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We flew into Genève (Geneva) airport with a hotel booked for that night in Montreux, at the other end of Lac Léman. Taking the ferry, with a couple of stops on the way would have been a great experience, but would have taken several hours more than the train, with far fewer departures on the schedule. So with the stress and uncertainty of a long flight we settled for the train. But we did break our trip to walk down to the lake from Genève station and see the dozens of elegant white boats moored there, many with side paddle-wheels evoking that age gone past.

We hit lucky with our hotel room in Montreux, looking down on the lake and the ferry pier, with the mountains as a backdrop and the sun shining every day we were there. It was a great way to relax after the trip, watching the ferry approach from a distance, exchange its passengers and head off again.

It seemed that at any time during our stay in Montreux we could see a ferry somewhere on the lake. We took the mountain train to Rochers de Naye (great views!), and when the cloud cleared we could see way back down the lake, to a hazy Lausanne or beyond, and always there was a ferry in sight, a distant dot at the front of a V-shaped wake.