We Leave Germany and Drive to Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Today was our last day at the Edelweiss Lodge in Garmisch. We had planned for this to be a really easy day, other than to run some last minute errands to get ourselves ready to leave early the next morning.

Zugspitsz peak view from our resort

We arose and hung about the room until almost noon. We left the lodge to fill the car with gas which turned out to be a real shocker. We pumped nine gallons for a converted total of around $62, or over $6 a gallon. We stopped at a store to pick up a few things to take with us to Switzerland. We returned to the lodge to have some lunch. We had just finished our lunch when PK and Sarah came by and sat down. We started to order rounds of drinks, and four hours later we staggered back to our room after a very light supper, and needing to do our packing for the next day.

Our hotel- the Suisse Majestic

After everything was packed, we headed to bed for a good night’s sleep, realizing that in the morning we would have over a 6-hour drive through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to arrive at Montreaux.

The next morning we arose early, had breakfast, and jumped in the car headed for Switzerland.

Hotel room view of Lake Geneva

We were greeted with a fairly constant rain all the way to the Austrian border. We crossed the border, drove through Austria for a while, then crossed back into Germany, before crossing the border into Switzerland at Linden.

Hotel view- Montreaux main street

The eastern part of Switzerland is still primarily German speaking, so we were familiar with the road signs. We did, however, enter a roundabout that we could not figure the proper exit to get out of. After rounding it 3 times, Capt. Larry spotted an Autobahn sign and headed for that exit. It was the right one. We headed through Zurich and into Bern. After Bern, everything switched over to the French language. We headed further south and took an exit to Vevey which would take us into Montreaux. At Montreaux we filled the car up with gas, a little over 11 gallons for around $92. 

Along the Lake Geneva waterfront

Capt. Larry dropped Jane off at our 5-star hotel, the Suisse Majestic, while he proceeded to drop off the rental car, only one-half mile from our hotel.

Montreaux paddle-wheel ferry

Western Lake Geneva

After checking in, we decided to explore Montreaux with a walk along the waterfront along Lake Geneva,  and through the main streets of the city. Montreaux is an exclusive resort area referred to as the Riviera of Switzerland, home to a host of world-famous celebrities.

Another waterfront view

We returned to our hotel and met with a representative of the Viking River cruise line who gave us a detailed itinerary of what we would be doing over the next 3 days. Turns out that this 3-day pre-cruise tour that we purchased was going to amount to nothing more than a walking tour of the city for one day and free time for the next two.  There were optional tours to Lusanne and Geneva, but at over $200 per person for what these tours offered, it seemed to be overly priced and consume valuable time.

Hotel room ferry view

We decided to stick close to home and see the sights of Montreaux and nearby Vevey.

Setting sun over Lake Geneva

We were given passes that would allow us to travel by bus to outlying communities such as Vevey. This would allow us to see a lot of the surrounding area.

Day is done!

We went back out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant we had spotted (we were yearning for Chinese!) and returned to our hotel room just as the sun was setting over Lake Geneva. Fabulous views.