I was supposed to leave Geneva at 8 in the morning to have enough time to explore Montreux and Luasanne, unfortunately due to a late night and a couple of drinks the night before, I left Geneva at 11 in the morning.  I went to the train station and bought my ticket which will bring me to Montreux, Luasanne and entrance to the Chateau de Chillon, I paid 58CHF for everything.  One thing i've noticed, Geneva is such an expensive city!  I had a difficult time finding my train, lucky for me and few help from others I found the right one.. It was more than an hour ride and you get a great view of the lake and the alps.. I usually sleep in train rides, but this time I never felt sleepy because I can't get enough of the scenic views I'm seeing. It's jsut simply beautiful. 
I'm supposed to change trains at Montreux to proceed to Chateau de Chillon, I moved out of the train and realized that I left my ticket in my seat =( .. Too bad and the train left.. Such an expensive city and I have to buy my ticket back to Geneva again!  Right across the train station in Montreux is  beautiful park, you will see the lake and the Alps.. Flowers in bloom as well, signalling that Spring is coming. =D My next stop is the Chateau de Chillon, nothing really impressive inside.. What I like is the view of the lake and the Alps by the windows, really beautiful!
After going around the castle, I followed the path that will lead me to the metrobus station and this is where I got the best view of the castle.  The weather is so perfect that I dont mind walking on the hilly street.
I left Montreux at around 5 in the afternoon, paid another 28CHF for the train ticket (because of my stupid mistake).  Before going back to Geneva, I decided to stop by Luasanne ang go to Ouchy as what Kris (worldexplorer) suggested I should do. I'm glad I went there.  It was a Sunday so almost everyone was there.. The place is soooo alive and so beautiful ..  I hope my pictures did justice to this place.  I wasn't able to stay long because it was getting late and I still have almost an hour train ride to catch.  But after leaving this place, I had to come back again to see Ouchy with less people.. I'll definitely be back tomorrow despite the weather forecast (it says "rain").  Head back to Geneva, saw a Thai restaurant and had a Thai dinner =D

There is something to be said about a castle. While its not easy to explan our fascination with them, we cannot deny our natural draw to them. Chateau de Chillon is a castle that does not fail to disappoint those drawn to it. Its easy to dismiss its splendor and size based on the photos printed in most travel guides. But do not be fooled, Chateau de Chillon is every bit as large and impressive as you would hope. Chateau de Chillon is in Montreaux, Switzerland on a small rocky island in Lake Leman. But due to the size of the chateau, you'll be hard-pressed to actually see any of that island. Don't worry, you won't need a boat to get to the chateau. Even though it rests on its own island, it is only a matter of feet from the shore. When you buy your ticket, you are given a map of the castle that also details what each room was used for. The tours are self guided, so you can go at your own pace. The castle itself is quite large, so it will take you a couple of hours to complete the tour. Every room is accessible. There are a number of artifacts in the rooms. They aren't full but not barren either. In some rooms that have scale models of the castle so you can get a eagle eye view of the impressive architecture. When exploring the upper floors and walkways, you can't help but feel that you are a guard on patrol. It is enough to bring out the fantasy lover in you. Overall, the Chateau de Chillon is a great experience. Its fairly cheap and will keep you entertained for a couple of hours. If you are taking a train pass Montreaux, its definitely worth a couple hour detour. Drop your bags off in a train locker, catch a bus down the coast a couple miles, and enjoy one of Switzerland's famous sites.

Last I wrote, I had done some canyoning in Interlaken. The next day I boarded the train and headed towards Geneva. However, I decided to stop over in Montreux first to see the Chateau de Chillon.

I don't really know what to say about the journey to Montreux other than it being amazing. The train was packed, so I couldn't get a seat. I spent the 2-3 hour train ride standing at the end of the train car. I didn't mind so much because the window where I was standing could open, giving me the freedom to take unobstructed photos. Actually, I was quite thankful especially since it was quite the beautiful day.

