With all day to explore several towns and a Swiss train pass to travel between places we still managed to get in almost ten miles a day visiting castles, and walking the waterfront of Lake Geneva. Our first day off we actually traveled back to Zermatt where we finished last year’s Haute Route hike. It seems bizarre to zip around on a few trains and a cog railway just to go to lunch, but with the rail pass you can travel anywhere in Switzerland on buses, trains and some gondolas, so why not have lunch in Zermatt? The Matterhorn wasn’t as glorious a view as last year’s cloudless sunny day, however it’s fun to notice and see the changes taking place.
The Chateau du Chillon in Montreux was a favorite site on Stanna’s 2012 trip and impressed me as well this year. Unlike other historical structures, one could visit almost every nook and cranny of this 1200-year-old many-leveled castle, from the dungeon to the ramparts. The castle was far larger than it appeared from the lake bank where it was situated on a toll road “pinch point” between the mountain slope and waters of the lake, because we spent over three hours wandering thru the reception halls, bed chambers, wine cellars, chapels and quarters.
Most interesting was to learn that the Count (the highest local nobles of the times) only spent three days in most of his castles, traveling continuously with his entire retinue around his realm in order to maintain his authority. Seeing and learning about the way they transported every item of their household from clothing to dishes. As many as three hundred carts hauled everything in trunks which were carried up into each castle where staff setup bedrooms, hangings, bathtubs and the lot.
Another interesting fact was what was required of the locals each time the royals showed up. They had to fete the group for their entire stay, providing everything from firewood (1000 carts-full), 100’s of animals for meat and literally tons of other food stuffs (a list of which would fill our largest supermarket several times over). Of course each castle housed the local bailiff or constable who collected taxes for the region, generally consisting of in-kind goods, which were audited with each of the royal visits.
Stanna’s special day was celebrated with a lakeside dinner and chocolate dessert and we learned that Wiesbaden, my German heimatstadt in the 70‘s, was only 4 days 7 hours and 30 minutes hike from Montreux.
Rather than zip back to Geneva on the train we choose to walk along the lake to the next town, Vevey, where we ran into a memorial to Charlie Chaplin who happen to live here many years. Interesting contrast to see the opulent and grand chateaux lakeside compared to the farmers’ huts and homes in the mountains. Even the cities and urban towns had some agriculture within the city limits although most the lakeside crops were vineyards.
Another great trip to Switzerland.
