Today was castle day.
We arrived in Lausanne yesterday. It is on Lake Geneva. Today was our first day waking up here.
Since it is a weekend day we wanted to do a day-trip (since Dan wasn't working) so we decided to head to Chateau de Chillon.
It is on the outskirts of Montreux, built on a rock island on the edge of Lake Geneva. Rick Steves calls it: "remarkably well preserved, never damaged or destroyed--always inhabited, always maintained. Today it it's Switzerland's best castle experience."
You can reach it by boat or train. We opted for train since the only boat left around noon and we wanted an earlier start than that. After an initial mix up with which train to take (we actually got off a train to double check, and the train we were originally on would have required a bus transfer) we got on a train at 11:00.
The train ride was super easy and only 6 swiss francs. We got off at the Veytaux-Chillon station. I got my first glimpse of the castle as we pulled into the station. "ooooooh" I said. "What Mom?" Sara inquired. And when she went down the steps to the lake side promenade she saw for herself: the castle.
Enlarged to its current state in the 13th century it takes a minute to stare at the castle just to realize it is real. We walked about 10 mintues along the lake (a gorgeuous turquise lake so clear that you can see rocks and even fish in it!). The ticket line took you across the moat (a natural moat since it is on a small island) and then we got inside.
The girls didn't walk into the castle, they tore into it - with gusto. They were so happy to look around (and there was so much to see) and they treated it as a rock tree fort - running to the fountain, running around the castle courtyard, and finally sitting on a rock seat.
The best part about the castle is that it was an entirely self-guided tour. You could just wander through a gothic arched rock doorway, or wander up or down a stone stair case, and see what ever you wanted to see - it was like a treasure hunt that took us back in time. We saw it all. (How could we not with two kids leading us in three directions at once?) All the way down to the dungeon (with Byron's name), and ALL the way up to the "keep" with amazing (and I mean amazing) views of the lake stretching as far as the eye could see to greet the sky, clouds, and mountain peaks. There were 10 windows at the top of the "keep" and Sara and Julia looked out each one twice (the top of the "keep" was a square, so they would run to each window, wiggle into it together, stare for 2 seconds, then run to the next window). It was nice we are here in February since we had the castle with out too many other tourists - and the stairways were narrow. But the rooms were grand - especially the halls, with medival wooden ceilings and paintings on the castle walls from the 13th century.
Sara and Julia were giddy with energy. They walked up countless steps with out pausing even once. They ran down cat-walks made of wood that walked along the top of the castle. They danced in the court yards and ran in circles. There was one puddle in the whole castle and the girls found it, and by the time they were done there was no puddle left, just muddy foot prints that went in circles around the cobblestones.
The history was neat - to think of the centuries that the castle was "real" before it became a tourist attraction. Nobility lived there. They had to defend it. They had to cook, raise pigs, go to the bathroom (the latrines were interesting), and do everything that life requires -- right there in the castle. My favorite part was just going from room to room - in the story book castle, not knowing what the next room would hold. Julia stayed close to me. If there was anything I wanted a closer look at, and I asked Dan to watch her for a while, she would come running to find me yelling "mama!" so she was my buddy. We went hand and hand up the wood steps to the "keep" I mentioned earlier. I held her hand tightly, since a mis-step would have sent her falling 15 or so feet to the floor. She was very good and took careful yet confident steps and I probably put indentations on the stone handrails with my hand grip - but we did well and had fun!
I was sorry to leave the castle, but we had finally toured it all and we were hungry. After a quick look in the gift shop with prices so tempting I wasn't tempted, we walked to Montreux. The walk was exactly what travel is about: fun, gorgeous scenery, exploration, self-paced, care-free, and wonderful. Seriously, the walk to Montreux after the castle was along the lake on a promenade that made us understand why it is called "the Swiss Rivera" -- it was just lined with lush flora and fauna (trees, flowers, gardens, decorative elements) it was like a botanical garden of so many different things to look at, from Palm trees, to moss covered linden trees, to forsythia bushes! One one side of the path was the lake (turquoise water, big oval stones at the bottom, some fish visable) and on the other side of the path was gorgeous mansions. There were a lot of other people out enjoying the path - one or two joggers, and many people in their later years strolling along the path arm-in-arm with their spouse of 50-60 years. There were also a lot of families with kids - it was a mish-mash of everyone just enjoying the path (it was paved and meant for strolling) -- it was a "this is just great" moment - with ooodles of perfectness and nothing but beauty to land our eyes on.
Julia slept on the walk (fresh air can do that) and Sara talked on the walk. We finished the 2 mile walk and got to Montreux's lake side area (beautiful) and then found a place to eat. With Julia sleeping our criteria was a place where she could stay asleep. The first place we found was perfect. We could wheel her in asleep and there was a place near out table to let her stay asleep. We ordered food (pizza) and she woke up and joined us. We had colored pencils and large lego blocks to play with 'till the food arrived. I appreciated how accomodating the people in the restaurant were to us. They were glad to have us and did what they could to ensure we had a nice meal. We did.
After eating we wandered the town (a hilly town as usual) and then took the train back. There was an announcement in French 2 minutes before our train, and we had to change tracks. So, even though we went as fast as we could, we missed that train. No big deal. We waited 20 minutes and took the next one. Transportation is easy and frequent so there is no need to worry about it.
The train was packed when we finally got onto the train back here. Someone gave me a seat so I could sit with Julia on my lap (at first I let her stay with Dan and got a seat with Sara, but I could hear her yelling "MAMA!" all the way in the middle of the train so I got her, and that's when someone gave me their seat so I could sit with her. Sara stood near me. Dan was by the train's door and didn't even enter the full train car.
It was about 30 minutes of a ride, then we got to the apartment after an uphill walk. I gave Sara/Julia a bath (they love "swimming in the tub and they got to use bath salts) then we ate dinner that Dan made salmon, snap peas, and rice.
The sunset at dinner out the window of our apartment was orange, pink, and smeared the sky above the lake, which was a mirror for the crimson colors. "Look at the sky Mom!" Sara said. And we went out onto the balcony to drink in the view.
Then came bedtime. Sara used her sticker book from the other castle we visited (in our day trip from Fribourg) and then we called it a day. A great day for sure!
Quote of the day
(at dinner) Sara: "I loved today. It was a great day."
END
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