Journey to Aigle

10.09.05

I talked to Claire on the way out, she is studying Architecture — 3 years and now 2 years after-graduate school. She’s using a travel scholarship from school. Perhaps one day she’ll design a building that everyone will come to see. She used her Swiss Pass to take a bus to Vaduz, but never stayed there. I may visit later on.

The GoldenPass Line is still down. I could take a bus to Zweisimmen and then the refurbished vintage Orient Express cars on the GoldenPass Line to Montreux, which should be slightly faster. But is it really worth the extra cost of reserving for only half the trip? Instead I’m going via Bern and catching up on my travel log.

I thought about exploring Bern some more — the botanical gardens and a museum — but instead I went to Mürten to see the town walls and then continue on by boat. When I arrived at the docks, I discovered there were no lockers for my luggage. Not only that, it was lunch time and most places were closed. Having entered the French-speaking part of Switzerland, there were also less English speakers — time to play international sherades. Eventually I was able to leave my bags at the Navigation office.

After some exploring, I caught a ship to Neuchâtel, which went up a river and crossed over the lake of the same name. There I found a grocery store, where I purchased a bag of lettuce, a small salad dressing, and a few grape tomatoes. There were cups near the salad, and I asked for a fork but got a flat spoon instead. Good enough.

In Neuchâtel there is a collegiate church — it took some wandering around before I stumbled across it. A wedding was just finishing, and they newly wed couple drove off, horns honking. I missed a great photo opportunity — an overhead view as Stephen & Melanie drove around the corner with the roof down — and kissed in passing. Magnificent!

Then off to catch the next boat, which would take several hours to cross Lake Neuchâtel, docking in every little town. But I didn’t mind, the chilling breeze was refreshing. Sit back, relax and reflect.

When I reached Yverdon-les-bains, one of the crew members was kind enough to offer me a ride to the trains station, even though he spoke no more English than I speak French. Just in time to catch my train to Aigle via Lausanne. Now this was the first bullet train I’ve been one — the kind that tilt as they corner, to go as fast as possible. I don’t know what speed we were going, but after 4 hours of coasting along the lake, it was quite the contrast.

You would expect me to say something about life, how we often live at such a pace that everything is just a blur. And do we really get anymore done than the patient ones? But I really didn’t think much about it. I was just glad, because I wanted to arrive in Aigle before it got too late.

Still, it was after 9 pm and dark. Trying to find a place in the dark didn’t bode well, so I took a taxi and let him find the place for me. Maria and Günter’s bed and breakfast was just amazing. This place was a treat for me, offset by several nights in a Pension. A substantial room, nice and open, with two beds, an antiquated desk, and my own washroom. Günter was quite friendly, but Maria and their daughter Olivia I never really talked to. He runs a limousine company, especially for weddings.