Serendipity - European Mountain Range Tour

Dreams are often anticipations of future alterations of consciousness. Serendipity, although, is the fact of finding something valuable or interesting by accident or something pleasant happening by chance. This was my exact feeling during my trip to the European Mountain range. As soon as I saw my chance to go on another roadtrip.. I landed in Paris. Drove directly from Paris to Chamonix, France.. Chamonix is a ski town at the beginning of Mont Blanc mountain range.

Stayed at a ski resort (in fall ofcourse!) overlooking the beginning of the scenic beauty. The sunset made the mountains glow and waved goodbye to meet early next morning. Next morning, I head towards Modena.. this is because I wanted to see the Ferrari museum and maybe drive on the race track if I feel like. Following innumerable 16 wheeler trucks and other cars that seem to be doing this route regularly, I follow the route into the mountains.

The Mont Blanc mountain range:

This mountain range is not at all for the faint hearted. Its majestic not only in its beauty but arrogance as well. Once you read about few of my trips, you will know that I talk about roads as if they were a person and nature as if they were my buddies.

While driving on the Mont Blanc, I had to be extra attentive. This mountain range had short and immediate curves. Going on the steep highway at such a speed was thrilling, of course! The landscape was fresh for me because I had just landed from my Bombay. Going towards and inwards the mountain range and slowly feeling the temperature drop even further while the snow was forming from top of the peaks. I wonder how beautiful it would be in deep winters. Absolute ski paradise.

I got a chance to drive through many of their endless tunnels. The longest one could be easily 15 km long. Very trippy and hypnotizing. Like the magnificent infrastructure of China. As soon as the last tunnel ended I had entered Italy. People at the gas stations were still talking in French and selling fresh pizza margarita and espresso ~ Perfect welcome. Crossed the Mont Blanc, passed Milan onwards to Modena, Italy. Went to the Ferrari museum and race tracks.Drove further down to Bologna and walked around the beautiful rustic city for the evening. Next day fresh early in the morning, I aimlessly started driving in the interior of Modena. Through the tiny towns and endless farms, I reach a heritage estate where they make Balsamic Vinegar. Slurpp!!Have you ever tasted Balsamic Vinegar in Dark Chocolate!? Or Balsamic Vinegar Jam!!? Its really delicious. It was time for lunch and what better place than to find a little Italian restaurant among the farms. Fresh made pasta with freshest ingredients available around in their fields...took the internal route for about 2 more hours through Tuscan villages to Carmignano, Tuscany, Italy. Attended a beautiful event located in one of the vineyard estate. Oh Bless the couple..! Sun setting.. spraying the sky in multitude of colors.. That beautiful Tuscan Sunset. In science, Its called Atmospheric Scattering.

The colour of the sunlight is originally white because it carries all frequencies of visible light. Sunlight is also filtered by the air in the atmosphere. Light goes through different thicknesses of atmosphere and air particles depending on the position of the Sun, which in turn changes the sky’s color from blue (shorter light waves) to yellow, pink, orange, red and purple (longer light waves). At sunset and sunrise, the light has to go through more air because of the low horizon of the sun. More atmosphere means more molecules that scatter the blue and violet away from your eyes, leaving only the longer wave color.When the world was shut and all of us had to stay indoors, the pollution from vehicles and industries had decreased substantially. This is the reason why sun rise and sun sets all around the world was so radiant and vibrant. The density of the air was much lighter, allowing all the short and long wave particles to refract in its natural glory. Our minds can comprehend so much beauty if you really notice it!

Now, I was not done with Tuscany just yet so decided to go to Cortona again. Again, from my previous trip to Italy few years ago. Cortona is a very very small medieval town in Tuscany that is pure nature and has amazing rustic Italian food. The town sleeps in the afternoon and finishes dinner by 7:30 pm. The tiny steep bylanes had restaurants in caves and rooftop terraces with fresh flowers all around.  From Cortona I drove to Mantova, which is in North of Italy. Long driving day, yes. But oh so scenic! I’ve noticed one main characteristic of driving on main highways crossing villages or cities. You can really feel the temperament of the place by the way the people drive

~ Calm, In Sync or Aggressive.

