 

Jaun and Gstaad, Switzerland

The day starts in Broc (population 2,500). I'll be cycling up a mountain, traverse the mountain pass (Jaun Pass), drop down the other side of the mountain to the jet-set ski resort of Gstaad (population 3,000) and end up again near the castle you see in this photo----that's Gruyere Castle. 
 

The road up the mountain.

Doesn't matter which country I'm in (Austria, Germany, France, Switzerland) I see farmers driving these orange trucks up and down very steep mountain slopes harvesting grass for animal feed. Usually have four tires on the rear. I'm just amazed I've never seen one overturn.

Entering the mountain farming village of Jaun (population 600).

One of Jaun's two churches.

Church cemetery.

Notice the wooden headstones seem to be identical. However, you would be wrong.   

See the woodcarving? This guy was a farmer as that's a carving of one of those orange trucks shown in an earlier photo. On the right of Jesus there's the man handling either sheep or small cows.

Yvette was a knitter as the carving to the right of Jesus shows her knitting. 

This guy was a farmer--shown milking a cow on the left and a cow in front of his home.

This woman must have played the accordian and I assume that's her home on the right.

This is a farming village and most of the carvings on the tombstones depict the farming culture.

One other note that I've mentioned in other blogs. In many parts of Switzerland graves are dug up after 50 years with the newly opened spaces to be used by recently deceased. Have yet to find someone to tell me what happens to the dug up unearthed bones. 

I'm sitting on a bench in Jaun eating a sandwich. See the waterfall in the distance?  On the right the pointed roof is the village's second church.  

Closer view of waterfall. There's a woman to the right of the falls snapping a picture.

Leaving Jaun and heading up to the pass. Yep, it's open for traffic.

Looking back towards Jaun. 

Reached the mountain pass.

Making my way to Gstaad.

It's pretty quiet on Gstaad's main shopping street as it's lunchtime. 

Another view of Gstaad's shopping street.

That's Gstaad's famous Palace Hotel on the hill.  

I'm almost back to the day's starting point. That's Gruyere Castle in the distance. 

Larringes Castle, Abondance and Chatel, France

My bike and I are on the ferry from Lausanne, Switzerland to Evian, France via Lake Geneva. I've cycled around Lake Geneva many times. This time I will be heading way above Evian through the French Alps to a mountain pass that'll take me back to Switzerland. 
 

The village of Larringes, population 600, sits high above Evian and is home to Larringes Castle. The castle dates back to the 10th century and was originally nothing more than a fortified home

The castle is privately-owned by the Stoutz family and the view is spectacular. That's Lake Geneva in the distance

Until 1884 there was a moat surrounding the property. 

Another view of Larringes Castle.

Don't know where the roads will take me but I do know it'll be a challenging uphill. 

This cheese shop greets visitors entering the mountain village of Abondance (population 1,500). This area is known for a special cheese; semi-hard, fragrant and using raw-milk.

If you look closely at the strange sculpture(?) to the left of the store--there's a cow sticking its head out of the gondola.  

Stream flows through Abondance.

Main drag through Abondance.

Abondance Abbey near the town center dates back to the 14th century. 

That's the ski resort of Chatel (population 1,100) in the distance.

This little lake sits above Chatel.

According to the French sign I've reach the mountain pass of Pas de Morgins. Further up behind the motorcyclist you see a blue sign announcing the same thing except it's a Swiss sign. This is the border crossing between France and Switzerland.  

I'm now in Switzerland and this is Lake Morgins. Under the road I'm traveling on they've built a series of five small tunnels. Why? To allow amphibians (frogs/toads/salamanders) to cross the road without ending up as roadkill. 

Morgins is a Swiss ski resort. About 800 residents live here year-round but swells up to 7,000 during the winter and summer seasons. 

This view looks up towards the road I just cycled down. 

Ski lift and miniature golf course in the town center of Morgins.

Nice downhill ride to the valley floor.