Day 3: Montreux - Lausanne - Chateau de Chillon - Zermatt

We woke up at 7 in the morning and drove to Lausanne (again) for a boat cruise (the Day 2 picture of "Montreux" was taken then) to Chateau de Chillon, which is just a little past Montreux.  It's the place which inspired Lord Byron's poem.  The place reminded me of Diablo and Baldur's Gate.  I was standing on this plank of wood in the dungeon when the guide was talking, and it turned out to be where they used to throw people in to drown.  Charming.

Don't go swimming however tempting it looks... you really don't want to be swimming near all the skeletons that surround the castle.

After a quick lunch somewhere, we headed off to Zermatt, a ski town in the province of Valais.  It's mainly German-speaking, being closer to Austria, but like all other tourist areas you can get away with English and Japanese.  Some Swiss kid ran into my elbow and when I asked him if he was ok, and he replied, "Konnichiwa."   Sure.  The place is absolutely breathtaking.  Literally.  It's bloody high up there.  They don't permit regular cars up there unless you're a doctor or a cop.   Otherwise you have to drive this electric taxi or a buggy.  Or walk.   Most of the people there are hikers and skiers anyway.  At dinner I tried some of the local wine, Denfant.  It was a bad bad idea.  The wine was great, but Wendy at a high altitude was not... I passed out that night.

I've always wondered how they built the houses on such steep slopes...

Day 4: Zermatt again