Alpine Vacation Part 2: Taking a Hike

After leaving the castle in Montreux, we made the drive to Sion. When we got there, it was about 2 in the afternoon. We checked into the Ibis Hotel, where Mr. Traveler's company had made our reservation. Part of the reason we took this trip was because he had a business meeting on Friday in Sion at the hospital. Conveniently, this meant that his company paid for his plane ticket and the hotel for the nights we were in Sion.

Unfortunately, the hotel was no longer serving lunch, and by this point, we were getting pretty hungry. We headed into the city centre, where we had to wait for a place in the parking garage. Then, we started walking around and looking for a place to eat. Most of the kitchens at the restaurants were closed, and we found several places that were only serving drinks. Finally, we came upon a pub that had a sign for "non-stop service". We decided to give it a try. After looking at the menu, however, we realized we didn't have enough cash and the place didn't take credit cards. Even though the exchange rate of Swiss Francs to Dollars is almost 1:1, things in Switzerland are much more expensive. While you might pay $7.00 for a burger and fries at a bar in America, the equivalent was about $22.00 in Switzerland. Mr. Traveler ran down the street to the ATM while I examined the menu. We ended up ordering a crepe filled with potatoes, cheese, and ham to share.

After our late lunch, we walked around the city and window shopped at the expensive shops. When it started to get dark, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R before dinner.

View from Sion City Centre

The next day, Mr. Traveler had his meeting, so I decided to take a long walk towards the castle ruins on the hills in the middle of town. I wasn't sure if I could get up the hills or exactly how far away it was, but I figured I would walk for a little while until I got tired. An hour later, I was at the top, enjoying the amazing views.

Overlooking Sion

Castle Tourbillon (taken from Castle Valere)

The hills meet in the middle, and on one side is Château de Valere and on the other side, Château de Tourbillon. I climbed to Valere first, and was greeted by the presence of a history museum. The guide must have been excited to see a vistor during December, because he chatted on and on about the exhibits. The museum was very modern, with motion detectors which switched on the lights when a person came into each room. All of the exhibits had explanations in French, German, and English. It was great to learn a little bit more about the area's history. According to the museum pamphlet, "traces of human presence have been found at sites high in the mountains that were left untouched by the last Ice Age, such as the Paleolithic caves of Tanay in the Chablais (-50,000 to -30,000)." One of my favorite exhibits was a audiovisual presentation that showed how the landscape had changed from about -25,000 to the present.

When I finished viewing the museum, I stopped in for a bite to eat at the cafe. The lady working there was very friendly, and I ran into the guy from the museum who went out of his way to say hello again. Although the area is known for people being a little snooty, every single person we came into contact with on our trip was amazingly kind and helpful.
After lunch, I made one last stop on the same side of the hill, to visit the church. It is home to the world's oldest playable organ, dating from 1390.

World's Oldest Working Organ

I then headed back down to the center and up to the other side. The Tourbillon ruins were closed for the winter, but I was able to walk around the outside and see the views from even a higher vantage point.

From the Ruins of Tourbillon

Right when I was headed down the hill, Mr. Traveler gave me a call to let me know that he was done with work. I headed back to the hotel, and we took off on a mini driving adventure in the mountains. One of the villages we stopped by, Vex, was composed of almost all wooden buildings. It was interesting seeing the different communities in the mountains.

Taken on Our Evening Driving Adventure

When it started to get dark, we headed back into town and stopped at the Giroud winery, where we tasted a couple of local wines. They were both new styles for us, and very tasty. The city of Sion is well known for their wines.

Barrels of Wine at Giroud

Afterwards, we grabbed a couple pizzas at a local pizzeria. We tried to order a pizza to share, but the waiter would have none of it, insisting that the pizzas were not large enough. We ended up both finishing everything on our plates, so I guess he was right.

It was a pretty full day, and I was definitely tired when we got back to the hotel.

Next up, we travel to Adelboden and begin our ski adventure.

If you missed the first part of our adventure, see Part 1.