We obviously had big shoes to fill after our epic day of chocolate and cheese tasting. But we’d heard a rumour about an attraction that had potential — and it was only a short boat ride away from Montreux in a little lakeside village called Le Bouveret.
We’d kept Cedar in the dark on purpose. Partly because we thought it’d be a fun surprise, and partly because we weren’t entirely sure what to expect ourselves. All we really knew was: there were trains involved. And a couple of people who know just how obsessed Cedar is with trains said this place would likely blow his mind.
Turns out, Swiss people are just as obsessed. With the densest train network in the world and the highest per capita train usage, it really shouldn’t have surprised us that there would be an amusement park built entirely around trains. And today, we were heading there with Lizee, Sabine, and the girls.
Ironically, our train-themed day started not with a train — but with a boat. In addition to being world-class at rail travel, the Swiss also have boat travel figured out, with ferries seamlessly integrated into public transit. And these aren’t just any boats. The ones that serve Montreux are gorgeous old Belle Époque paddle steamers, lovingly restored and still running on their massive paddlewheels. They are quite literally floating works of art. Bonus – they even come with a restaurant and bar onboard.
After a nice ride across the lake — with a stop at Château de Chillon to drop off passengers and take in a different view of the castle — we arrived at Le Bouveret. A short walk from the pier brought us to Swiss Vapeur Parc.
I’m honestly not sure any amusement park will ever measure up to this one (for Cedar anyways). The park is several acres of miniature ride-on trains that wind through perfectly scaled-down versions of Swiss villages — complete with tiny stations, crossings, tunnels, bridges, and incredibly detailed replicas of real trains from all over the country. MOB trains, Zermatt trains — even a tiny American Amtrak model.
It was when we boarded the Amtrak that we had our only (minor) hiccup of the day. Fittingly, it was the least Swiss moment of the trip.
Cedar and I were already seated when a very not-Swiss woman elbowed past Sheila to shove her unruly brood into our train car. She was yelling instructions in French (or possibly just yelling at us), and Sheila — who was taken by surprise by the full-contact amusement park tactic — made the wise choice to retreat and wait for the next train. I couldn’t make out everything she was yelling at us, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an invitation to a polite conversation. With Cedar and the girls already in the car, I felt it was my duty as the adult to do the right thing, and try to squish myself backwards like a trash compactor into this, not so friendly tourist and her seventeen kids she was jamming into the car. Having ridden trains in China, I know a thing or two about taking up space, and when push comes to shove (literally) it turns out my 6’1 frame, bolstered by the 17lbs of croissants I eat every day, can take up a lot of miniature train space. If you can’t take the heat – stay out of the coal car baby.
We joked afterward that it was an authentic American train experience. Once the car cleared out, we laughed about it and moved on. The rest of the afternoon was spent hopping trains and exploring the park.
After a full afternoon of train excitement we caught the boat back to Montreux and wrapped up the day with what is, in my opinion, the best ice cream around — Mövenpick — followed by a scenic walk back along the Riviera.
Eliza had an early train to catch back to Geneva the next morning, so we spent a quiet final evening in Chernex, laughing and talking about the whirlwind of the past few days. It was such a joy to host her, and we couldn’t have asked for a better first guest.
We hope this little teaser of Switzerland was enough to bring her back — and judging by the grin on her face as we waved goodbye at the train station Sunday morning, we think it was.
