It’s a commonplace in the expatriate community that there are two unquestionable signs of summer in Switzerland – the appearance of road construction projects and the arrival of visitors from back home. The season arrived early this year, with plenty of warm dry weather in May, detour signs and, yes, a number of welcome guests. Your Faithful Correspondent is a tourguide at heart, and The Spouse is an exceptionally genial host, so we enjoy having guests. Given that we are now living in the Mountain Paradise, the only problem is to select an itinerary from among the many possible sights. Now, in mid-August, the visitor season has come to an end, and I can offer some insights on the basis of our first summer’s experience.
An important finding is that visitors offer an excellent opportunity to re-visit places you have already been but that bear seeing in another light. For example, taking the train to the top of Rigi has become a staple of my tours because it is nearby, introduces the visitor to the experience of traveling by mountain cog rail, and promises views of a wide swath of the Swiss Alps. So far, I have been there four times, and each time has been different. The first visit, faithful readers might recall, was last winter with Middle Sister, when we rose above the clouds to see the sun and the mountaintops. In April, my 80-something aunt and a friend paid a short visit, and I took them to Rigi so they could see the Alps. Unfortunately, the very top was socked in, but they were good sports and enjoyed the views on the way up and down.
When several good friends from Philadelphia came in May, TS and I decided to visit Rigi via paddleboat on the Vierwaldstättersee from Luzern. It was a beautiful early summer day that offered stunning views at all stages of the trip. We contemplated anew the fact that Switzerland is much blessed in its conjunction of lakes and mountains.
Best of all was the 360-degree view from the top. There Rigi seems to be surrounded by water, bounded as it is on the north by the Zugersee, on the west and south by various arms of the Vierwaldstättersee, and on the east by the smaller Laurenzersee.
My fourth ascent came at the beginning of a two-week visit from my Younger Sister, her wonderful husband, whom I will call Brother-In-Law because he’s the only one I’ve got, and my 82-year-old mother, whom I will call Plucky Mother because she’s impressively spry despite a few age-related problems. They arrived early on the Sunday morning, after a long, uncomfortable trip from Wyoming (no thanks to US Airways). We spent a little time that day along the waterfront in Zug, but on Monday I wanted to get them to Rigi to see the mountains – especially because rain was forecast for much of the rest of the week. Though there were a few more clouds than on the previous visit, the views were spectacular.
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| The Inn's Back Garden |
Successive visits also have a way of feeding upon themselves, so that each later experience is enriched by previous exposure. For example, I wrote earlier about a short visit TS and I made to the village of Romanmoitie in the French-speaking canton of Vaud. When we decided to re-visit the area with our Philadelphia friends, I remembered an interesting-looking inn that stood opposite a café where we’d had coffee there before starting our hike. I looked it up online and booked a couple of rooms. When we arrived we found it was even more eccentric and magical than we’d expected. At our host’s recommendation, we dined at an excellent restaurant on the outskirts of town, where my chance TS and I had had coffee near the end of our hike on our previous visit.
The following day, we ventured into new territory, the northern shore of Lake Geneva. Our visit to Lausanne was not completely successful – the city is most difficult to explore by car – but once we managed to find the Cathedral we did enjoy our visit. A late lunch in Vevey was pleasant but we didn’t much care for what we saw of Montreux as we drove through its main street, because it was crowded and seemed rather over the top. But when we reached our goal, the amazing Chateau de Chillon on the banks of the lake, we were entranced. It is definitely the most perfect castle we’ve ever seen. Even the dungeon, which inspired Byron’s poem “The Prisoner of Chillon,” is the epitome of a Romantic dungeon.
So, when it came time to plan my family’s visit in July, I knew we should make a day trip to Chillon, especially because it was the BIL’s first visit to Europe and it was important to show him Old Things. We set out early, because I knew from my previous visit that it can get crowded, and we were able to explore the many, many rooms at our own pace. The weather was a bit better on this second visit, though we still could not see the high peaks that loom above the southern, French, shore of the lake.
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| Lunch at the Cafe Metropole |
Despite my previous experience of Montreux, I decided that it would be nice to go there for lunch. We found a parking garage in the center of town, and had much more fun strolling along the lakefront, easily understanding why this area is known as the Swiss Riviera. It was fun to see up close the statue of Freddie Mercury, who died in Montreux. And we had a delightful lunch directly overlooking the lake at the Café Metropole, where the food and the service were exemplary and not as expensive as one might expect. I’ll definitely return there when I next return to Montreux, with who knows what other visitors.
Coming Soon: Celebrating the Swiss National Day
