JustJess
On saturday 12th of September I woke up to the news that Czech Republic was now on a list of risk countries. Which practically meant people couldn’t come from Czechia to Switzerland without taking a 10 days quarantine. And that rule applied even when they came with a negative test. So I realized that my original plan, to come back home in the middle of October and pack my winter clothes, was doomed.
I mentioned somewhere in this diary that I had a big problem with packing. And that I failed to pack my winter clothes because my luggage was too full and big even without it. And because the covid situation during summer months was getting better, I assumed that someone of my friends would be able to come to meet me and bring my clothes or… what I was counting on, I will take a few days off in October, during autumn break and will bring the clothes myself. But apparently not. The chance that the situation will get better within just one month was low. So I needed to find another way to pack my winter garderobe and get it here… probably post. Which might be… crazy expensive.
I don’t really get what happened back home. By spring they locked us all home, made us a role model for other european countries and in autumn we shifted to a completely opposite direction. And while back home everyone is afraid of what’s gonna come and what new restrictions the government will come up with, in here… in here life goes on.
Some of the covid restrictions never loosened here. For example in shops and public transport face masks were obligatory through the whole summer and still are. It is almost natural to wear them. Everyone is used to it. Like it was like this for years. Which is… strange but… this simple restriction might have done some effect. Lets just hope it’s not gonna get worse again. And that back home things will get better.
While reading these positive news on my phone I was already sitting on a train, ready to depart on my first mountain trip. Finally! After almost four weeks in Switzerland I headed to the mountains!
For a start I chose a mountain that is not extremely high, because I wasn’t mountain hiking for a few years. Les Pléiades (1397m). The choice was quite easy – because it is the mountain I see straight from my window. So this time, I wanted to see my window from that mountain.
Les Pléiades is one of the mountains accessible by cog train, which is how I decided to get up and I planned to go down by foot. The way up from Vevey costs 18,60 francks. But I must say that the view is damn worthy. The train is going slow and Lake Geneva is slowly getting smaller behind large train windows. The ride takes almost 40 minutes and on the last part of the trip, the train goes on the other side of the mountain, giving a view of the alpine landscape.
Once the train reached the final destination, most of the visitors headed to the restaurant on the top, which I heard, has an amazing view over the lake. But because I had food packed and I am a penniless au-pair, I headed exploring instead.
When I reached the top of the mountain, which is only a few meters above the train station I was quite surprised to find out that there isn’t much of a view to the lake side. Because the place is practically a meadow surrounded by tall trees. All you can see through the trees are peaks of mountains at the other side of the lake.
But this mountain has something else to offer. On the top of Les Pléiades is a small astro park called “AstroPléiades” with many educational models which take visitors on a journey through the galaxy. As I found out later on the internet, there are also free guided tours going every weekend during July and August. So I was a few weeks late for that. But never mind, with my timing I would miss it anyway. Instead I took time just to sit on a bench and take the place in.
The top was unbelievably peaceful. Probably because it’s not so overcrowded like higher mountain peaks and because most people in Switzerland are not going on trips early. I was on the top alone for 40 minutes. It was peaceful, silent and I must admit it was freaking me out.
I am used to having people around. If not my own people then at least people on streets, people making noise in the next flat… but being in a place where no one is near you is a bit stressful… at least for me. I mostly go by the rule that no one should go to the mountains alone in case something happened but… Les Pléiades looked more like a high hill so I took the risk. But now that I think about it, everything’s better with a friend. Unfortunately, my only friend was back in Poland at that time.
But on the other hand… the fact that there were no people around meant, I could do stupidities. Like singing and trying to capture myself in a jump. Not that I was exactly successful but it was fun. Then, after almost an hour of fooling around I finally headed down the hill in the direction of Blonay.
I took the pathway that is going down the alpine side of the hill, beside the railway. There I caught many breathtaking alpine sights. I also caught a glimpse of a few other tourists who were taking another way, heading deeper into the mountains. I immediately realized I will want to do that too next time. Exploring more the area on the top of these hills, instead of just going down. Because views on the alpine side are amazing. Meadows with lonely huts, forests, rocks and high mountain peaks. I don’t know many sights in this world that could equal this. Alps are simply beyond imagination.
The pathway for tourists is well marked, so I went down, as it indicated and the track turned again to the lake side of the hill. There I spotted a few tourists climbing up some natural stairs that headed back up the mountain, but from the lake side. I knew it probably led back to the top but I couldn’t help myself and try. After a few minutes of climbing up, I realized I am beside the meadow that I see from the window of my flat. At first I thought it was the meadow on the top, but here I realized I was wrong. Because the top meadow is surrounded by tall trees. I couldn’t possibly see it from down there.
After exploring this pathway, which really led back to the top of the hill, I turned and headed back down. Most of the time I was hidden in the forest and only a few times, I caught a glimpse of Lake Geneva. Honestly this trail was more interesting for views on the alpine side, than its lakeside. But it was a nice starter and reminder of what alpine hiking looks like. I really wonder what this place looks like in spring, because Les Pléiades are legendary for its meadows full of Narcissus. But that is something I probably won’t see, as my journey ends in February 2021.
When I finally came to Blonay after almost three hours I was just ready to take a bus home. But I also made two nice discoveries. First, there is actually a castle in Blonay, which I didn’t notice before and second, historical steam trains are departing from Blonay train station and leading to the historical train museum Blonay-Chamby. So I have another two destinations to discover in following months! Castles, mountains and historical steam trains… life here can’t possibly get better.
