Montreux-Vevey: My life in the Riviera

The stories that I have so far shared with you are from 2003.That was the time when I was outside India for the first time.I had to rake my brain and really try hard to remember some of the details of those journeys.But I have lived for a long time in Switzerland and other European countries since then. And it is somewhat difficult for me to remember the cultural shocks that I experienced at that time.
Yet today, I intend to tell you about my everyday life as it was in Switzerland and the way I adopted with that life. I have lived in three different houses in the Swiss riviera in three different times.The place I lived first was Bonivard that I described in my older posts.From there,the nearest shops were quite far away.I had to take a bus and go to Montreux which was 5-6 stops away.The journey was,however, really beautiful.Imagine me, a girl from a suburb near Kolkata, the most crowded city in India, who was a daily passenger in the madly crowded trains that come to Kolkata from those suburbs, sitting in the beautiful trolley bus looking out of the enormous windows at the lake Geneve....

These buses are actually all windows.They have very small rails separating one window from another...so the feeling is never of being inside some closed carriage, rather of  moving through the town and by the side of the lake in an open carriage.These buses move like trums, but not on rails.They are linked with the electric lines on the top as trums in India are. This 1 Vevey Funi is the bus that I used to board whenever I needed to go to Montreux for my shopping. And the route of this bus is just by the lake.
Unlike in our country,here the cheaper option is always the shopping malls and supermarkets.In Kolkata, we still regard supermarkets as fancy new options where the quite well off families go to experience the flavour of life in the western world. And in 2003 there were very few supermarkets in Kolkata.
In Montreux,there is a big shopping mall called Forum.There are a variety of shops there including Migros,Vogle and a Mac too. The most popular supermarket chain in Switzerland is the Migros.That is where I used to buy my vegetables,chicken,prawns and lamb....Yes,lamb replaced our usual goat meat.And salmon or saumon as the French call it, was the fish we bought. I bought other groceries like wheat, milk, oil,etc. from another market chain called the Denner.Denner is the cheap option and it saved us a lot of francs.


Usefull links: The Riviera Bus-VMCV
                   Montreux-vevey Tourism

Zermatt

It was a really lucky day. After standing for a while in that position surrounded by the enormity of the white saint like peaks and looking down at the eternal river of ice, I felt so small and so thankfull. I wanted to shout out loud "Thank you..."Thank you for everything....

Then we came down from the view point and started for what is called the Glacier Palace.It is like a cave inside the glacier's cold belly where there are sculptures made of ice.The tunnel that takes you inside this world of chilling wonders is 15 meters below the surface of the glacier. Just the stats can give a person enough chill!! There are hidden lights inside the ice and also music...And the ice sculptures are seen in a  mystical blue light that makes the whole place ethereal...as if we are inside a fairytale...

After coming out of the Glacier palace, we started the downwards journey.The clouds had already hidden the Matterhorn's famous 'horn".After coming down we started walking back through the city,but this time we were really slow as one should be while walking in Zermatt.Strolling past the old wooden houses, and the street side souveneir shops we reached the center point of the town,the church square.

We sat down on a bench there watching people....The horse carriages were bringing tourists to the Grand Hotel just beside the church square.Shops were selling soft dogs and marmots(small animals found on the alps) and Swiss bells...hikers were coming down leaning on their sticks.Fresh hikers and skiers were walking up the village in confident strides....

But the clouds were coming down and it was growing dark in the morning...I smelt the fresh air and the moist flavour of the morning clouds of Zermatt made a permanent stamp in my memory at that moment...

I can still see myself sitting there in front of the church talking about this lady's dress and that man's boots and suddenly there was no more noise as if the mute button was pressed...I could hear nothing but the little drops of rain on the clean pavements and on the flowers beside our bench...we felt so complete sitting beside each other....But at that moment I had fallen in a fresh new love...I was in love with Zermatt....

This love compelled me to go back to Zermatt again and again.Later I went to the other peaks and I also took my parents and in-laws there.But later I thought that taking your loved ones to places you love is very streneous.You always have to hold your breath waiting for their comments and hoping for their approval.

Exploring newer places together is a better idea.

Zermatt;The love story continued...

