Switzerland Journal Day Six: October 13, 2009 (Bern, Lausanne, Montreux)
During the previous day we had stumbled into a goth clothing store called Mephista where Maddie wanted to purchase a new corset. She decided to wait until the next day to make sure she really wanted to make the purchase so we waited until the following day. With time to kill until the store opened we wandered the streets and explored some of the back alleys. In one such alley we found a crepes restaurant where we both had a delicious breakfast, choosing crepes we weren’t exactly sure of the ingredients due to the language barrier. Maddie’s ended up being honeyed crepes with hazelnuts and fresh fruits. Mine, sadly, is lost to time…I think it possibly contained bananas. After eating and procuring clothing items for Maddie we headed toward the train station for our next destination, Lausanne. Before we hit the station we took some time to cross a bridge which gave us a new view of the entire city. Bern is truly one of the most charming cities I have ever visited, but a morning, an afternoon, and an evening were more than enough time for us to do everything we wanted.
Next stop…Lausanne.
After a quick train ride we arrived at our destination and were faced with a decision. Lausanne is a tiered city built on a hillside. it is also one of the most magnificent cities I have ever visited. Maddie and I immediately started weaving a steampunk story to be based on the city of Lausanne as it makes sense in so many ways. More on that later, but first, our decision. Our hotel that night was the Minotel Crystal which was located near the top of the hill that is Lausanne. Maddie mentioned something about a tram that would take us to the top, but I couldn’t be bothered to take the time to find it so I decided the best option would be to march straight up a road to the top. Not the best idea I’ve ever had. It is steep. It is not fun. If you go to Lausanne, take the tram, especially if you have luggage. It runs every few minutes and has the sole purpose of going to the top of the city and back down to the bottom of the city. You really can’t mess it up.
Anyway, we checked into our charming hotel and found ourselves with some idle time. As I’ve mentioned over and over again in these write-ups we found ourselves with more time than we thought we would. Having previously noticed that Montreaux, Switzerland was only a short train ride around Lake Geneva we decided to go have dinner in Montreaux.
Montreaux is considered the French Riviera of Switzerland. It is snug against the North Eastern side of Lake Geneva which is framed by gorgeous mountains. Along the lake is a lovely walk that is marked by a vast array of flora including the occasional palm tree. Visiting Montreux is worth it just to see palm trees in front of a backdrop of snow capped mountain tops. I took some great pictures of it, but those pictures are lost to time.
We did some of the touristy stuff in Montreux, including having our pictures taken in front of the Freddy Mercury statue. He lived and died in the city. We walked past the casino that once caught on fire after a fan at a Frank Zappa concert set off a flare gun. The incident inspired Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Dinner was perfect…one of my favorite moments of the entire trip (my list of favorite moments is several pages long). Maddie and I learned how to eat raclette while drinking Montreux wine and watching the sun set on the lake. It was postcard perfect.
We returned to Lausanne and headed straight for what we had read is the bustling party portion of Lausanne – Flon. Apparently, we were in Flon on an off night and sure enough a sign on a club explained DJ Richie Hawtin would be in town two nights later when we were scheduled to be in Geneva. So it goes. However, the experience of Flon on a calm night is not one to be missed. The section is living art with odd sculptures and structures peppered about. Metal chimes tingle as the wind blows through them, a series of benches are embraced by green and orange neon, a transparent toilet offers opportunities for exhibitionism, and alleyways are filled with garages painted with murals.
We ended the evening at Nomade, and this is where I began my current habit of ordering house drinks and specials on menus. I’ve never thought much of sangria, but they call it the house sangria on the menu, so I figured it must be worth a shot. Was it ever. I don’t think I will ever find a sangria to top it and I’ve been trying ever since returning to the states. It wasn’t too sweet and each piece of fruit was allowed a moment to shine in my glass. It was so good that Maddie, a dedicated wine drinker, broke from her normal consumption habits and joined me for two more glasses.
We loved Lausanne, but this is only day one in the city, so more love to come.
