Lausanne & Yverdon (10/10/1982)

Sunday, October 10, 1982

Train day pass

Hmm, after another 12 hours of sleep, I went to catch the 11:33 train to Lausanne. It was sunny along the Rebenweg/Vineyard Trail, and not all the grapes were picked yet. I saw a couple people harvesting, one woman carried a bucket on her back that she emptied into a larger one. Saw train carloads of sugar beets, it’s that season again. Nearing Lausanne, I saw a bus graveyard. I bought lunch at McDonald’s in Lausanne, and the shake didn’t seem as small, although it was smaller than in the U.S. My reaction to the last one I had in Bern might have been a U.S.- Bern comparison and not a before and after Bern comparison of size. I took the lunch to Montriond Park that had dark shady paths leading to a promontory. I headed in one direction but came up behind a man with a dark complexion wearing a raincoat and checked pants. So I quickly went the other way arriving at the esplanade with its trained trees forming an arbor. After eating lunch, I went to the esplanade where the first “Truce of God” (whatever that is!) was proclaimed in 1037. (NB. A Truce of God suspended warfare from Saturday night to Sunday morning or for a time specified.) You could look down on the Ouchy part of Lausanne and out over Lac Leman/Lake Geneva, and barely see the Alps. I noticed the same guy with the checked pants standing under a cross, but he no longer had the raincoat. He followed me through the park, but not out of it as I left to go to the botanical garden. Continued to the port with boats, people and flowers galore.

Ouchy waterfront

Went to find the Métro station that was in and behind the large fancy building housing the Hôtel du Lac. This was a rack railroad that replaced a funicular (opened in 1877 as Switzerland's first funicular). I purchased a reduced-price ticket and was supposed to sit in the 3rd or 4th sections.

Métro ticket

When the train arrived, it only had two sections, so I sat in no-smoking. We stopped at Jordils and Montriond, and I got off at La Gare.

I took the 14:10 train to Yverdon-les-Bains, arriving at about 14:30 when it began to rain. I walked to the large Château d'Yverdon/Yverdon Castle (1260-1270), basically square with round towers at each corner.

Château d'Yverdon/Yverdon Castle

The chapel side was being renovated. On the street leading from the castle was the finish line of some race. Lots of people of all ages in running shorts. I circled around the castle and found the Hôtel de ville/Town Hall (1768-1773), which supposedly had a Louis XV façade.

Hôtel de ville/Town Hall

There was also Le Temple (1757), a Baroque church on the square, and a statue of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (founder of the Yverdon Institute of Education and an institute for blind and poor children) in the center. I continued around the castle looking for the museum, but apparently that was under renovation as well. A canal ran along one side of the castle. I wandered around a beautiful Jardin Japonais/Japanese Garden across from the train station, with a fountain, bandstand, and flowers.

There were no local trains for two hours, so I decided to head back to Biel on the 15:34 train, arriving at 17:00. From the train I saw a line of about 30 cows heading back to the barn, and eight storks in a field.

Wednesday, October 13, 1982

On October 1st, when I was at the Loeb department store, they had a display of numbered photographs, and you could vote for the best one. So I filled out a card, including my name and address, and dropped it in a box. Lo and behold, today I received a letter in French, addressed to Monsieur, informing me that my name was drawn to win a gift certificate of 50 CHF /$25, to be used at any Loeb store! I went downtown to redeem the letter, and now will be able to improve my wardrobe!