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(Sorry not too many photos up yet, loading from this public computer is taking awhile! Be sure to scroll them all of them here and in next page...)
Arriving in Geneva after a long red-eye flight from Chicago, Michael and I immediately got a taste for the punctual and amazing public transportation/train system in Switzerland. We easily took a train from the airport to the city center and exploration of the city began right away as we made our way through the clean streets of Geneva to our hotel for the night.
Geneva is well organized, small enough to be extremely walkable but big enough to feature many international restaurants and big hotels and businesses. The city is commercialized, but retains a very comfortable small-town European feel because none of its buildings exceed six stories or so, and because there are hundreds of outdoor cafes that line the streets. As expected, it is extremely cosmopolitan, and everyone seems very refined and well-dressed! I felt very schleppy walking the streets in my flip flops and yoga pants with a pack on my back! As we checked into our hotel, which featured a traditional Swiss restaurant, we quizzically
Summertime on Lac Léman
Crowds all hang out alongside the lake with Jet d'eau in the background.turned up our noses, sniffing what I first thought was wet dog, but what I would soon learn is a staple across the country-- a boiling pot of cheese fondue with melted cheese and white wine. While delicious to taste, I must admit that I am not a fan of the smell!
After an easy check-in, we decided to make our over way to famous Lac Leman, or Lake Geneva, which was only one block away. It was a beautiful crisp summer night, and the scene at the Lac displayed every bit of that. Thousands of people, both visitors and locals, were out along the lakeside, drinking beers or eating picnics along the shores, swimming and jumping off the rock jetty, biking along the lake path, blasting music, catching up with friends, and overall enjoying what was a very relaxing and gorgeous night. Geneva's Jet d'eau, the tallest fountain in the world springing out of Lac Leman, filled the background perfectly. We joined the scene for a bit before we realized that we had better walk around town to look for a place to stay the next night, for which we had no plans.
Word to the wise:
Old Town Geneva
Michael walks the adorable cobblestone streets If almost every hostel and hotel online is booked, chances are that that will also be the case in person, as well. We had difficulties booking online, so decided to just wait till we got there. We wandered the streets for over an hour and into at least a dozen accommodations before we realized that due to this high season summer holiday time and a regional congress taking place in town, there were no rooms or beds available anywhere! I was beginning to accept the fact that it might be nice to camp out alongside the lakeside the next night when we finally found an overpriced room right near the train station. It'll do. We quickly learned that not only are accommodations crazy expensive, but so is food and just about everything else! Unfortunately for us and as a warning to future travelers: Switzerland is not for travelers trying to save some money!
The saving grace was that it was still light out at 9:30pm, and we were just joining the main crowds to start dinner. After our first real meal in about 24 hours, we ended our long day with another relaxing stroll along the Lac before heading
Boug de Four Plaza
Karen at the central fountain in the Old Town public square to bed.
Despite a jet-lagged night of restless sleep, we did a lot of walking and exploring on our full day in Geneva the next day. Making our way over to the Old City quarters of Geneva, it felt quintessential European to be weaving in and out of hilly, narrow, cobblestone streets with extremely old buildings surrounding us, fountains bubbling in the central plazas, fresh flowers out of every windowsill and fresh coffee brewing from every corner cafe. The architecture in this part of the city was beautiful with a lot of character and history. After a late breakfast/early lunch off of Bourg-de-Four Plaza, the city's oldest public square, we visited St.. Pierre Cathedral, a large church dating back to the 12th century and utilized by John Calvin during the Reformation. As many old churches are, it was architecturally incredible and historically interesting. Best of all, it offered some of the best views of all of Geneva, both new town and old town. We climbed up the many narrow winding staircases of the Cathedral's North and South towers, and were rewarded with gorgeous expansive views up top. The Jet d'eau was spraying, the sun was shining, the boats in
the Lac were active-- very postcard-esque! (See pictures here.)
After the Cathedral, we continued to tour the Old City some more, including visiting the Maison Tavel, the oldest house in Geneva that is now a museum featuring daily Swiss history and life, and the Jardin Anglais, a relaxing park alongside the Lac. We ended the day by taking a taxi boat ride across the Lac to the other bank in Geneva and back. We just did this for fun because all of Geneva's-- and potentially all of Switzerland's-- accommodations give you a free transportation card when you stay with them, allowing you to hop on and off local buses, trams, and boats for "free." So, we decided to enjoy a little boat ride on the lake. When we got dropped off in a part of town we had not yet seen, we stumbled into an awesome exhibit art exhibition alongside the lake path, called "Cartoons for Peace." It featured a long row of political cartoons and comics addressing all sorts of worldly issues and promoting peace and equal rights. It was a very cool exhibit and seemed particularly appropriate and poignant in this international city of peace and neutrality.
For our final dinner in Geneva, we tried the famous pots of cheese fondue!-- but ordered a special tomato one instead so that it seemed to mask the pungent smell of the original ones we had experienced earlier. Potatoes dipped in gooey boiling cheese and wine, accompanied with local wine and pizza, was a great way to end our Geneva experience.