Mantova is a small European town that consisted of a watch tower, prison and staying quarters. Like all villages in Europe, the way they have packaged their old world historic charm into a touristy place that attracts people from all over the world is a lesson to learn in how we can change the atmosphere with just how the place is presented. Mantova is where I stayed for a night to go onwards to The Stelvio Pass ~Begin my days drive towards Lake Como, onwards to Bormio towards Stelvio Pass. Stelvio Pass is a drivers paradise. Very very steep mountains with more than 50 hair pin bends on each side. The colors, the clouds, the curves of mountain roads were all mesmerizing! A Human eye can recognize more than 60,000 shades of green. More than any other shades of colors. Here at Stelvio Pass I found so many more shades of Yellow that I had never seen in my life. Leaves falling. Wind blowing. Temperature dropping and I drive into the clouds. I was reminded of my drive from Siliguri, West Bengal to Kathmandu and onwards to Mustang Valley in Nepal. Muktinath Temple was at 4000 + meters of altitude while Stelvio pass was standing at 1,250 meters. Once the Sun set beyond the mountains of Stelvio Pass, I found a tiny village glowing like molten gold called Glurns.. Glurns has only 925 ppl living in this village and is in the middle of the mountains in a valley. They even had a wall for that tiny village to keep the houses safe from wild animals at night. Much like Old Jaipur or Mandvi or most villages in ancient India. I stayed in a tiny boutique hotel here. Absolute pure nature!! People are so kind and welcoming. The head chef of the restaurant nearby asked what I wished to have for dinner and made excellent butter garlic ravioli. Yes! This was where the tap has been on.. since 1984. We in cities need to save water and our villages in rural ‘all over the world’ whether Europe, South East Asia or India, live in abundance. The reason the tap is always on is because the ice from the mountain top melts and keeps the water flowing. This acts as an air purifier as well as brings in good pure flowing vibrations for the entire village. Next day I drove towards Switzerland which is barely 10 km from this village. Passed through Austria, Liechtenstein,  and entered Switzerland.

This was 4 countries and mind blowing diverse landscapes all in one day. Italian Dolomites, Italian Alps, Swizz Alps, and Swizz country side. I had been to Austria on a previous trip so instead turned left towards Liechtenstein. This modest country got over in barely 15 mins. Apart from schools, shops, residential houses it was fascinating to see a horse poop distributing machine over the vast fields.. moving on... I enter the most beautiful country, Switzerland.Here my phone network stopped working and GPS had put me on some main highway. So.. who wants to see highways when you’re in Swizz land!? I turned both GPS and phone off and followed the nature along with my intuition. Took the exit to Haag and drove on top of the mountain that was perpendicular to the highway. Found myself on road with 3 meters of visibility surrounded by clouds.This was perfect frequency. I had arrived!

After a while of driving through the sooper winding roads, clouds gracing my car and enjoying that chill in the air among the tall pine trees that changed colors every kilometer, the roads descended me to lower altitude. I saw Swizz cows and sheep grazing on grass while passing tiny villages. Lost in this endless nature hearing cow bells ringing and church bell every hour until I found a beautiful place. Schwyz.. It was more of a familiar European town so I drive further towards nothingness.. because that where the natural beauty really is. 10 kms down the street tall mountains to my left and vast lake to my right. My jaws dropped, eyes popped out and heart was heavy. This place was Lake Lucerne! Most beautiful lake in the world. Ok, one of the most. Kailash Manasarovar still tops it for me! Quite and serene. Pleasant break after a long driving day in the mountains. Seeing the vast lake directly from my room was divine. The sound of water flowing and the seagulls friends I made completely reenergized me. Two days of walking around this little town was peaceful. The beauty of little towns is that everyone is so content and always smiling. If there was one place where I felt that I ‘belonged’ was here. I didn’t want to leave this place but had to.. What I didn’t know that morning was that Lucerne was the calm before the monumental feat I was about to experience that following day. Started driving towards Zermatt mountain.. To my surprise the beauty was not over yet! The Andermatt Mountains were waiting to meet me. I found it to be even better than Stelvio Pass. Absolute Majestic Beauty!!

For the first two hours I was playing in the valleys between the two soldiers of mountains next to me, the next moment I was standing on top of the mountain peak at 1400+ metres and watching the clouds and birds fly past under me. This place is magnanimous, majestic, and cannot be compared to any other mountain in the world. It was unique, just like every other mountain range. We all are different, just like all of us. We are all unique, just like all of us. Grimsel Pass, Furka Pass was a great turn of events. Also took a stop at the famous Hotel Belvedere hairpin bend and devoured on the breathtaking view. Anything is possible. This is my reality!

