Page 4 of 5
Lausanne, Switzerland
I remember running through the wet grass, falling a step behind
I left Salzburg early in the morning, took a train back into Germany and eventually to Zurich where I got another train to Lausanne. The alps near Salzburg were impressive but victims of a cloudy September day, while the mountains through northern Switzerland (Zurich and Bern) were visible although distant and somewhat muted. After going through a few tunnels the train suddenly came out high above the shores of Lake Geneva, through the vineyards with the French Alps (including Evian) standing as an impressive background. Lausanne itself was amazing. Other places in Switzerland were far more dramatically beautiful but I could see myself living in Lausanne, quite happily I think.
From Lausanne I took a boat on Lake Geneva to this place, just 5 minutes east of bustling, urban Montreaux. It’s an actual castle, started in c.800 (I think) with battlements and towers and all that castle stuff. I skipped the Rhine Valley in Germany, opting for big cities instead so my castle experiences remain somewhat limited. There was one in Salzburg I walked through, but it was really more of a fortress than a castle (no one lived there). Technically the tower of London was a castle as well, although it lacks its original gestalt nature being surrounded by so much brutal urbanity. There were some nice details at Chillon, the interior courtyard had some presence to it, the basement/foundation was amazing to walk through, it was nice to walk along the battlements. However my knowledge and interest in Swiss history remains close to nonexistent so the history of the castle didn't quite resonate that deep with me. Nice enough place though.
Finally some Alps. This is the Berner Oberland, recommended by Rick Steves as the best part of Switzerland. From my hostel in Interlaken, there are trains and cable cars and funiculars all over the place to connect you to amazing alpine views like this.
This feels like the top of the world, and it very well might be.
I spend 90 SF today, probably the most I’ve spent on any day this entire trip, but all that spending was worth it. This is the top of the Jungfrau, where there are ice caverns, glacial walks and views just like this one. I not only spent like a drunken sailor today, I also couldn’t stop myself and took well over 50 pictures of the mountains. I’m now at the point where I am rationing film and trying to limit myself to no more than 28 pictures a day. I looked around to buy more, but am having trouble finding any APS film, it might not be sold outside of North America.
This is Milan, Italy, where the train station was chaotically impressive, the subway was clean and easy to use, the Galleria was nicer than expected and the Duomo (Cathedral) wasn’t my favorite, except for one specific thing. The Duomo allows you to walk up on its roof, which is a spectacular world class experience and reason enough to make a stop in Milan.
My schedule is starting to tighten up (there aren’t that many days left) and this meant that I really only ended up with about three hours in Venice, one of the most famous cities in the world and one that really deserved more time. But in three hours, I took a vaporetto, walked tight, narrow little streets over bridges and by churches and piazzas, with gondoliers singing to tourists, pigeons flapping overhead as a gracious sun slowly set over Italy.
