Leysin hike.

On Saturday, Rachel, Harold, Rhianna and I met (from our respective hotels/hostels) at the Geneva main station to catch a train into the mountains. We ended up going on this hike up to a lookout with a revolving restaurant at the top. We had to take a cog-wheel train up to Leysin, which was on of the steepest train rides I've taken so far!

The day was a little hazy and cloudy, but quite warm. The hike was really beautiful. We hiked through a forest that smelled like Minnesota (all pine-y and wood-smoke-y) and through rocky hillsides covered with Alpine flowers, with beautiful views of mountains surrounding us. It really is times like this when I wonder how on earth I ended up being so lucky to live in a place where I can easily go hiking in the Alps and be surrounded by such beauty.

We hiked up to the top and enjoyed the views from a terrace at the top. We ended up starting back late enough that we took the gondola down the mountain, since we had to get our bags from the train station before the man left for the night.

From Leysin we started back to Zürich, with a stop for fondue in Fribourg at Rachel and Harold's favorite fondue place. The fondue was really quite excellent, and it felt so exotic to start out the day in Geneva, train to the mountains and have a beautiful hike, then train back to Zürich, stopping in a random city to have great fondue. Overall, it was quite a lovely trip. 

I went to Vevey!

On our last day in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, Jessi and I took about a bajillion modes of public transportation: bus to a train to a metro to a ferry to a train to a train to a train to a tram. I really am a fan of how easy it is to get around here! (If you haven't noticed...) And I have really enjoyed seeing both the Italian-speaking and French-speaking regions of Switzerland. It is so interesting to me how different these regions are from the German-speaking area. Switzerland is such a unique country!

Our goal on Sunday was to see Lausanne and Vevey. I have always wanted to go to Vevey. For some reason, it captured my fancy when I read about it in Little Women, which is and was one of my favorite books.

We started out in Lausanne, which is very beautiful, looking out over Lake Geneva towards France.

Yay for trains!

Lausanne.

Art museum?

You can drink out of public fountains everywhere in Switzerland!

We didn't have much time there before we caught a ferry that would take us to Vevey. The weather was looking a little iffy, but it didn't start raining until we landed in Vevey. The boat ride was quite beautiful. There were vineyards everywhere- the area around Lake Geneva is Switzerland's most productive wine-growing region.

Leaving the harbor.

Vineyards by the lake.

Since it basically started pouring when we got to Vevey, Jessi and I quickly found our way to a place for lunch, which was made a little more difficult since it was Sunday and many places were closed. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and then wandered around the old town, which was super picturesque, with cute little shops.

The sun actually came out and the weather became super nice, so we sallied forth to promenade along Lake Geneva. It was super gorgeous, and I'd definitely go back. There is something about going to places that you grew up reading about (like going to England and seeing places that Jane Austen wrote about) that is really special. And, of course, being with one of my favorite people in the world makes it even better!

Lakeside promenade.

A fork. In the lake.

Charlie Chaplin.