Switzerland - Day 3 (Geneva, Montreux, Vevey, Lausanne)

Started the day with a little walk around Geneva. We successfully negotiated the tram system, which got us into the historic centre. It was extremely quiet, as everything was closed for Boxing Day. We found a few of the churches that were in the guidebook - one was impressively large in the style of a Roman temple - but kept moving so we didn't get cold.

I love this statue, but unfortunately I didn't note the plaque, and I can't find it on the internet.

War memorial

Fat, fluffy winter sparrows!

Me and Socrates catch up on old times

Hopped on a train to begin our day trip around Lake Geneva. First stop, Montreux! Famous as a base for recording studios in the wild days of rock n roll, it has entered music history via Deep Purple's song "Smoke on the Water". The song describes the fire that broke out at a Frank Zappa gig, and which levelled the Montreux Casino. Clouds of smoke wafted across the beutiful, still lake...

We all came out to Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline / To make records with a mobile - We didn't have -much time / Frank Zappa & the Mothers were at the best place around / But some stupid with a flare gun burned the -place to the ground / Smoke on the water, fire in the sky

The cast of Ice Age...

Lakeside

Château de Chillon is a castle on a small island, continuously built up from around 1005.

Originally built to exact a toll passing traders, it's now known as the prison of François Bonivard, a political prisoner from Geneva. His plight inspired many artists and writers, including Lord Byron's poem "The Prisoner of Chillon".

Byron's name is carved in one of the columns near where François was chained.

The next stop, Vevey, was a pilgrimage for myself and Frank, as it is the resting place of Charlie Chaplin. I've been a huge fan since Dad showed me a couple of Chaplin films as a kid. Modern Times and The Great Dictator especially had a profound effect on me. Frank, meanwhile, has been writing a screenplay about the notorious (but bungled) ransom attempt on Chaplin's remains...

When we got there, we didn't actually know where his grave was, so we went to a couple of the local musuems for information. It's another pretty town with stunning lakeside views.

Looks like a Claes Oldenburg fork to me... Wonder if the seagull has a nice view?

First find on our pilgrimage - Chaplin statue!

On a tip from the lady at the food museum (no really), we caught a train out to one of the suburbs. From there we proceeded to walk up some staggering hills looking for a cemetery. One false turn lead to a vinyard, the other to the wrong cemetery. Still, this lead to the second find of our pilgrimage - Graham Greene's resting place! This came as a complete surprise.

Finally - after questioning some locals - we found the right spot and paid our respects. There were fresh flowers on the site - afterall, we were there the day after the 30th anniversary of Chaplin's death (Christmas Day, 1977). It's a pretty spot, and he and his wife are safe now - newly encased in two metres of concrete...

It was getting late, but we still had time to stop at Lausanne on the way home for a visit to the Musée Olympique. This was a magnificent attraction (aside from one dodgy animatronic display that wasn't working at all well), with fascinating displays. They had one of the finest collections of Greek antiquities I've seen. We saw the highlights, but wished we'd had more time.