Day 1: Montreux, Switzerland

June 4, 2013

We landed safely in Zurich, Switzerland a little after 8:30am (2:30am EST) this morning. The plane ride went well, but we didn't sleep well (I would like to meet the person who can sleep well on one of those planes). Once we landed, we easily found the train station to head to Montreux, Switzerland. We rode on trains across Switzerland for about 2 1/2 hours (nodding on and off most of the way), but finally made it to the BEAUTIFUL city of Montreux. 

Clayton taking in the view

The Alps across the lake

The city of Montreux from the sidewalk on the lake shore

 Montreux is located on Lake Geneva, the biggest lake in Switzerland. We came here because this is where the scenic train ride leaves from  that we will be taking tomorrow which goes through the Alps. We easily found our hostel (staying at a youth hostel tonight), but the reception did not open until 5:00pm for check-in. A youth hostel is basically like dorm rooms: you get a bed, a hot shower down the hall and a simple breakfast for a decent rate. It is much cheaper than any other way to stay (especially in Switzerland) so we don't mind it for one night. 

While waiting for our hostel to open so we could check in, we walked about 30 minutes along the shore to Chillon where there is a famous castle that was built in 1100! How crazy is it that this castle was built almost 400 years before these people even knew our (future) country existed!?! We hung out by the lake shore and ate some snacks (pop-tarts, peanut butter crackers and granola bars from home) and just soaked in the view for a while (and rested our backs from carrying our packs). 

Relaxing a little and taking in the amazing scenery!

The park we were in from the window of the castle (Our feet were propped up on that rock wall)

Afterwards, we spent about 2 hours touring the castle. It looks like it came straight out of a Knight's Tale or Snow White and the Huntsman! Or as Clayton pointed out: they look like they copied it, since it was there first. It was a really neat castle! 

Looking out from a tower of the castle onto the interstate

Chillon Castle on Lake Geneva with the Alps in the background

We walked back and checked into our hostel and dropped our bags. We called home to finally let them know we arrived (we didn't have internet access any sooner). Then we ventured out to find supper. The hostel offered a spaghetti dinner in the cafeteria for 15.50 Franks ($16.34) each so we were going to try to beat that. We did, but barely. We found their version of a fast food restaurant and shared a 10in pizza and a small fry for 19.50 Franks ($20.56). It is amazing  how expensive Switzerland is! In the picture, you can see that a simple combo meal is 22 Franks ($23.19)! The country is beautiful, but it lives up to its reputation of being expensive. 

The menu in the restaurant where we had supper

Other cultural highlights of Switzerland that we have noticed is that people seem to be more laid back and in less of a hurry than Americans typically do. They also like their siestas (closing up work for a few hours in the afternoon and then reopening later that night). The other cool thing about Switzerland is the languages. There is no Swiss language, but instead the Swiss speak whatever language is closest to them. So on the east they typically speak German, in the south they speak Italian and on the east they speak French. We started hearing German this morning and ended up in French tonight. 

Even though we were quite tired, it was a really god day! We are loving getting to travel abroad together especially after travelling abroad separately before. Tomorrow we leave bright and early for an all day for a scenic train ride through the Alps. Afterwards we are going to head back to Zurich to stay the night there before heading to Austria.