Skip the upcoming 3 paragraphs if you're not much into geography and culture... Switzerland is divided into 4 cultural regions... and it has no language of it's own... it has 3 major bordering countries, Germany, France and Italy. And the regions of Switzerland closer to these borders have the culture of these countries... And the language used also depends upon these countries although with slight variations... There is a fourth language, Romansh which is in minority, but still prevelant...
The Lavender islands that you will see are the Romansh speaking regions... the green, the Italian... the blue, the French... and the cream of it all (mind the pun) is the German speaking region...
The place where I stay, Basel (pronounced as Baazul), as you may see, lies in the German speaking region... The region I explored on the three days of my travel, Geneve, lies into the French region... The language in these two regions was different and so were the people... Yea, both languages are foreign for me, but it was a classic case of 'patthar se naram eent'... I mean I at least got to use some language in Geneve... unlike Basel where I try and try to understand and separate words...
I got up early in the morning on the day I was supposed to head for Geneve (well, for those who don't know, Geneve is same as Geneva)... I was bang on time for everything... literally... I went downstairs and the tram was just about to leave and I had to bang the door to get inside... I reached inside the station, and it was too easy for me to find the platform number on which the train was arriving, because if it were a bit difficult, I would have missed it! In my defense, the watch that Nanaji gave me was 10 minutes slow!
Me and mamaji had booked a super saver ticket on the internet the previous evening... which was almost one-third of the original price... and I was happy I was saving... untill... the Ticket Examiner came to me and asked for one... I had the ticket on my Laptop, and he did not accept it... I showed him my mobile but the logo was not getting downloaded... So, he made a ticket for me on the train... costing me one-third... of what I had brought for my expenses and travelling and stay at Geneva!!! Wow, I felt empty!! But, still sleep came to me like this was all a dream...
I got up when the train was entering some station... I tried to read what station it was from the window of my seat... and I saw the word 'Geneve'... I took my bag and headed for the door... I got off and looked for signs of confirmation... There was none so definite... It strangely felt like it was not Geneve, but then I told myself, it was definitely Geneve that flashed on my eyes through the window in the train... and correct I was... As the train started chugging its way out of the station (figuratively), it all came... Train destination - Geneve... Present station - Nyon... Great!! So, I had screwed up the ticket and now got off the train at the wrong station... could anything else go wrong? Well, thankfully, you will see that nothing else did!
So, I headed towards the ticket counters... These ticket vending machines that they have installed are very useful... The accept coins and credit cards... I neither have a credit card, nor do I keep hundreds of coins (coins are for those small distance tickets 5 CHF / 8 CHF)... But, I use this to find out what the fare is, so that I shouldn't be shocked at the counter after hearing the amount that I have to pay... I took the ticket and located a wall mounted time table... the train ws arriving in 5 minutes...
I went towards the rail tracks... There was a sign in between the two rail lines, which I guessed indicatedno rail crossing... I looked on the right, then on the left, then again on the right... this went on for 2 minutes... I was searching for a bridge to get to the other side... Yes, I have lived all my life in Mumbai, what else do you expect me to do? So anyways, I spotted a subway on the other platform, and started searching for one on my platform that would connect to that one...
I traveled down to Vevey, which was some 4 stations away from Nyon... I got outside the station and just strolled in a random direction thinking I would see the lake... Mara tha ek teer, aur nishaan do lage... The lake was just a two minutes walk in that direction, plus the lodge that I was looking for was just opposite the lake... I went up to the reception to find it deserted... I knew the reception would be closed till 4 pm... and it was still 2... so i went towards the lake, wandered around for sometimes, then I put my bag on a katta near the lakefront, under a tree, and lied down... looking at the big ferries pssing by... at the ducks and swans enjoying swim... at the bikini clad babes getting a sun tan... at some guys holding the fishing rods and pulling fishes out of the lake... at the beutiful alps beyond the lake... and then i saw my watch and it was alredy 3... I thought about checking the reception once again... and bingo... there she was (the receptionist)...
She showed me around the hostel, and it was nothing like I had ever seen... three floors full of rooms with 8 beds per room... it was a small hostel, yet it was so spacios from the inside... it had WCs and Bathrooms, 4 each on every floor, plus a common area with nice sofas and big LCD TVs... The fourth floor was the reception, it had a kitchen and a terrace attached...
The receptionist was relly sweet... she must be the first foreigner with whom I have talked so much... She suggested me some tourist areas I could go and see in the evening...
