Blogs from Montreux, South-West, Switzerland, Europe
October 24th 2011
My friend Matt (who’s studying in Pamplona, Spain) decided to come visit me, my second guest in the last month! It was great spending time with someone who actually had studied French with me in Cincinnati, actually even from the start; Matt and I took our first college French class together! It’s great to see just how far we’ve come from those days, and to see another one of my “lives” come together with the one I have in France. Matt came in late Saturday night. Miranda came over and we made a mad dash to the frenzied Saturday night supermarché, the Black Friday of grocery shopping. We made Tartiflette, the archetypal meal of Haute-Savoie containing ham bits, onions, potatoes and Reblochon, one of the three or so principal Savoyarde cheeses. By itself it’s awful (just ... read more
Trains and cheese and francs, lots of francs
Published: July 22nd 2011Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Montreux
July 22nd 2011
My apologies to those of you who wake up in the morning, anticipating our daily blog. The past three days have found us unable to upload the blog from our computer. Evidently, some home internet servers don’t like the platform running on our American computer. So while we were able to write the blog, we were unable to post it. Therefore, today we are posting four days worth of our adventures. We are, indeed, in the land of the Alps. As I sit in my tent this evening, a train runs by every few minutes, a testament to the Swiss reliance on trains for transportation and for tourism. Bill and I have ridden those trains in the past, and it is a fantastic way to travel within the country, and the cog trains that take passengers ... read more
June 21st 2011
Bonjour! I was in the french speaking part of Switzerland visiting my aupair friend Samantha. She actually lives in St. Maurice, a smaller village. I managed to get to the train station in her hometown by myself with the timetables she sent me and a friend from the airplane. The people in Switzerland are all very helpful, not just some - like everyone in some way. A lot of people in Switzerland aren't actually Swiss, many come to study there, work or marry...Anyways, another guy on the train let me use his phone to text Sam about what time to meet me at the station, again very nice. I don't know too many places where people are so helpful, hopefully Canada would be one of those places though because I am very proud of where I ... read more
April 23rd 2011
We had to get a bus to Sydney, fly to Singapore (8 hours but on Airbus A380!), fly to London (13 HOURS but also on A380), change terminals, fly to Zurich (2 hours sadly not on A380), get 3 trains to get to Radans, SO TIRERING. The A380 is the first double story passenger jet in history. It cruises at 800km/h. Pulling my sweet little boy act, I got to go have a look on the top story and in the cockpit. We are preparing to leave Switzerland to go to Leon today. While in Switzerland we have been to Bern, Zurich, Geneva, Taun, Lausanne & Montreux. The trains here are fantastic and they network the entire country. The countryside is beautiful; it's full of fields and mountains and clear blue skies. Uncle Radan's house is ... read more
Vitznau, Mountaintop lunch, Montreux
Published: June 10th 2010Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Montreux
June 5th 2010
Day three of the group trip was definitely one of my favorite days, maybe my favorite. We went into Switzerland and the Swiss Alps, so that should give a clue as to how beautiful everything was. Even though we drove for over seven hours today, it was worth it. Today was definitely a nature day, rather than a cultural day. There is not a lot of description here, but enough, and lots of pictures. The day started with another great breakfast, then we left at 7:45 AM. The drive from Austria into Switzerland was gorgeous, with the Alps rising in the distance, then traveling next to, and finally into the mountains. We stopped around lunchtime at Vitznau, which is a town built around Lake Lucerne. At the train station, we got out and had time to ... read more
May 3rd 2009
I have been to Montreux twice now, and I still cannot pronunce the name right!!!!! Everytime I say the name, the locals correct. I need to get my moms camera to fill in more pictures...Guess I did not use my very much there.. I hope she will let me use it...... read more
Montreux: Amazing and Breathtaking Place
Published: April 25th 2009Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Montreux
April 25th 2009
I visited Montreux, Switzerland from April 19 through the 25th this year. This visit brought back sweet memories. Montreux, part of the Vevey region, is one of the most beautiful place of Switzerland. It has it all: its breathtaking landscape, flowers, Alps, lake, jazz music and a particular commitment to enjoying life and people. Located in the flank of the Swiss Alps and an hour from the international city of Geneva by train, Montreux - part of the Swiss Riviera- offers a unique mix hard to find in Europe between lake and mountains and splendid microclimate. The uniqueness of the place couple with the diversity of activities and excursions, be it by bus, train or boat, and of culture, sports as well as entertainment allows each and everyone, no matter the age, to live a unique ... read more
March 24th 2009
Chateau du Chillon is a magnificent Chateau or castle built in the early Middle Ages. It is also the most preserved examples of this typ of architecture in the world. It is a castle on Lake Geneva slighly north of Montreux. It is maybe 2 kilometers from the city center. The walk is all along the city boardwalk, so, it is a wonderful walk to take. You can take a bus, but why bother. You can take a bus at home. Anyway, go for the walk, and you will see some cool sights, including the bronze statue of Freddie Mercury. I found it to be really a neat and fascinating place to visit. Going to a place like this makes you realize the Middle Ages and the old Europeans really had some cool stuff. We are ... read more
