This morning we woke up very early at 6:30 so we could eat and leave the house no later than 7:04am. We had the following scenic commute to the castle on the lake.
- 7:06 – 7:18 Bus from Krattigen to Spiez
- 7:38 – 8:20 Train from Spiez to Zweisimmen
- 8:25 – 10:13 Train from Zweisimmen to Montreux (The Golden Pass)
- 10:36 – 10:41 Bus from Montreux to Chillon
When we left Krattigen the weather was overcast but as soon as we went through a mountain tunnel it was beautiful sunny weather. The views along the way were absolutely incredible. I played rocket with the kids for the first 20 minutes of our first train but then we put the cards away to enjoy the river, mountains, waterfalls, castles, and towns along the way. It was a long journey and the kids got a little bored of sightseeing so they passed the time by trying to build their own card castles on the train (not an easy task on a moving train). The Golden Pass train car we were in had the air conditioning on max which was a little chilly for us but overall the trip was comfortable and went by quick.
Chillon Castle
The castle entrance fee was included in our Swiss Rail Pass which was a bonus. We walked on a bridge to the island tower and through the grand entrance. The self guided tour was easy to navigate as the suggested route through the castle was numbered from 1 to 43. We started down in the prison and death chamber and worked our way up through the courtyard, living areas, banquet halls, and castle tower. Each area was unique and some areas were as old as the 1200s. The rooms were enormous. It was amazing how large each room was. Near the end of the tour we went up to the top of a tower and had a great view down over Lake Geneva. You could even see France across the lake. You can see more information on their website at https://www.chillon.ch/en/.
After leaving the castle we caught Vevey, a large diesel boat that took us across the lake to Le Bouveret. Then we waited 10 minutes and caught to steam boat (La Suisse) back to Chillon and then past the castle to Montreux. From there we walked back to the train station and caught a train to Brig.
Brig and Naters
When we arrived in Brig we walked across the bridge to Naters. The oldest part of the city had houses dating back to the 1400s. Some houses were on stilts with a rock under the house. This was partly to keep the houses from flooding, but also to keep rodents from getting into the houses. The houses were also very close together and the streets were so narrow that barely one car could fit down them! Next we walked back across to Brig. We saw the flood line from Brig’s worst flood of the twentieth century which occurred in September 1993. We also viewed one of the two resulting flood control canals. We then caught the 4:34 scenic train through the mountain from Brig to Spiez. Along the way we passed a train ferry! The road ends on one side of the mountain and cars have to drive onto a train to take them to the other side! Also, when we got back to the other side of the mountain the weather was cloudy and cool… completely different from where we spent our day!
When we got home we had dinner and spent the evening relaxing. I can’t wait until tomorrow’s adventure. It looks like we will get to sleep in until 7:30.