Montreux and all that Jazz

This entry is actually about what I did Saturday a week ago (rather than yesterday). I was waiting to get some images from the other interns, but they have yet to materialize, so whatever.

Anyway, to make up for the Milan misadventure of the long weekend, Farhad, Caroline, Melissa and I took a day trip to Montreux on Saturday the 9th. Montreux is the next sort-of-major town over from Lausanne and is famous for its annual Jazz Festival which has featured luminaries from all walks of music through the years. They also have a castle called Chateau de Chillon which was our main impetus to go.

This was my first European castle experience and it was a bit different than I expected. Unlike the majority of historical sites in the States which feature guided tours, velvet ropes, and plenty of guards around monitering everything, the castle was practically completely accessible. Tours are self-guided and nothing is blocked off. Because of this, some things are a little run-down and many rooms featured copious amounts of graffiti (nothing says “I visited Chillon” like scrawling “I visited Chillon” into the wall). Even so, it was a neat place. The catacombs were like something out of Lord of the Rings and even Lord Byron felt compelled to etch his name into one of the prison’s pillars. The courtyards were beautiful and the living quarters provided breathtaking views of the lake and city beyond. The view from the keep was especially good, and I was reminded of all the castle LEGO sets I used to collect with their various towers. I was glad to have a numbered map with descriptions to guide me, but I couldn't help but wonder how on earth people back in the middle ages were able to get their bearings, especially if they were running around preparing for battle or something. Even so, it was worth the trip.

{The catacombs, minus trolls, orcs, and the fellowship}


{Lots and lots of spears}


{One of many painted crests on the wall of one of the rooms. I’m sure you remember the story of Santa Claus battling the black lion. No? Yeah, me neither}


{A view towards the interior of the castle from one of the rooms}


{Straight below the window of the keep. Reminded me of something from Cast Away}


{View from the keep of the castle—quite picturesque}


After that experience, we went down by the lake for awhile, site of a statue of Queen’s Freddie Mercury (he apparently lived there at the end of his life). The previous weekend would have been his 60th birthday so they had just had a lot of festivities in his honor. Very interesting... (BTW, I’ll get a picture from Farhad or something at some point. I had left my camera in the car...)

While we were waiting for Nicki to join us so we could head to dinner, Farhad said, “Hey, there’s your name.” Sure enough, an awning of a completely empty storefront bore the family name. Wonder what the boutique sold and why it went under.


Anyway, Nicki made it there and we all piled into the car and over the mountains into Italy to get dinner. That’s right; I’ve had my first authentic Italian meal and it was wonderful. To start off we all got different antipasti to share, then I had really good homemade gnochi, and Farhad and I split a mixed grill which was basically piles of different types of meat. Everything was delicious and the house wine was excellent as well. We all left a few pounds heavier and very much fulfilled.

On Sunday I pretty much stayed in to do some design stuff and laundry, but that night I got to check out Shema, a nondenominational community which is starting up meetings again. It seems a little like Status, my church home in Florida, although with considerably less people. This Sunday’s get-together was more of a hangout, with services actually beginning in a couple weeks. The people I met and talked to seemed really nice and I’m looking forward to getting involved. I also went to the Lutheran church in the morning and talked to a couple American members as well as a graphic designer originally from Holland.

All in all, things are going well here, and I had an enjoyable end to my long weekend.
Hard to believe it’s already almost the coming weekend.