Montreaux

Monday was our first day on our own since Kim and Anthony had work.  Spending the first two days with them gave us the confidence we needed to navigate the trains and find our way around.  It was overcast and the sky was threatening to rain so we decided to stay closer to Lausanne and embarked on the quick 30 minute train ride to Montreaux.  Once we arrived we quickly found the tourism office and got instructions on how to navigate the town.  Our primary objective was to see the Chateau Chillion which had come highly recommended by several people before we left for our trip.  We decided to take the scenic walk around Lac Leman to get to the chateau.  This turned out to be a wonderful idea!  Along the lake there were several botanical exhibits including one based on Harry Potter, a monument to Freddie Mercury who spent the last few years of his life in Montreaux, lots of birds on the lake, and beautiful landscaping.  It was about a 45 minute walk but we highly enjoyed the sights along the way, much more interesting than the recommended bus ride from the tourism office. 

We were able to take several beautiful pictures of the Chateau from the path along the lake but once we arrived we marveled at how large the chateau is.  We spent more of the morning and early afternoon exploring all the rooms and courtyards of the chateau.  This tour offered a more authentic renovation which in our opinion more accurately reflected the architecture and decorating of that time in history.  Each room also gave the historical context of the people who inhabited the castle throughout time and how the room was used.  It was interesting to read about the drastic transitions during times of prosperity and times of war/conflict.  The view from the watch towers was beautiful!

After we left the chateau the rain began so started the walk back to the center of town to find a place to eat.  We found a place that was recommended in the Fodor’s guide to Switzerland and decided that it was meant to be.  It was an Italian restaurant and we highly enjoyed the lasagna and pizza that we ordered.  After lunch we stopped in CoOp to buy some local wine and found a lovely and reasonable bottle of Pinot Noir as well as a Chaselas.  Then we headed back to Lausanne and enjoyed a lovely and much needed nap before Kim returned from work. 

Kyle’s Update:
Explored Chateau Chillion in Montreaux today. By far one of the coolest medieval castles I've seen and was a bit cooler than the one we saw yesterday. I look forward to posting some shots from the top of the chateau. Honestly, one of the neatest items we ran into is a twelve foot bronze statue of Freddie Mercury they have facing the Lac Leman. It is pretty schweet.