Once I hit Montreux, I stuffed my bag in a locker and headed out towards the Chateau. Montreux didn't seem to be anything special, but the Chateau is amazing. I believe it is the first castle I've ever been in. But I think the overwhelming excitement came from the feeling that it gave me. I truly felt like I was in the medieval times.

The tour is a self guided one, and quite lengthy. You surely get your money's worth. The castle really doesn't seem that big from the outside, but it is quite expansive inside.

You start the tour in the underground vaults and prison. I know this is supposed to be the worst part of the castle, but I think I liked it the most. The pillars and arches were simply amazing. Though I'm sure if I was chained to the wall down there I might feel differently.

On the wall there is also a mural. It is very faint, but it is still possible to make out what was drawn. It is the crucifixion of Christ shown with the saints.

As you head up out of the vaults and prison, you move on to the constable's grand hall. They had authentic pieces of furniture and household items throughout the castle, so you could get a feel for what the places might look like.

The next room was the Aula Nova. Being a guy, I was naturally drawn to all those medieval weapons. What can I say? Part of me wanted to put on a suit of armor, pick up a sword, and go out to fight some orcs! I'm such a dork...

There were many rooms to be seen, each with their own personality. Two of my favorite sights were the stained glass found in a window and the paintings of the roof of the chapel.

The castle housed multiple courtyards as well. One of the things I enjoyed the most was walking along the tower wall. I almost felt like a sentry on guard duty. Although, little good I would have done. I spent my time checking out the castle than looking for intruders!

Did I mention that the castle sits on the edge of a lake? Actually, the only way you can get in the castle is by going over a bridge (as should be for any castle). So what do you think ladies? Looks romantic no?

Yeah, I thought so too. Until I realized that their toilets were just shafts from the upstairs down to the lake. So you might want to think twice before opening your windows to get some fresh air! Sorry to spoil it for you!

After the tour, I picked up my bag from the locker and hit the train again. Off to Geneva.

So am I really here with Jenn after so many months of being apart? It seems to be so. I like that.

Today, Jenn and I headed off for Chateau Chillon, a castle on lake Geneva that Byron popularized in his poem Prisoner of Chillon. We took the train all the way around the lake to the Chateau, and it was a marvelous train ride, even if we couldn't see the mountain tops across the lake due to the clouds. The castle is amazing, and it's actually my second favorite castle (behind le Krak de les Chevaliers in Syria).

We wandered around the castle for a couple of hours. When in the dungeon, I read Byron's Prisoner of Chillon to Jenn, which details the life of a prisoner of the castle - I liked the poem. We then worked our way up to the top of the castle, savoring the picturesque view of the lake.

We were hoping to take a boat back to Geneva across the lake, but it ended up being more complicated than we expected. After getting conflicting information from a train official (he said one thing and gave us a printed schedule which said another - we later found out the printed schedule he gave us was out of date), we decided to take a train to Nyon, a town close by, then take a boat back from Nyon. When we arrived in Nyon, we discovered that we had almost an hour before our boat left, and as we were hungry, we decided to find food. Two sandwiches and a few pictures later, we headed down to the water and caught our boat.

Today was a day with perfect weather, and we were delighted to have a beautiful cruise back to Geneva. As we set out from Nyon, we could see the Jet d'eau shooting high into the air (all the way back in Geneva), but unfortunately, when we arrived back in Geneva, it was turned off, so I was once again prevented from seeing the Jet d'eau.

After the first St Johann we spent a few days in Salzburg. we had a great time spending most our days and evenings at the Christkindlmarkt (christmas markets). These consist of little huts in the main squqre with all kinds of foods, drinks and gifts for xmas. Considering it was all outdoors and very cold it is suprisingly very popular and with  the hot spiced wine in your belly the cold isnt a problem. We all gorged on the wonderful foods on offer trying each one that captured our attention, hot potatoes, warm pateries with cranberry jam, austrian sausages (bosna my fav) soups, hot chocolate, rosted peanuts coated with sugar, all delicous. We spent the days visiting the castle and looking for morzarts house we also found the nunnery and church where the film Sound of Music starts. katherine and I had to refrain from singing at the top of our lungs as it is still in use and signs were posted asking people to be respectful.