Lausanne

This is a city in the western tip of Switzerland, on Lake Geneva. We only spent 2 nights there, but made the most of them. Wandering through old town, we headed to the cathedral…

… where we marveled at the height of this Gothic church built between the 12th and 13th centuries -

There was no great way to photograph the cathedral in its entirety due to it being surrounded by other buildings, but you can see the bell tower at one end and the spire at the other, towering over the city streets -

The Swiss like their public drinking fountains quite ornate -

did you spy the cathedral bell tower in the back, up the hill?

There were some magnificent buildings in this city…

… and this is a hotel on the waterfront -

The Montreux Jazz Festival was occurring the same weekend we were in the area. Instead of visiting that town, we bypassed the crowds (sensing a theme here?) and headed past it to Chateau de Chillon…

The oldest parts were built in 1150, on a strategic island in Lake Geneva. The counts and countesses of Savoy controlled the passageway between the mountains and lake, obtaining tolls from pilgrims, merchants and travelers passing on the road.

The cellar/dungeon…

… was on the lake level -

Some of the Great rooms truly lived up to their name -

The Gothic windows were built around 1270 -

There has been quite a bit of restoration over the years, but I loved seeing all the different levels, and how they interconnected -

We took a cruise boat back to Lausanne…

… and saw some spectacular scenery…

… including vineyards and small towns -

The next picture shows a train passing along the water, and this reminds me to tell you about the impressive public transport systems everywhere in Switzerland. From the Metro, to the buses to the trains, they were almost always punctual (to the minute). Occasionally, the buses would get behind due to traffic, but the trains were great.

See you in the next post…