Wanderings: Leysin (Canton Vaud), Switzerland

March 17, 2022

The Train de Grand Vitesse (high speed train) (1) from Paris was about 1/2 hour late getting into Lausanne on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The view of the snow-capped French Alps across the lake would have been spectacular from the lake-side cafe if not for the haze.

The train ride along the shore of the lake (known as Lac Lémain locally) through Montreux afforded almost continuous (but hazy) views of the French Alps and the lake until our arrival in Aigle.

Here I switched to the narrow guage rack railway (2) ascending to Leysin. The narrow guage train starts by travelling through the town's streets (like a tram) for the first km or so. The train then reverses end (to keep the heavy engine at the rear) and ascends 3,435 ft in a little over 3 miles (3). The terraced vineyards and houses looked comical given the angle of the train.

Checking into the lodge, I was told that mask mandates and vaccine checks were lifted as of today (4). Hanging out on the balcony by the hot tub and sauna, I heard French. Italian, and German being spoken by three different couples; I was in Switzerland (4) and at a place where the Swiss go for the weekend. I had Swiss fondue for dinner; a first for me. A glass of Bailey's was a good nightcap on this St Patrick's Day.

(1) I happened to be reading a book called Slow Train to Switzerland. The author retraced the travels of a Victorian Englishwoman to Switzerland in 1863 based on her journal.

(2) Generally known in North America as cog railways.

(3) While the train gained height, it lost temperature. It was 17°C (63° F) in Aigle and 8°C (46° F) 4 miles away in Leysin.

(4) I had secured both a Swiss Covid pass a French Pass Sanitaire (a). Up until this point in my trip, nobody had asked to see them.

(a) The countries recognize each other's covid certificates, but you never know.

(5) The fourth official language of Switzerland is Romansch.