Ahhhh... Montreux!

We set our alarm (the only time we set our alarm!) for 5:30, so we could be sure to catch our train to Switzerland after finding it by way of the Metro. I, personally, didn't want to stay in Paris one minute more than I had to. :)
It was a long train ride through the France country side and down into the Geneva district, but beautiful!

We took a lot of pictures from train windows.


This is what we did on the train...wrote postcards, journaled, listened to music, and took pictures.


All the train stations are uniquely different. I never got tired of them.

I can't even express how nice it was to arrive in Montreux after Paris. We absolutely fell in love with this little town on Lake Geneva.





Our hostel didn't open until 18:00, so we walked around town with our backpacks and just soaked in the sights.



The streets leading down to the lake are very steep. In fact, they actually have an elevator that will take you from one sidewalk up to the street above!

After buying avocado, bread and figs to pair with our Bruge cheese for a picnic dinner, we wandered down to the lake and just sat on a bench while waiting for our boat to take us to the castle, Chateau de Chillon.





The boat ride over was so refreshing! (After all the walking we did, we enjoyed any sort of transportation that moved when we didn't. :D)





Then the views of the castle from the water! Wow! It was soooo neat!





After getting off the boat, we walked up a quiet little path to the castle when all of a sudden...

...our camera quit working! (I'm absolutely certain that it had nothing to do with being dropped in the sand on the Zandvoort beach, or dropped on the cement later!)

I can't tell you how disappointed we were that we couldn't get pictures of the phenomenal Chateau de Chillon to show you! I don't even think I could describe it in words....our disappointment or the castle! All I can say is, you must tour this fortress if you are ever near Lake Geneva - and be sure your camera is working so you can get pictures for me!

We were able to put our bags in lockers before we explored the castle, which worked out really well as there were many, many stair cases (Have we mentioned how many steps we've climbed? :D), some of them very narrow with low ceilings.
We went to the depths of the dungeon to the very top of the turrets, crept through secret passageways and glided about spacious dining halls, sang in the chapel (the acoustics were amazing!) and sat in the windows looking down over the water.

Then we awoke from our medieval dream, retrieved our packs and headed down the path toward our hostel. But first we found the "most perfect picnic spot" by the lake and ate our delicious avocado sandwiches. It was so beautiful and so peaceful! I felt like I could stay there forever.

Our Swiss youth hostel, Jugendherberge Montreux, was right on the lake path, so after we got our room I went down to the lake and soaked my feet in the freezing cold water and watched the sun go down.

A tiny picture I found on Google of our awesome hostel!

It was a gorgeous sunset - some say due to the volcanic ash from Iceland. The lake was glassy and the reflection on the water looked like an i with the sun as the dot - just like the information centers around Europe. Yes, we've learned to look for that i ! :D
Ironically, the information we are all looking for is in creation and the God who made it.

i Looking for info? Look up! i

Unfortunately, we missed getting that once-in-a-life-time sunset on camera. However, it will be forever etched in my mind as one of my all time favorites.

~Sarah

P.S - My Taste of Europe Series has a new entry as well - Bruge Waffles!