Sept 6 - Lasaunne, Montreux and the Swiss Riviera

I started out my day in Geneva, heading to the Isle de Rosseau for breakfast and to wait for the famed Jet d'Eau to start up in the morning. To my dissapointment, it never did (something about the wind being too strong) and I packed my way to the train station and started the trip to Lasaunne.

I arrived in Lasaunne fresh and ready for the day, but upon seeing the extreme hills of the city, my confidence wilted away from me. The town was at a solid 45 degree angle from the train station and my legs were none to happy with me from my previous ventures in Geneva.

The two main attractions of downtown (old town) Lasaunne are the castle and the cathedral. Since the castle is at the top of the town, I figuered I would make my way to the top and work my way down. No such luck. Turns out, I could never find the damn castle. Ended up walking around it at least two to three times, all the while getting stuck in random residential neighborhoods. Eventually, I gave up and went on to the cathedral.

The cathedral was apparently a pretty big deal, at least according to the history books. The Pope and all of his buddies came down for the opening of this cathedral and for good reason - the church is absolutely enormous. The southern rose window is especially unique, featuring all of they zodiac signs amongst some complex geometric configurations, especially for the time given. However, for me, the pull was the stained glass at the rear of the church. It was masterfully done and in a much different style than one would find at the majority of gothic churches in the area.

After my visit to the church I started my long treck down to Lasaunne's beach town of 'Ouchy'. Think of it like Tumwater is to Olympia or Menlo Park is to Palo Alto. Same town, 15 minute walk.

It turns out, a fact that I forgot, that the modern Olympic Games were born in Lasaunne. Because of this, the modern IOC (International Olympic Committee) is still station in Lasaunne. Therefore, Lasaunne also has an expansive Olympic Park and Museum. I made my way to the museum, paid the entry fee, checked my bag and started my journey.

I ended up spending 2+ hours in that museum. To me, sport is one of the few things that, in my opinion, brings out the truest of emotions in people, the truest of character, and that museum, with its videos, pictures and Olympic stories really brought up a lot of emotion. I was very very happy I made the time to visit.

I caught a bus back to Lasaunne and continued my trip around Lake Geneva to Vevez and Montreux. My stay in both was limited at best. Both are merely towns for the rich and powerful to take a vaction on a lake in Switzerland. Not much to see, but very expensive to live. So I made my way around the lake from Montreux, found my hostel, and made camp for the night.

- Mark