Chamonix gets crowded during the winter, but the kinds of people that this town at the foot of Mont Blanc attracts makes up for it.
The view just below the summit of Mont Blanc near Chamonix.
After a long day of winter sports on and around Mont Blanc, Europeans and others from around the world head to Chamonix bars to unwind. The wealth of people who come to visit here tends to vary wildly. The richest visitors tend to remain near the town center, while others – ski bums and bargain-hunting globe-travelers like me – tend to relax on the outskirts of this classic ski town. The close proximity to Switzerland, Italy, and Austria brings many German and Italian speakers to ski, do cross-country, and party in the snow.
On my most recent visit, I met an Austrian princess and her friend at the Chambre Neuf on a Friday night. She wasn’t wearing a crown or anything, but she did have some stories to tell about her college life in the Italian section of Switzerland. Her friend was Italian, and didn’t speak much English, but she had this long auburn hair that looked almost bright red in a certain light.
I entertained them by talking about Colombia. Neither had ever been to South America, so I regaled them with tales of Carnival.
That got them in the mood to cart me over to one of the Chamonix clubs further towards the outskirts of town. When we reached the velvet rope, my princess said something to the bouncer in her sing-song German to let us skip the line. I guess one of the benefits of being royalty is getting on the guest list – even if the Habsburg family no longer rules Austria, that blue blood is at least good for something.
I’m not so much into Euro-pop, but I was definitely into the girls there. After we checked our coats, I headed out onto the floor, and spent at least a dozen seconds blinking and staring at the dancing French girls.
It was a long night after that.
What I learned? I need to work on my Deutsche.
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And French. Or do you speak French already?
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