Day 340 – EU – Switzerland [Rest Day in Montreux]

10/03/21

 Rest day in Montreux (Switzerland, Europe)

Enjoying Montreux, the lake shoreline and a beautiful train ride up to a 2000m summit

Statue of Freddie Mercury in Montreux facing Lake Geneva

There were a few reasons I wanted to see Montreux during my tour of Switzerland. “We all came out to Montreux, on the lake Geneva shoreline…” the intro line to Smoke on the water by Deep Purple! The song relates the fire which broke out at the Montreux casino during a Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s concert in December 1971. This is also one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar. I did not find any specific tribute to Deep Purple or Zappa. But I came across a giant statue of Freddie Mercury, right by the casino. Freddie lived in Montreux and recorded 6 albums with Queen there.

Up to the Rochers-de-Naye past the Col de Jaman

Having explored the beautiful shores of Montreux and the amazing views on the Alps, I headed to the train station. The Rochers-de-Naye is the mountain overlooking the city, culminating at 2000m. The train ride is nearly 1hr long to the summit on an extremely steep slope. The views were jaw dropping throughout. As the train got to the snowy parts and the ski resorts, I spotted the Dent de Jaman and I knew that somewhere nearby, snowed under, was the Pass de Jaman, which I had intended to cross a few days early… of course not knowing what the conditions were like!

Superb welcome by my host Thomas at the Guest House du Lac

Later in the afternoon, I met with my host Thomas and the representative of the tourism office of Montreux. We sat down for a chat and a cup of tea, a very pleasant way to wrap up the day. Both are widely experienced travelers and of course, there were a lot of tales to share about places, trips and the different ways to travel this world. As I am starting to notice lately, there’s a lot of people who want to try and help me. I always answer that simply relaying the word, helping me towards my fundraising goal is the best help I can receive. Well, I am also getting a ride by Thomas tomorrow, who will drive me to my start point in Villeneuve. Every little helps!