I went to my room, got fresh and prepared for the Chateu de Chillon... This Riviera Card given to me by the hostel (Riviera Lodge)... permitted me to travel around Vevey and Montruex for free through any means of surface trannsport and gave me huge discounts on water transports and entries to the tourist places... She had suggested me to take the ferry which was 'just 6 CHF'... but she did not know what I had gone through... So, with my better judgement, I decided to travel on bus... The journey was not long and enjoyable... The Chateu which is french I guess, for Castle... was a glimpse of the historical culture of this place... It had the traditional forms of bedrooms, dining rooms, meeting rooms, toilets and bathrooms (which were the most interesting ones), rooms for the servants, storage rooms, kitchens, and even jails for the captured victims... these jails were pitiful, because they were the lowest, and they had netted doors through which the water from the Geneve lake used to fill up the rooms, letting the inmates struggle for life, because they used to be chained at the ground level... some of them made drawings on the walls to make productive use of their time...
The castle was a big maze and I knew I got out only when I saw the highway... I took a bus heading back to the place where I had got on... I got off at this Montreux Casino... I had heard of it back in Mumbai... So, I went inside only to be politely refused entry because i had no valid proof of my age... My Indian Driving Licence and PAN Card held no value at all... So, I just went about... swallowing the atmosphere as I walked towards the station... I got some onions and tomatoes... I already had bread, carrots, garlic, cucumber and mushrooms... I had got it from home...
I headed back to my hostel... which was pleasently filled with people making dinners, having ciggarates and chatting... There were families, couples, and groups... Some settled in the reception area watchinng TV... some were washing the vegetables and making chicken in the kitchen... and others were admiring the views of the lake Geneve on one side and the green alps on the other while having beer... and I went to the kitchen to make my food... I found out a lot of stuff that belonged either to the hostel or the backpackers... It was for public use, and so, i kept aside my bread and cooked some rice and gravy... Some guys were saying something, which I realized was to me... But i just smiled at them... and they understood, I did not understand... I got their final 'Bon Apeteet' though...
Just as I climbed up to my bunker, I fell asleep after deciding I am going to climb up the Rochers-de-Naye...
The next day, I got up, got ready for the climb and set off for the hike... Hardly had I reached one-tenth of the mountain, I felt exhausted and retreated... yea, you would, what a loser!! But when I say, hardly had I reached one-tenth, it was really too hard... I had went on for like 3 hours to reach that point... The female at the tourist information office had popped out her eyes when I had told her I wanted to climb the mountain on foot... she told me it was 'veerrrrry deefeecult'... but the over-enthusiast that I am, I tried... And I couldn't afford the train... because I wanted to stay one more day and the ticket for the train was exactly equal to the charges for one bed per night...
But the view from where I had reached was amazing... and I got some good floral shots...
I went back to the station, had some yogurt (which I am addicted to after coming here) and headed off to the Photography Museum... Well, I don't particularly like museums and would have rather liked to spent my evening by the lake... but Photography? Let's see...
And it was insightful... there were some very fascinating things which i will never forget... I cannot explain it, you will have to see the photos and videos...
I went back to the hostel, changed for the swim (but i was very much in full clothes, a Tshirt and a capri), and explored the waters of the Geneve... the water was friggin' cold but very sparkling and clean... and I took some time to get into it till my throat... It was really nice... swimming with the ducks and the swans... I got back at the shore when the sun had began setting... I lied down on the steps at shore for another hourand walked back to the hostel...
And the regular happened... I stayed up very late that night and looked through many lonely planet guides from their library...
Next morning, I packed up all my stuff and went for a stroll by the lake... I went ahead to see the Food Museum and the Historical Museum which were also delightful... I went to the station, paid whatever I had in my pockets except around 12 CHF (I had kept the ticket money aside, don't freak out!) nad waited for the train... I had to change trains at Laussane (pronounced Lozaan) and had made it a point to visit this Collection la'Brut Museum... In the little time I had between the trains, I did manage to find out how to travel there from the station and I did manage to surf through the whole museum... It was the most interesting Museum I had seen in my entire life... I am glad I stuck to my plan, thanks to Wiki (Wikipedia, not Wiktor)... This place holds all the art works (paintings, clay works, dresses designed, Wood carvings, etc.) of Lunatics annd Criminals... It was really touching... it gives you a depth on the ideology that these minds work on... criminals and lunatics can also be brilliant people... I would't hesitate using the words - Artistic Genius...
So, I got back to Basel with Luckily no issues on the train... I reached home and everybody was happy to receive me... I was glad I got home for one reason, my mama cooked the food for me that night...
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