4 sep:

4 sep:
took the GoldenPassLine -Paroramic train from Interlarken through
Zweisimmen onto Montreaux. the train ride started at 908hrs from
Interlarken. I reserved seating for an extra chf10 but turned out to
be unnecessary as not quite high season.

anyway, I must admit that I was a tad disappointed cos I expected an
extremely scenic route with a special train. turned out to be quite
normal route - maybe a little more scenic than the route I took the
day before with the bus-train-boat excursion. the panoramic part is
the all enclosed trains that you switch midway at Zweisimmen. the bad
thing is that it kills the photo shots cos reflection. with the normal
trains, you can lower down the windows in some sections so in that
sense, the paroramic trains aren't too fabulous.

if given another chance, will stay at Interlarken another day to take
the old trains up the other mountains, caves visit or cruise down lake
thun. especially considering what's going to happen to me at Montreux,
my next stop.

reached Montreux at 1413hrs. weather was horrid when I reached-
rained. the hotel I booked was Best Western supposedly a 4* but trust
me, the Backpackers lodge I stayed at Interlarken is 10X better in
terms of price, quality & cleanliness. the booking sheet also didn't
have the good instructions on how to get to that place-just said 5mins
away from station. yah right!!! 5 mins down a staircase that only one
who is familiar with the area knows. imagine me braving the rain,
pulling luggage & with nothing except my wits to bring me to an less
than satisfactory hotel that smelled damp, unwashed and right next to
the road.

to think I was telling myself in interlarken that I will enjoy a nice
cheese fondue dinner when I stay at this place!! decided to spend my
cash at a concert instead (part of the Festival De Musique Classique
Montreau-Vevey that runs from Aug-Sep). had to take bus down to Vevey
-20 mins from Montreu.

personally, the nice thing about this area compared to the other
places in Switzerland is the fact that they speak in French instead of
Swiss-German or German. "bonjour" just sounds nicer as a "hello" in
German/Swiss-German. the servers/ shop owners also seem more
friendlier than in main Switzerland to me.

after booking ticket for CelloTango (cheapest was chf35), walked down
the shopping area & got some souvenirs like lace hankies, Freddy
mercury tshirt for dan, musical box for kids & some jewellery. trotted
down to see Freddy mercury's statute next to the waterfront- by then
weather was even more horrid with the waves swelling & hitting the
water banks. am so glad I didnt take another lake cruise.

went down to local grocer to pick up tomorrow's bfast (croissant with
salad & apple juice) before heading back hotel for quick washup before
making my way down to Vevey theatre. I very much liked the Vevey area
better than Montreux. the ambience & shops are more unique - reminds
me of like Kensington area in London. montreux station was dark &
gloomy whereas Vevey station was nicer with a big open square area.

did a nice walk around that Vevey area as I was there by 6 - just
wanted to make sure I find the theatre before it gets dark at around
730pm. bummer is that there is not much food options after 6 - many
drinks but food's limited to Indian or pizza before 8. so ended up at
macs again - lucky that there was a shopping centre at the Vevey area.

concert started at 8pm - maybe too tired but I didn't like the fact
that the cellist had to go his speeches after EVERY single piece he
played. in 1hr, only 3 pieces cos his in-between speeches in french
took just as long as each piece!!

the concert was packed though - guess concerts are as big as they say
in switzerland after all. I left during the intermission as it was 9pm
by then as I needed to get up by 6am tomorrow for the connecting
trains to zurich airport.

tomorrow morning is my train to Zurich airport via Laussane. it was
the 1st time I had a train cancelled on me the whole week I am in
switzerland. panicked a bit cos again all announcements in French & no
info on alternative trains at the station...anyways, managed to make
my way down to airport in good time cos did Internet check-in earlier.

Magdalene