Now that we have reached Zermatt before the clouds, we tried to win the race to Klein Matterhorn too.But the Cable car station is at the other end of the little village.As I have already mentioned Zermatt is entirely car-free.A few battery driven taxis and horse driven carriages are seen at the station.But the main street is for pedestrians.And we started to walk.

The town (or village?) is in itself very different from any other town I have been.There is a strange tranquility in the air that will at once make your nerves relax.The main street is sometimes quite crowded.But the crowd is only of pedestrians.

Absence of cars can make a place so different.There are all the world famous brands and the boutiques are often pricy.But all of them have one thing in common.They are inside very old looking wooden houses.In the whole place there seems to be no modern house.Beautifully decorated wooden houses are alternated by some very old (restored), darkened wooden houses which look like they will fall down  and break into pieces if someone just puts a step inside.
But inside one of them you will find Macdonalds, inside another a shop of the priciest Swiss watches....

We, however,didn't have time to stop and watch.We walked as fast as we could.After a while the street becomes steep and there you cross the beautiful old village,the strange looking houses which seems to belong to history and just put there for a show.And yet you know people live there...and there must be quite modern facilities available inside.

Later, I came to know that this street is know as Hinterdorfstrasse.These houses are mostly 17th and 16th century houses and are often used as barns to store grains and food like sausages.That explains why they are all standing on supporting posts which are often a pile of stone slabs.This was to protect the foods stored from rodents.
The road comes down to the little Vispa river that flows through the middle of Zermatt.There are little log bridges which you have to cross to reach the cable car station.There we bought the tickets(which are actually quite costly(82 CHF),but we had the half pass and payed only 45CHF per head.).
Inside the cable car station, there are little automated glass boxes called Gondolas which are constantly coming in a row but wont stop.So you have to just climb on one of them while they slow down...The first stop is at Furi.From there you have to climb a larger cable car which can take a lot of passengers.It takes you to the mountain stop of Trockner steg.From there starts the last patch of the journey in another cable car.
From Zermatt to Furi,the little romantic gondolas take you above the town and the green fields.Some of the fields also look entirely purple or yellow from above.They are filled with little flowers.

From Furi to Trockner Steg,the cable car is less cozy but the scene begins to change and you start getting glimpse of ice.
From Trockner Steg the cable car takes you into a dramatic journey soaring thousand feets above the glacier and you suddenly find yourself in the midst of a world of eternal ice.White and white every where and you are in the sky looking at it from a soaring eagle's angle.

There is a tunnel and another lift at the Klein Matterhorn station and this takes you to the view point at 3825 m(12,549.21 feet) above sea level.

And finally there we were, standing at the view point with full view of Matterhorn and almost 40 other peaks which were about 4000m high.The Panorama was overwhelming...the stretch of white around us and the slightly dizzying thin air...we felt if we stretched our arms a little we would touch some angel over there...for it certainly seemed their territory.

The sky was still blue with the proud peaks showing off their grandeur in full display.

We have won the race with the clouds!!

Zermatt;its another love story

The tiny town of Zermatt nestled cozily in the lap of Alps is one of my most favorite places in Switzerland. So much so that I visited the place four times and I know I won't mind a fifth time if I had the chance.

The first time I went there was in the spring of 2003.Oh! I will always remember that day, the day I fell in love with Zermatt.

It was a Saturday.

I had already bought the ticket from the Montreux Train Station on Friday evening, done my homework from the brochures and packed our backpack. And then we heard from the local weather channel (which made forecasts like God) that Saturday was going to be partly cloudy with few rain showers in Zermatt.

And anyone who has gone to the mountains knows how villainous clouds can spoil any tour to the top of any peak. And we were planning to go to Klein Matterhorn to have the closest possible view of the Matterhorn.

So we just planned to take the first train. I have always felt that views on mountains are best in the early morning. We took the 6:44 train from Montreux which happens to be the first connection. From Visp we were to catch the Matterhorn Gotthardbahn, the little red train, which was actually the last part of the Glacier express's journey.

We happened to board a compartment in the train which was entirely empty. There were some brochures inside the compartment. And on the little desks beside the windows where passengers are supposed to put their glasses and dishes, maps are drawn which shows the entire journey and all the stops.

