Normally, I encourage people to tell their own story.  From my perspective, stories are the reason I travel.  Pictures can be lost when you misplace a memory card during  a midnight foray at a Spanish campground.  Souvenirs rarely stand up to the test of time.  Yet, my memories and stories have become a part of me.  So much a part of me, that I occasionally forget about something until it percolates up out of my subconscious to bring a smile to my face as I am wondering a nameless city street.  It is so very important that we tell our own stories, not only because we are able to get it right, but also for the artistic chance to get it wrong.  To embellish a momentary glance, a glance that at the time was nothing more than passing fancy, into something much more.  Perhaps love at first site, but definitely a recognized opportunity. 

     With that caveat, I want to share a story with you that is not my own.  Simply because, you need to know.   Hopefully, the subjects will forgive me for any of my own artistic reconstructions. 

     The story begins, as with so many of my own, around the dinner table at the Chalet Martin.  A young man, David, was coming to the end of his four month tour of Europe.   Anticipating the bittersweet end to his return home, David was enjoying dinner-for-one while mentally planning his few precious days left on the continent.  About half way through dinner, two of David’s dorm mates, Lindsay and Jen, joined him for the remainder of his meal.  Introductions were made and an instant connection.  David and Jen left after dinner for a short hike through the village.  For the next two days in Gryon, David and Jen talked and laughed, revelling in the ease of a relationship that was new and fun.  

     As they parted ways, David and Jen promised to write and really meant it.  The best part about the plot of this rom-com is that there is no “boy-loses-girl.”  They emailed incessantly for over 6 months and  coordinated visits every few months for 2 years!  Finally, they packed up their lives and took a chance, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama of all places!  Six months later they moved to Atlanta, Georgia where they were engaged.  Now, it would be easy to end the story here with a simple ‘happily-ever-after’.  However, a complex happily-ever-after is a happier-ever-after. 

     Recognize those mountains?  David and Jen returned to the Chalet Martin in the summer of 2008 and joined in marriage before friends, family & current hostel guests.  A true destination wedding!  Oh, and the officiant (not pictured)?  Lindsay!  The dorm-mate who made a dinner time introduction a half a lifetime ago. 

     So whether you are sitting at your desk, at a bar reading on your iphone, on the couch, or wherever; raise a toast to David and Jen a love story that started at the Chalet Martin and continues to inspire us all. 

The End…?

Of course not!  While amazing, Jen and Dave are just one of the couples that recent research has turned up.  There has also been Ahriel and Nicole, who met in the laundry room of all places!  They joined hands in August 2008.  Or Valerie and Todd?  They met on the small path up to the hostel from the train station and then again at a Chalet Martin Christmas dinner (the Chalet even gives love a second chance!).  They got married  in June 2008 at the small church in Gryon.  Edi arrived to Chalet Martin in July of 2001 and instantly fell in love with Gryon. Then in February of 2002 she fell in love with Andrea who was living in the area. They got married in May of 2004. Of course, I am biased, but my favorite story is one that I have heard and told numerous times.   Matt and Elizabeth met around the kitchen table and a glass of wine in May 2004, and finally became legitimate in November 2007 at a small civil ceremony in Switzerland.   The final couple we know of for sure is Renee and Joel.  During the winter of 2010, Joel proposed to Renee on the slopes at the ski resort in Villars!  Of course she said yes, and they are schedule to wed on March, 12, 2011.  They even plan to have snowflake card holders at their wedding to represent their engagement in Gryon.

     So many great stories!  Although, if I had to bet, I would imagine that there are many more out there.  So please share your stories in the coming days and weeks!  Do you know someone who met their partner, got engaged, or gotten married at or near the hostel? We look forward to hearing your tales of love and romance in the mountains.  And you can join the few that have taken the plunge in Gryon! 

Patrick