Montreux to Interlaken

What to do with a free morning in Montreux? Wander into as-yet unexplored areas, certain I’d be rewarded with more beautiful art, vistas, and buildings.

My certainty was justified. After breakfast, I headed back to the lakefront path and turned right instead of left, toward the neighboring town of Vevey.

As you’d expect, there were stunning sights in every direction. Various combinations of lush trees, vivid flowers, water, boats, birds, and mountains created tableaux both tranquil and uplifting.

I also encountered several sculptures I’d not yet seen, including two musical giants, Igor Stravinsky and Miles Davis. I love the “Rites of Spring” and the “Firebird Suite” from the former, and I’ve listened to Miles’s “Kind of Blue” – the best-selling jazz album ever – countless times. Seeing these artists memorialized in this gorgeous setting was a special experience.

A bit later, Andy, Char and I hiked up into the Vieille Ville, the warren of narrow, winding, steep streets comprising the old town part of Montreux.

Getting there provides a good cardio workout, and the area offers some lovely views, but there’s not much of typical touristic interest. This is a charming, tidy residential neighborhood sitting far above the bustling, swanky part of the city that hugs the lake.

By mid-afternoon, we headed to the station to board our train to Interlaken, just before the skies opened for the first rain of the trip. The first few minutes of the ride afforded birds-eye views of Montreux as we looped around switchbacks on our way from 400 meters above sea level to 1000 meters.

Once we reached cruising altitude, so to speak, we passed through villages of brown-shuttered red chalets, many with window boxes overflowing with flowers. Each little town had its own tidy white church. (Pardon the distorted photos – they were taken at speed through rain-streaked windows.)

As we approached Interlaken, the rain gained intensity. By the time we pulled along Lake Thun – one of the two lakes sandwiching the town – there were white caps on the water and boats bobbing drunkenly.

We’re staying for the next two nights at the Royal-St. Georges hotel, a stately building backing to the Aare River and facing the Alps. I didn’t get to see much of Interlaken on the five-minute walk from the train station because of the nasty, wind-driven rain.

But my room is comfortable, I managed to obtain WiFi access after deciphering the somewhat convoluted instructions, and there was a well-stocked tray of nuts and fruits waiting in my room.