Day 13: Saturday, February 5

Today was a good day.  Except for the part where I couldn’t find the train station to get home.  But that’s the end of the story.

 I took a brief trip to the Morges farmers’ market this morning and bought some apples, lettuce, a baguette, and a chocolate croissant as a treat.  I would have rather done this kind of shopping tomorrow, but unfortunately all of the stores are closed tomorrow.  I got to the train station just a few minutes before the train left, so that’s good. 

 I decided to create my own tour of Lake Geneva.  My plan was to take the train to Villeneuve at the far end of Lake Geneva and visit some of the towns on the way back.  I got to Villeneuve about 11am and walked around the town a bit.  I saw some old houses and a little church (they were holding an organ concert on Sunday, too bad it wasn’t today!).  I went to the lakefront and sat down and ate my croissant.  I watched these guys fishing with the biggest poles I have ever seen, and I had a lot of fun watching the ducks and seagulls and swans.  There were mallard ducks but also several types I hadn’t seen before.

There’s a path that extends along the lakefront for a long way (no idea how far it goes).  So, I walked along the lake to Chateau de Chillon, which is a very old (almost 1000 years) castle.  It’s situated on a small island on the edge of Lake Geneva.  The location was on a key trade route between Italy and France, so they were able to have a lot of power by taxing the trade through the area.  In the Middle Ages, the Duke of Savoy (who owned the castle) would travel constantly to visit his different properties and make sure they were well-managed.  Imagine being on the road all the time!  The castle was built over several hundred years, with a series of buildings around 4 courtyards, each with a different purpose.  I really liked going through the entire castle, ending in the “keep” at the top of the tower.

 The view out of the castle prison room (too bad they sometimes chained the prisoners so they couldn't see the view!)

 Have your wedding reception here!  (seriously)

The local tennis courts are clay .. maybe the next Roger Federer will come from here!

 After the castle, I kept walking along the path to Montreux, the next town over.  It seemed like most of Montreux was out on the promenande along the lake, taking a stroll.  Montreux has been a tourist trap for several hundred years.  I hadn’t had a real lunch yet, so I looked for something to eat.  I found a “tea-room” where I bought some food, which got me a table where I could look at the street and watch the pedestrians and traffic.  The food was a rip-off (8.50 for a small sandwich and tea), but it was nice to get warm.  When I left, I realized I was still hungry, so I stopped at a Walgreens-type store and bought a bottle of water and a chocolate bar.  I figured that was enough to get me until dinner.

The view near the hotel from the previous picture

I wandered a bunch around Montreux (the shops closed not long after my snack, so there wasn’t much to do inside).  I was walking behind some women when they entered a church.  I looked at the sign and realized that it was a Catholic church and that mass would start in a few minutes.  So I decided to go (why not?  I have nothing better to do anyway ...).  Catholics have a standard mass format, so I could tell what was going on, more or less, without being able to actually understand it.  It was a pretty simple mass attended by about 50 people.  I actually knew one of the songs – the Alleluia!  I think the priest was Filipino – he was definitely imported from somewhere in Asia.  I guess I’m not surprised, considering that participating in religion is much less common in Europe than the U.S.. 

After church, I went to the casino. ;-)  I just looked around but didn’t go onto the casino floor (I didn’t care that much and I think – but not sure – that they were checking IDs).  At that point, I decided to start looking for someplace to eat.  I decided on an Italian restaurant, where I had this amazing pumpkin pasta.  I think I might have gotten ripped off slightly (I paid almost as much for bottled water as for a glass of wine while it looked like other tables got tap water), but it was really good.  After dinner, I decided to head back to the train station.  The problem was, I thought I knew where it was, but I actually didn’t.  I had come into Montreux on foot, and although I had found the train station while walking, I misremembered where I had seen it.  I found the train tracks easily enough ... but where is the train station?  I walked near the tracks and found a train station ... the next station over, which had 1 train per hour that had just left.  Crap.  So, I headed back the other direction towards the main area.  I saw signs for parking for the train station but not the station itself.  Where the hell is it??  I’m going in circles!  I went past the restaurant again ... ARGH!!  I finally went back to the lake where I knew could find a map of the town so I could find the train station.  I found the map, and it said to walk a way down the promenade, then go uphill but not on a particular street.  I turned uphill after a block, and all of a sudden a I saw a big staircase with a bunch of people coming out of it.  Is this it??  YES!!!  Unfortunately, I had to wait 30 minutes for a train and then change trains in Lausanne.  I was a little worried that there wouldn’t be a connecting train, but it turned out OK.  I was relieved to make it back to my apartment and have a nice cup of tea. ;-)