Montreux and the Chillon Castle

 

Today was a rest day in Montreux, a resort town on the Swiss Riviera. It rained in the morning so we used the time to sleep in, make plans, paint, and do laundry. Naturally, Kat painted poppies.

We also needed to exchange more money today. Unfortunately, I could not find the exchange rates offered by the local currency exchange offices. Lesson learned… we should have exchanged enough money in Geneva, where the currency exchange located behind the train station offers an excellent rate. It was discouraging to see our US dollars lose 15% of their value here.

After lunch, we walked down the “Flower Path” to the Château de Chillon (Chillon Castle), a Swiss Cultural Site that once served as a gateway between the Swiss Alps and the Vaud region. This medieval castle is perhaps best known for featuring in Lord Byron’s poem, “The Prisoner of Chillon,” and more recently, as Prince Eric’s castle in the film “The Little Mermaid.” It was obvious why this is one of the most-visited museums in Switzerland, as it demonstrates advances in castle technology between the 12th and 16th centuries and is one of the best restored European castles.

The Château de Chillon is located just east of Montreux, in the town of Veytaux. From here, we were able to take a 3-minute train ride back to the center of Montreux. (Lesson learned - check the train schedule! Just because there is a train, that does not mean that one can easily take the train from one place to the next. The train between Veytaux and Montreux only comes once a hour.) Despite this use of public transportation, we still walked about 7 miles today.

Kat found a traditional Swiss restaurant for us in the Vielle Ville (Old City), called Le Caveau des Vignerons (the Cellar of the Winemakers). Here, we enjoyed traditional Swiss dishes, including a tomato-cheese fondue, rösti (a grated potato dish) with chèvre, and beef with mushroom sauce. Of course, local wines were necessary to make the meal complete. For dessert, we savored crème brûlée and a mini chocolate cake with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Tonight, we will fall asleep to the sound of the waves coming in from Lac Léman, readying ourselves for another day of walking tomorrow.