A couple of Hills in Switzerland

Exactly a year ago, my brother and I had finished up a business trip in Geneva and were maxing out a Swiss Rail pass on a whirlwind tour of a good chunk of the country. Here’s where my photo library says I took pictures:

I finally put together “the slideshow”, which is probably too long for anyone except the two of us to enjoy:

Here are the cities we visited:

Geneva – We didn’t spend much time here outside of a conference room, but I came back a year later for a second look.
Lausanne – home to the International Olympic Committee headquarters.
Nyon – A good place for pastries while waiting for a ferry to Yvoire.
Yvoire – a beautiful medieval city in France. Almost everything was closed.
Veytaux – home to Chillon Castle, made famous by Lord Byron who carved his name on a pillar in the dungeon and wrote the poem The Prisoner Of Chillon (1816) about François de Bonivard.
Gimmelwald – beautiful mountain area with fun cable car rides. According to Rick Steves, there’s a saying: “If heaven isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, send me back to Gimmelwald.” The locals (population: 130) have kept ski resort developers out by getting the place declared an avalanche zone.
Grindelwald – I have a rough time remembering where Gimmelwald ends and Grindelwald begins, but both are beautiful and fun to say.
Spiez – Crazy-pretty village in the mountains.
Montreux – home to the jazz festival and Freddie Mercury monument.
Zermatt – the ski village that all other ski villages are modeled after, with a great view of The Matterhorn. The mountaineers cemetery is fascinating!
Sion – It’s unfair for a town to be this beautiful. We took a short hike to Tourbillon Castle and Basilique de Valère.
Leysin – We took a cog wheel train straight up the mountain with a bunch of spoiled American kids who had no idea how lucky they were to go to school there. It was a perfect ending to the trip with a great view of Lake Geneva and mountains in every direction.