Our next stop was Montreux, Switzerland. It is located on the shores of Lake Geneva and is nicknamed "The Swiss Riviera". Ritzy hotels, cute towns, giant lake with mountains towering all around it ... just a fun place to hang out for a few days. And there was so much to do that we needed at least two more days there! We didn't get a chance to take the chocolate train!!
Our first stop in Montreux was the Chateau de Chillon, a castle located in Lake Geneva:
This is the most visited historical spot in Switzerland. It dates back to at least 1150 (that was the earliest reference to it found). Originally owned by the House of Savoy, the Swiss conquered it in 1536 and took control of it. There was a famous prisoner there (held by the Savoyards and liberated by the Bernese), Francois Bonivard, who inspired Lord Byron's poem "The Prisoner of Chillon".
We took a little tour of it. We bought my dad an audioguide and sent him on his way. Here he is looking at the walls, learning something about them no doubt:
There were very large fireplaces in almost every room. Seems like you'd never be cold in this castle:
I don't remember what this room was used for but looking at the walls makes you kind of dizzy (note it has another huge fireplace in it). It's hard to keep track of what each room in a 50-room castle was used for, not only because there are so many rooms but also because every time the castle changes hands all of the rooms are switched around and used for something different. So every room has had 2-3 different uses over history and the different uses usually have nothing to do with each other.
A big lock on the door:
Ceramic? Tile? oven (with me, designated to tote everything under the sun around the castle):
And some views from inside/on top of the castle:
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