The train runs on a narrow gauge track and passes through numerous tunnels, bridges and valleys. To me this is one of the most romantic rail journeys of Switzerland. For most part of the journey the train runs along the river Vispa (or Mattervispa), which is one of the largest tributaries of the upper Rhone river.

Sitting beside the windows, you lean with the train which bends with the river and slows down at places where the view is overwhelming. It seems to be awe struck at the beauty just like you and slowing down inadvertently just to start again and slow down at another show of nature's beauty....At places the river suddenly changes its mood and disappears only to appear again on the other side of the train. Since the compartment was completely empty, we often changed seats moving from this side to the other to have a better glimpse of the passing views.

As the train gradually approaches Tasch and Zermatt, you start to get glimpses of snow white peaks at a distance and we were constantly guessing which peak was the Matterhorn. At Tasch, you can see large parking areas where everyone who comes with a car will have to leave their car and board the train. No cars are allowed after Tasch.This is the last station before Zermatt.

Visp is the lowest point (650m above sea level) in the journey and the mattertal valley, through which the train passes before it reaches Zermatt (1620m), is 1804 m above sea level. So some parts of the journey include some steep accent which is made possible by cogwheels placed under the locomotive and toothed rack placed between the rails.

The best point in the Journey is when you get a sudden glimpse of the Matterhorn shining bright and unique. Once in Switzerland, you are sure to see it hundred times on pictures and brochures and key rings and yet the heart leaps up at the first glimpse of the snow capped horn shaped peak standing proud and majestic against the deep blue sky.

Then it disappears and you reach Zermatt.

The Adventure in Ticino:Lost and found

It was already 7pm.The bus stop had no other connection. We just started walking. We had left everything in the hotel, even our resident permits. There was no question of trying the hiking path which went through the woods. We were still hoping to get some cab or reaching a bus stop with another bus connection. I had the Orario (timetable) in my hand and we followed the bus route so that we don't get lost.

                                       
We were walking by the side of the highway on the thin path after the rightmost border. At times it was a little wide so that even two people can walk side by side. But most of the time it was so thin that you are afraid that your shoulders are across the border while your steps are barely outside the line. At least during the first one hour or so, there was some grass beside the road so that we could just walk on it. Cars seemed to be going past us in lightning speed. And each time I heard the cars approaching I clenched my teeth. After a while the road became more difficult. There was slope beside the road and it was uphill. The place beside the border line was thin. And I tried to imagine that we were in a circus...At first he was in front and I was following him. But the sound of the cars approaching from the back made my nerves wreck. So I asked him to be behind me so that if I lost my balance he could hold me.

The feeling that he was behind me eased my nerves a little and we continued with our trapeze.

                               

All this time we didn’t see any cab. He constantly tried to ask for a lift, but perhaps nobody trusted us enough to give us a lift. After all we were an Indian couple walking beside a highway at that hour of night...perhaps we looked like robbers...or actually they just didn’t care. We were actually hoping to see a police car or some police station nearby. But as luck would have it we never saw one.

Then it started to grow dark. There were portions of road where I couldn’t see my own hand until there was a car approaching with its blinding headlights. We could understand that it was very natural that in those portions of the street the drivers couldn’t see us either. I was constantly muttering my God's name and was trying to switch off my brain. But it was not to be. There were strange smells of animals coming from the forests. I remembered all the mafia films and all types of strange fears crawled up my spine

...my spine was gradually stiffening and my knees started showing signs of rebellion

I was waiting for some miracle to happen; I needed one desperately at that moment.

When we were out of one of those dark patches we felt so relieved...and for some time we could walk in the lights coming from Gas stations or nearby bus stops...But then again we had to enter the darkness.

We ceased thinking of anything else but the details of these path and when we walked in the darkness we could see very little dots of light far away...and we walked with the aim of reaching those lights...

Thus we crossed miles after miles of road...and we were still far from Bellinzona...

But now we were at least approaching the city...the bus stops now had seats...But we were afraid that if we sat down we would be overcome by fatigue and lose the stubbornness that was keeping our feet moving...



But now I was already limping. My left knee was so stiff by now that it was really painful to move it. We stopped again and again, tried to message my knees and again tried to go on ignoring the pain.

At one bus stop, I sat down. He now knew that my pain was too much...and became so desperate that he was actually standing on the road waving his two hands asking for a lift.