While I was still soaking in the evolution of the geological landscape that took millions of years to form I reached the infamous Zermatt mountain.. the highways get quieter and the trees that were lined up change colors for the new season. With even more glowing shades of Yellow.. my goodness that was a surprise! Driving further up I see the Matterhorn mountain. It didn’t even look like the Toblerone chocolate logo anymore.. ! Glad I was here to witness this iconic place in its evolutionary process. This was barely the beginning of the winter season and I could see the town gearing up to welcome the new winter tourists. Quiet and almost no movement, I then decided to drive to Geneva. Now, I knew Geneva was a 5 hour drive away and it was 3 pm when I reached Zermatt but what fun is it when you don’t take a wild chance while you’re running along with time!? Put GPS on and I intertwine along the same route for maybe 20 kms passing the same trees and curves I said hello to on the way to Zermatt. Further on, I pass through an industrial town where they create and store energy. Break the minerals found from the mountains and crush them. Maybe Homo Sapiens are after all the most destructive species on our planet. It was lovely seeing the rush hour traffic of this little town where cars were just happy going back home from a long days work. Here, I was busy following the roads and people watching while rushing towards a well lit busy city. I make a well informed turn and approach a toll booth. Make my payment and the cheerful old lady at the counter says to me.

“The next train will leave in 10 minutes!”

“Say what!?”

“I’m going on a train!?”

“Haha yes!”

“My car is going on a train!??”

She was so amused at my questions that she couldn’t help but laugh. Alright then!! Adventure of the day doesn’t seem to have finished. Lets see what more is in store now.

So, I’m third in line to go in the direction of where they knew we were to be headed. In exactly 10 minutes the engines of the cars start and in next 5 seconds our cars were lined up on top of a train. Mountains surrounding us.. clouds gracing the deep curves and I was sitting in my car with engine off, on an open train, about to ride through the entire Swizz Alps! This is also reality!! Completely took my breath away. I was jumping like a little kid sitting on a ride for the first time. Oh so exciting!! It was such a brilliant day full of fortunate stroke of serendipity!! None of which I had experienced before.As soon as the train stopped, engines start again and we drive out of the train directly onto the highway.. to wherever it is you wanted to go. Brilliant connectivity!! Now I had about 250 kms to go from here on.. coffee in me and fuel in the car on full heading towards Geneva. Sun sets and the sky is sprayed in shades of orange and maroon like a flame thrower!

How different do skies look in every city. With every terrain the refraction of sunlight really paints a beautiful painting. I enter a city after so many days. And If you know me at all, I go really quiet in busy places. Its interesting, the location of Geneva is at the edge of a long lake sharp towards one end ~ Lake Geneva. The Rhone glacier melts and the water flows to this beautiful crescent shaped lake. This means that all the fresh air and the flow of water from the Swizz Alps head towards this busy city. By far, from all the cities that I have been to around the world, this had the freshest smell. Talk about experiencing a place with all your five senses. And six as well if you’re lucky! The point of this trip was to experience all the countryside and not see any city. Well rested, the next day I turn my blinders towards the French Riviera. Marseilles was a few hundred kilometers away. When I go towards the port, the tourists from around the world were swarming the place with backpacks attached to their bodies and cameras in hand. No.. this does not match my frequency at the moment. Turning towards Montpellier, Toulouse was the right decision. Soaking in the beauty of rustic French town was exhilarating. On the main highway, I read signs of Barcelona! Parked in the immediate next rest area and contemplated turning left towards a buzzing city or heading towards the French countryside.

The French countryside won because I had been to Barcelona before. But, Oh the Barcelona temptation!

The French Countryside:

Now, start driving North towards Paris through the little towns and my what a beauty! I was back to open skies and spread out hills this time with French cows and sheep grazing on lush green grass with French concerto music playing. Murmuration of birds dancing in beautiful pattern in front of my eyes, passing me by ~ Frequency matched. I was relieved. Luckily, my go pro was taking enough well lit videos as the Sun was flying along with me. The trees, the hills, the Sunset were dancing in tandem to make this landscape glorious as well! Clermont Ferrand was a quiet city for the weekend and Versailles was grand in its palatial glory. The beauty of Versailles was stunning and if you ask me what I remember from that place, it is Yellow Gold, intricate history carved in stone, precious and semi precious stones and yellow trees lining the vast spread out roads.

With my heart full and reset button pressed, I return my car to the rental and hop in the tin can to fly back to my Bombay! This entire trip had absolutely no planning or hotel booking whatsoever. I go in the direction of beautiful vast nature whenever I feel like and ask for a hotel room if I like the place. Because of that I found so much beauty in this journey so far!

Truly, Serendipity at its best!!