Montreux & Château de Chillon

Enter Switzerland into our little Big Trip. We had to pay a driving tax, so for a few moments we thought about dumping the Peugot, setting it on fire and hoofing it the rest of the way through Germany and up to Belgium. We kept the Peugot. Besides that, entry into this non-EU country was easy. It was like driving into Canada from the US, but in Europe... and with multiple languages.

Switzerland has three official languages: French, German and Italian. We arrived in the French-speaking side of the nation and finished our stay in the German-speaking side. As we drove from the eastern half to the western half, the Swiss we encountered slowly shifted from speaking one language to the other. In the middle of the country, the language swapped every other word, like weaving two threads together. At least, that's how it sounded to us. In reality, the dialects are very different from the French and German spoken elsewhere in the world.

We drove along the northern edge of Lake Geneva, past Lausanne and stayed for one night in Montreux. The weather did not call for water sports. It called for Bill, and Bill wasn't home. Lake Geneva is gorgeous, and it's lined with statues of Freddy Mercury, B.B. King, Ray Charles and Vladimir Nabokov. I guess all four of them used to hang out here together. Poker buddies, maybe. Actually, Nabokov & Mercury both lived in Montreux. The statues of King & Charles show how the city has become a destination for jazz enthusiasts. They were preparing for the 40th Annual Montreux Jazz Festival when we were there. The line-up was incredible.

Montreux is known to classic rock fans as well. In 1971, Deep Purple were staying in town to record, and at the same time, Frank Zappa was there to perform. A fan set fire to the venue for the Zappa concert, the Montreux Casino, with a flare gun (or a bottle rocket or something). From their hotel across the lake, the members of Deep Purple watched the "fire in the sky" and the "smoke on the water." A legendary inspiration to metal.

Just outside of Montreux is the Château de Chillon, a castle that dates from the 11th century. It has a natural moat, having been built on a small island just in from the lake's edge. Lord Byron, inspired by the tale of a Genevois monk who was imprisoned in the basement for 6 years, wrote The Prisoner of Chillion after visiting the castle. He also add a bit of graffiti to the dungeon, carving his name into the stone. You can still clearly make out his name.

Images of Montreux, Freddy Mercury, Vladimir Nabokov and Château de Chillon