I was terrified and limped as fast as I could to pull him back...

"What do you think you are doing?"

He was almost in tears, ‘I am feeling so helpless. You are in such a condition and I can’t do anything!!"

It always happens that when he is in despair I become very strong.

I stood up and said "But I can still walk"



It was the last patch of the journey.

By this time it had started raining. We didn't have a drop of water with us and the rain seemed so soothing.

I was now leaning on him and he was almost dragging me...My left knee just refused to fold. We were now just two bus stops away from the hotel.

But the nearer we were towards our destination, the faster my strength was giving away...I leaned with all my weight on his body and even walked with my eyes closed...

Finally, when we reached the Hotel, we found the door was closed and locked.

We sat down on the stairs and I could guess from his face that he was about to burst and do something violent. At that time a lady came from nowhere...she was returning from a party and was late...she also stayed in that hotel...she rang the bell again and again, did the shouting and pounding...

Now she noticed my condition and asked us what the matter...was

"We are in this state because of the excellent hospitality of the people of your country.” he burst and told how we were left by the driver and how no one gave us a lift...and the distance we had to walk...

"Mamma Mia! This girl walked that distance “and she hold me in her arms as if I was a little girl.

Now I broke down completely and started sobbing and I sobbed as I took my breath and couldn't stop.

The Hotel Guard has now opened the door. The lady went to the manager and told our story...We told him we wanted to cancel our reservation for the next day as we were neither in the mental nor physical state to enjoy anything...He sent some bottles of mineral water to our room.

I tried to open my shoes but my feet were so swollen that I couldn't. My husband pulled them off...

Next day we started for home and thanks to the excellent transport system of Switzerland, even with my incapacitated leg we reached our home quite smoothly.

I stayed at home for a whole week after that as it was really difficult to walk.

The leg however healed much quicker than my heart.

Even long after that I used to have nightmares where I walked beside the Highway and Cars were passing close enough to knock me down any moment.

If we had a cell phone with us, if we saw the return timetable before we started, if we trusted the Swiss transport system a little less, we would not be in that situation...we speculated afterwards.

But what we gained was a strengthened relationship...walking that distance together and being in that helpless situation made our bond even stronger...the best part was that we didn’t blame each other or get angry on each other in spite of the situation. And we didn’t lose our faith....

And after this day we trusted each other more and the Swiss transport system a little less. Never again we went anywhere before knowing exactly when the last bus or the last cable car or last train connection was.



Now, when I am writing this I am In the US where driving on the highway is almost everyday affair...and whenever we drive on a highway I see the sidewalk and when it is very narrow I thank God for saving us that day...
                                        That Was the miracle

Our Adventure:Lost in the Wilderness

When we reached Bellinzona,it was already past midday.We were very exhausted.We went straight to the tourist office.The lady there was so helpful.She booked a room for us within our budget at a hotel just opposite the railway station. We walked a little in the beautiful town.The town had a medieval flavour in all its architechture.The skyline of Bellinzona,the capital of Ticino, is defined by the powerful fortifications of the three medieval castles,which are also Unesco World Heritage Sites.The town is the gateway to Italy and seen from the South it acts as a keyhole to the Alps.
The lady at the tourist office had asked us to come to downtown in the evening as there was some local event there...there would be music...some jazz band was going to play...
I felt hungry as I saw the chicken being roasted at the roadside stands.The whole day we have been surviving on snacks as we didnt have time for lunch.
So we decided to first go to the hotel,check in,have a bath and then come downtown to have a good meal and enjoy whatever music and festivities they were arranging.
When we came out of the hotel it was already 6pm.But as it was summer it felt like it was just 4pm or so.It was a five minutes walk from there to the downtown.
We thought we should first have a look at the area surrounding the hotel.Though the hotel was near the station, it was still quite a peaceful place.
There was a bus station just across the street.We thought we should check the bus timings so that we could decide which bus to take next day and when.We had plans of exploring the virgin Biasca valley the next morning.There was really a bus connection to Biasca and as I was just looking at the timetable a bus arrived.

We asked the driver whether this goes to the Biasca and he nodded.

