Montreux, Vaud, Switzerland Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Chateau De Chillon Winee

We are on our way to Montreaux today. We catch The Golden Pass train from Interlaken West Station not knowing if it will be crowded as it is a Rick Steve’s recommended excursion. The Swiss also advertise it as one of their scenic railways. We find nice window seats without any problem. In Zweissimen everyone switches trains as the grade through the mountains utilizes a narrow gauge track. It is a nice ride, pretty but after what we hiked through not nearly as scenic. Farming areas and Swiss valleys like you see in pictures dot the landscape. At Montboven, we start climbing to the high pass and tunneling through several mountains with one tunnel being 2 miles long. As we descend the other side Lake Geneva comes into view far below. The train twists and turns its way down the slopes at a fairly slow speed. Although it is a little cloudy, we can see that the lake is surrounded by mountains and the Swiss French Alps are in the distance.
We arrive in Montreaux and look for a bus to catch to our room. We of course had to walk down at least five stories worth of stairs to get to the street by the lake. Not finding the bus we walk back up to the station and just catch a local train to the Les Planches stop which is not much of a stop and we are the only ones who get off. We are up above town and there are no street signs that are on the map I have. We feel as if we are in another country with cobblestone streets and French architecture. A sign pointing up says les gorges so we walk down. At the first intersection is the name of the street our lodging is on so we follow it a few blocks and arrive. There is an envelope waiting for us with the door code to get in and other information. There is a shared common area for three rooms. It has a coffee/ cappuccino/espresso maker, glasses, plates, etc. Our room is very modern and clean with a balcony that overlooks Lake Geneva and the mountains. Very nice and pretty expensive as Montreux is a resort town in the Swiss Riviera.
We will enjoy this later as we leave our packs behind and head down to the lakefront. It is a nice stroll to the boat dock, where we stop and check out the grocery store, along the way. At the dock we have a 20 minute wait and there must be 50 Muslims around making quite a racket. Lucky for us, they get on the boat going the other way which is also quite packed.

In the Prison

Our 20 minute boat ride to Chateau de Chillon is quiet and we can see our room and church behind it up on the hill. Arriving at the castle, we cross the moat and enter the first courtyard. They have a nice guide in English explaining the rooms. We enter the prison area below water level where they held one guy prisoner for 6 years chained to a pillar. The poet Byron made this famous in a story. I cannot remember the guys name at the moment. Look it up under Chateau De Chillon if you like.

Lake View

We climb many steps to eventually reach the top. They also have stations with earphones that you can listen to the history, life in the castle, and other information on the area. They history is quite fascinating with the Savoys coming into power and forming partnerships that strengthened them with other Swiss powers and into Italy as well. It really brings the history to life when you are standing where it occurred. Two hours later, we leave and walk about a two miles along the water front back to the main part of town. There are palm trees, flowers, and other exotic plants along the way. We even pass a California Sequoia that is labeled.

Lake Geneva

We buy a dessert for later at the market and eat Doner Kebaps and a mixed antipasto plate from a buffet type setup where you pay by the gram. It is all very good. Strolling back to our room, we really like the feel of this town. We were expecting more of a city but even though it has some tall buildings, it also has stately old hotels, and the aforementioned cobblestone streets. It feels much more like a village than a city and we found the people very friendly. It is hard to remember you are in Switzerland as everyone is speaking French and the place names and signs just reinforce that you could be in France. Our day finishes by sitting on our balcony, drinking coffee and sharing our Swiss cream dessert. Another day of enjoyment sets with the sun.
CNC

Expenses
6SF- dessert from the store
28.10SF- 2 Doner Kebaps and antipasto plate
150SF- BNB Belalp

Miles Walked- 6 Miles