After an uneventful August, Melissa and I are in the midst of a busy September. This weekend we are in Brussels, Beligium, visiting Britt Sieber, last weekend we hosted Minnesota friends Eric Adams and Ashley Brown at our apartment, and before that, on the first weekend of September, we welcomed my uncle and aunt, Jim and Lee Diedrick, to Switzerland. Jim and Lee stayed with us from Friday September 2nd until Monday September 5th as just one leg of a bigger two week European vacation that also took them to Paris and Barcelona before and after visiting us.
The Diedricks came to Lausanne by train directly from Paris, arriving on Friday just a little before 4 p.m. We had planned out a tight sightseeing schedule for the evening, and even though I missed them on the platform and had to call them to meet up, we still caught the first train we needed, which took us back to the apartment. At the apartment we spent only enough time to drop off luggage then turned around to hurry back to the train station. Our next train rode along the shore of Lake Geneva, past the scenic wine terraces of the Lavaux region, and all the way to the eastern shore of the lake where we found the evening’s first tour stop: Chateau Chillon.
Chateau Chillon is a medieval castle built on a small island right next to the shore of Lake Geneva. It is strategically located just where the Alps and the narrow ancient highway to the saint Bernard pass (and therefore to all of Italy) begin. Historians don’t know exactly how old Chateau Chillon is, but the first written record of it is in 1005 AD, and evidence that Romans fortified the site has also been found.
At the castle we had only set aside one hour to look around until we needed to catch a ride to our next stop. The self guided tour began by winding through the castle dungeons, then took us through courtyards, dining halls, bedrooms, and even latrines of the castle. About a half an hour into the the tour we noticed we were only in the 20’s in our brochure of numbered-points-of-interest, so we decided to skip ahead to 46, the last number, which marked the castle tower. This was my third time touring the castle, and the previous two times I never thought the tower climb was strenuous as I casually explored each room along the way. This time however, we briskly walked through the rooms, wound around the ramparts, and climbed three sets of rickety stairs to reach the top all out of breath.
We then had to climb back down and hurry to catch a bus, which brought us to a train, which brought us to Rivaz. Rivaz, our next tour stop, is a village located in the heart of the Lavaux wine region. Melissa, who had to work all day, met us on the train, then in Rivaz we all took a short walk to a nice Italian restaurant. Sitting on the restaurant terrace we sipped on wine and ate pizza while enjoying views of the lake below, and the vineyards above and surrounding us. After dinner, as the sun was setting, we walked a short loop through the vineyards before catching a train back to Renens, where everyone could finally rest after the busy day.
Saturday’s touring involved a lot of public transportation. The day was forecast to have the clearest skies of the Diedrick’s visit, so the final destination we chose was the top of a mountain. However, to reach the summit, we had to ride five trains, one bus, and four cable cars.
Our morning began with croissants and packing a picnic lunch. Then, at 9:30 a.m., we boarded our first train of the day which took us the short distance to Lausanne. From Lausanne we rode east along Lake Geneva, then followed the Rhone river into the mountain valley canton called Valais. For 65 miles our train snaked along the river giving us breathtaking views straight up to glacier covered Alps. Then we came to the town of Visp and made another transfer. Our next train backpedaled just a few miles, then veered north directly toward the mountains and entered the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. This tunnel spans 21.5 miles beneath the Alps, coming out in the canton of Bern. When we emerged on the northern side of the Alps we found a dramatic change in climate. The canton of Valais was much like California with vineyards and shades-of-brown shrubs growing in the dry climate, whereas the canton of Bern seemed almost like Minnesota, (except for the mountains) with lush green pastures everywhere we looked.
Our journey after the tunnel brought us to a large glacier lake called “Thunersee” where we transferred in the town of Spiez. For 9 miles our train rode along the turquoise water, giving us spectacular views to mountains jutting up on either side. Then the lake gave way to a flat section of land, home to the town of Interlaken. It was about 12:30 p.m., so we took a moment to take in our surroundings and had a picnic lunch at a small park near the train station.