We asked by what time we'll reach there.He showed on a little timetable the time we'll reach there.It was only 30 mins.We thought we could just take a ride on the bus and thus we'll have an idea about the place.So we boarded the bus and sat down.There were only two more passengers.The route was so beautiful that for the next few minutes we lived just in our senses absorbing every sight and smell and sound and forgot our bodies...
When I think of that day I wonder when we were feeling so hungry why did we ride that bus in the first place?Curiosity and the madness in the blood that makes me a traveller are the only answers I can give.

One of the passengers got down.I got up and took one of the timetables that were lying there.I wanted to know when was the last bus to return.And what I found?That it was already too late.The last bus had already left.It was just 6:45pm.I went to the driver and bought the ticket and asked to make it a return one.He said the bus was not going to return today.It was the last bus.
And within 10 minutes we were there.
The last stop.
I requested the driver even if the bus doesnt go all the way to Bellinzona...he could just drop us anywhere in the way back.He denied and left.
There we were... standing in the Biasca or whatever it was with all our romanticism thrown on our face with a nice slap.
There was just his wallet and camera and nothing else with us.The bus stop showed that there was only one bus route and the last bus had left at 6:30.
It was almost in the midst of wilderness.There were a few houses at a distance.
But most of the place was forests beside a highway.There was obviously a direction mark showing Bellinzona was 23km from here but it pointed towards the hiking path through the forest.
Still we didnt cease to hope.
Want to know what hapenned next?
Tell me what do you think we did after that...

The three mountain lakes hike at Val Piora



                                      
We started early from the hotel as we have planned to catch the 7:30 train from Lugano.The hotel we stayed in Lugano was outside the proper town and we had to take a bus to reach the station.

It was in a very tranquil setting and our room in the 2nd floor had a balcony with a really nice view.The hotel was run by a middle aged lady who didnt know a word of English.Yet we shall never forget their hospitality.

We took the train to Biasca and then a post bus to Piotta.The Yellow Swiss Post buses are a matter of pride for the Swiss.They usually run in very remote locations and they dont carry posts but passengers.The journey to Piotta was beautiful as all journeys in winding hilly roads are.

From Piotta we took the funicular to Val Piora.It is said to be Europe's steepest funicular.The ride was wonderful.We stood in the lower portion of the funi and could see the valley residing beneath our feet,the houses turning tiny ,the roads changing into ribbons and the whole vallley adjusting itself to my visual range as if I was zooming out in my camera.

When we reached Piotta,we realised that there was a long walk ahead.
I have read about the easy hiking trail that covers the three mountain lakes:Lago Ritom,Lago Tom and Lago Cadagno.
The first patch of the hike is a on steep road that takes you to Lago Ritom.It starts just where the funi stops.
We walked almost half an hour on that road before we reached the lake. Old people and women pushing prams were walking on that steep hike as if it was the most normal everyday walk.This is something we have seen everywhere in Switzerland.While we are panting for breath, we could see old people,older than our parents walking up steep hilly roads in such confident strides.

Lago Ritom was a small lake with beautiful clear water.The place was wonderfully silent.The blue lake was surrounded by lush greenary and there were such a variety of flowers and some of them are rare and so picking was prohibited.We felt tired and at the same time refreshed as we sat beside the lake soaking the beauty of the place with all our senses.
I took out some biscuits,cake and water from my backpack...
From there there was no more a well made road;but there were signs pointing towards lago Tom.We walked following the signs.At Lago Tom we didnt descend to the lake but took some photos and continued walking towards lago Cadagno.
The Lago cadagno seemed the most beautiful of all.You can really see the sky,the clouds and the surrounding mountains reflected in its crystal clear water.The lake was lying there like a small private mirror for the beauties of nature.The sight was really breathtaking.There was a small cottage beside the lake...we walked around it taking pics...and  time passed by so fast...

Suddenly,we remembered that we will have to return to the funicualr station and it was a long walk...So we had to start...
Even today I can feel the breeze on my skin,smell the subtle fragnance of  alpine flowers,see the dazzling greenary and the sky rippling in the crystal clear water of the lakes...
We walked down fast,slightly dizzy with our senses full to the brim...and our bodies extremely tired...
At the funi station we drank some yoghurt drink I had with me and boarded the funi...
On the same day we had to reach Bellinzona.I had no hotel booked there.So we had to hurry...