Montreux & Vevey

I was in Switzerland with a colleague of mine for business and for fun last May. It was my third time in the country as I have been attending the same conference (European Pensions and Investments Summit) in Montreux for the past three years. The difference of this year was not only my tranformation from being a normal person to a postcard freak but also visiting a place I have wanted to visit for quite some time, Vevey. One of the best parts of my 5-day stay in Switzerland was the mini postcrossing meeting we had in Lausanne.

As my eyes were filtering the postcard crowds of Montreux, I noticed this beautifully coloured card of Chillon Castle, which I visited back in 2008. It is one of the most well-known castles of Central Europe. It was originally constructed on the shores of Lake Geneva in the 11th century. It caught the public imagination when Lord Byron wrote "The Prisoner of Chillon" about Bonivard, a prior chained in the dungeons for almost four years in the 16th century.

On our last day in Switzerland we made a quick tour in Vevey. As I said earlier, I have always wanted to see this city and knew that I'd like it even before I visited. And I did like it :) But I believe Charlie Chaplin loved Vevey more than I did as he spent his last 25 years in this town.

I would be really happy to see Switzerland for the fourth time one day. There are still places to see on my list: Luzern and Zermatt are the first few :)