At 1:05 p.m. we continued our journey by taking one last train into the town of Lauterbrunnen. The 20 minute ride brought us due south of Interlaken into an astonishing valley of sheer cliffs lined with waterfalls. Lauterbrunnen means either “loud fountains” or “many fountains” in German, and true to the name, the valley has 72 waterfalls, with one of the most impressive, Staubachfall waterfall, cascading right above the town.
We had a few minutes to appreciate the sights in Lauterbrunnen, then we continued deeper into the valley by boarding onto a bus. The valley floor narrowed as our bus drove up a gentle incline to the Schilthornbahn stop at 922m (3025ft). We then began our ascent of the mountain by cable car. First we rode to the village of Gimmelwald at 1367 m (4485ft), where we saw the next cable car up was already waiting, so we loaded onto it with out stopping. This second cable car brought us to 1650 m (5413ft) and the town of Murren.
In Murren we had some time to wait, so we walked around the town of ski chalets and marveled at the mountain views. When we came to our next cable car, we learned that James Bond is very important on the Schilthorn. In the 1969 movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” the site for the villain’s lair was the restaurant at the top of the mountain. Posters for “Bond World” were everywhere, and cheesy recordings using lines from the movie were playing in both cable cars. Reaching the Schilthorn summit at 2970m (9744 ft) required one transfer at a stop call Birg at 2700 m (8858 ft) where we just walked directly to the next cable car.
At the top is the famous James Bond restaurant, that interestingly rotates, and a couple outside terraces to view the mountains. To me an amazing thing was looking down to the town of Murren, where we had started, and thinking that it looks like the bottom of the valley. Whereas when we were in Murren it felt like we were very high up. From the top we could see all the way to Mont Blanc on the French/Italian border, and a sign said the black forest in Germany could be visible, but it was just a little too cloudy and hazy on our visit. The closest big mountains were the glacier capped Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau, and we spent most of our time marveling at them.
Around 3 p.m. we decided it was time to begin the long trip home. Descending the mountain, we got out to look around the Birg stop, and went on a short hike called the “Thrill Walk”. The hike mostly consisted of walking along steel grates screwed into the side of a cliff above a few hundred foot drop. At different points along the walk we could walked over a glass bottom part of the trail, a tight rope, and through a tunnel of chain link fence, all dangling over the edge of the cliff.
Feeling satisfied that we got our thrills, we then made it all the way back to Interlaken. It was then about 6 p.m. and we were thinking about dinner. To get the most out of Jim and Lee’s visit we decided to take a 50 minute train ride into Bern to find a restaurant. Melissa found a nice German styled one called Altes Tramdepot as we rode along, and once in Bern we easily made our way to it by bus.
The restaurant served up some traditional rosti for Jim and Lee, and all four of us sampled beers as the sun set over old town Bern. After dinner we had to run to catch our bus, then easily found a train home where everyone could finally rest.
Sunday was the last full day of sightseeing with the Diedricks. The morning was cloudy with a light drizzle, so we took it easy and had a big breakfast of fruit and nutella stuffed crepes. Around 10:30 a.m. we made our way out the door, first riding a metro into Lausanne that took us by Melissa’s university.
In Lausanne we spent some time walking along the narrow, steep, cobble stone streets of the old town, and then made our way up to the cathedral. At noon we were able to see a cuckoo clock go off near the Hotel de Ville, then we rode a metro down to Lausanne’s port. Our touring next had us board a 12:30 p.m. boat bound for Montreux. As our ship straddled the French border we sat relaxing on board admiring the view of Swiss vineyards on one side and French Alps on the other.
The boat’s first stop was in the French/Swiss border town of St. Gingolph, then after a few more stops we eventually made it to Montreux. In Montreux we ate a late picnic lunch in a park where Melissa attracted a flock of sparrows. Then we boarded onto the scenic Golden Pass train bound for the Caillier chocolate factory. We all took the tour, and I was proud of myself for showing enough restraint in the tasting room that I didn’t get a stomach ache.
We then made the journey home by train taking a different route that passed through the walled city of Romont. For dinner we had a big charcuterie platter along with Swiss white wine. We talked the night away discussing old movies, and traveling, and all too soon it was time for bed. The next day we said goodbye to the Diedrick’s early in the morning as they hurried off to Geneva to catch a 10:30 a.m. flight to Barcelona. Melissa and I then had a few days to rest until our next guests arrived…