While we wanted more time in Geneva, we felt that we got a good feel for the vibe of the city and were excited to move on to Montreaux the next day. Montreaux is a much smaller city on the other side of Lac Leman, and we once again got to appreciate the great train system of Switzerland as we made our way there. The train followed the Lac the entire way, each minute coming up upon more stunning views of crystal blue waters against the rising dramatic landscape of the Alps and lush vineyards filling every hillside. Switzerland apparently has amazing and ample wine that it does not export much, so one can only drink Swiss wine in the local areas. We were very pleasantly surprised by the amount of vineyards along the train route, planted
right up to the water. Every minute of the train ride was so pretty-- it was like watching a good Travel Channel documentary!
Upon arriving in Montreaux, we were greeted by our gracious Couch Surfing host Josh, and by the great view of the Alps and lake from his apartment balcony! The mountains surrounding this part of Lac Leman are much higher and more dramatic than those of Geneva. From Montreaux, you can begin to see the snow-capped mountains and rolling hills of the valleys in the distance, which made for a much more beautiful atmosphere. France was just across the lake at the foothills of the mountains. We had specifically decided to add Montreaux to our itinerary when we realized that we would be in the area during the famous huge 45th Montreaux Jazz Festival, and it did not disappoint! The city was alive with live music coming from all corners, tons of food and crafts vendors along Lac Leman, and a lot of joy and dancing. If the Geneva lakeside scene spelled summer, Montreax really encapsulated the sentiment of the freedom of long summer days. We were lucky to have perfect weather that allowed us to walk
all along Montreaux and some of its surrounding neighborhoods along a wonderfully landscaped lakeside path. This time of year, all the flowers were blooming in an explosion of vibrant colors, and the lake was a deep aqua. It is no wonder that Montreaux is considered the Swiss Riveria.
A crazy incident also occurred in Montreaux: we were eating lunch at an outdoor cafe when I said to Michael, "Am I crazy or is that Ruby crossing the street?" Ruby is a Swiss friend whom we had met on a trekking trip in Thailand over a year ago. Lo and behold, there she was, at the intersection right in front of us in this small town! She was just as surprised as us to run into us here and took a few seconds to realize who was yelling her name across the street! She knew Michael and I were coming to Switzerland, but thought we were not in Montreaux yet and we had not yet talked to set up a meeting time and place. As we had no phone, this was the best way we could have made plans with her! After initial shock, we made plans to meet up
for dinner that night. But first, we made our way over to Chateau de Chillon.
Chillon is a hauntingly beautiful castle from the 11th century located on a tiny rock island in Lac Leman just off of Montreaux. It has a natural moat and everything! It was an important part of Switzerland's and the Alps' history, and we spent a few hours learning about the Savoys, the Bernese (the people, not the dogs, though part of me wishes it was about the dogs!), and the Vaud, all of which took turns claiming control of Chillon and the surrounding regions. Chillon is also infamous for its prisoners, and many writers (Lord Byron being the most prominent one, it seems) have created epic poems and stories around people who were imprisoned in the cellars of Chillon. Michael and I had a great time wandering through its courtyards and towers, and in the end, enjoying wine from its own vineyards. Chillon is definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in the Montreaux area.
After the castle, we met up with Ruby in her apartment right in the center of Montreaux, where she and her fiance Vincent treated us to a
delicious traditional meal of cheese and salmon bruschetta and viande sèchée, dried cured meats that are common to Swiss cuisine.
And after THAT, the night was only just beginning as we met up with Josh again for the night festivities of The Jazz Festival. Still jet-lagged, we were not entirely prepared for a long night out, but we would get a second wind! We believe we enjoyed some of the best of Montreaux as outdoor music and shows filled the air while crowds spread out on grass hills, bars and dance floors set up right over the lake, and endless food vendors sold everything from pho and fondue to crepes and chocolate waffles (the latter two would become extremely important after many drinks and as we approached 3am)! Even though we did not see any of the paid shows (which includes acts like Paul Simon, Santana, Sting, and, interestingly, even Kauai-resident Donavan Frankenreiter, haha!). We spent the rest of the night essentially bar/club/music-hopping up and down the lakeside streets and through the rain as a crazy storm blew in!-- it was a great way to meet Swiss friends and experience a Swiss festival, which we've learned is a big
Sir, can you show me the exit?
one of many cartoon panels at the Cartoons for Peace Exhibit. part of summertime in the Alps.
After a fun night that resulted in 5 people crashing over in Josh's studio apartment (interestingly, it was our SECOND time with Couch Surfing where we ended up with 5 people in a small studio apartment-- see Chiang Mai, Thailand blog), we bid farewell to a productive and memorable time in Montreaux this morning, and made our way deeper into the Alps. On to Interlaken!
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Tina and Richard
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SNAPSHOP OF SWITZERLAND
LOVE your blog and photos---feels like we're there too!! Can't wait to read the next installment.