Les Rochers de Naye

This weekend trip was supposed to be going to Evian-les-Bains, a small French town right across Lac du Léman from Lausanne. But suddenly I thought I had seen enough lakeside scenery and craved to see some mountains! Since I have such limited time to travel on weekends, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (a town right beneath Mont Blanc) would be an impossible option. So I set out to Les Rochers de Naye, a mountain peak near Montreux. It only took thirty minutes to Montreux via train, and just another hour to the mountain top. 
Honestly I was not expecting too much from the visit, but fortunately the weather was amazing (about 23 celsius at its highest!) and the sky was so clear that it happened to be the most amazing trip I ever had since I came here. :)

The mountain train departed Montreux and headed towards Glion, Caux, and Jaman, and eventually to Rochers de Naye. The Swiss railway system really is something- there is nowhere you cannot reach with it. Also on mountain tops they already had snow! It turned out that it snowed four days before my visit. I was so excited!!

The train came and went on one-hour interval, and there were many visitors (travelers like me, or hikers who plan to descend throughout the day) getting on and off the train. A group of people sitting next to me on the train were planning to sleep for the night on the peak, carrying bunch of food and sleeping bags. By the time the train arrived on the top they were already drunk from wine and beer haha.

And as always, pictures are worth thousand words! ;) I took so many beautiful ones it was difficult to choose from all of them. I added captions if necessary. Enjoy!

SNOW! yayyyy

The hill next to the train station.
I remember that kind of pole from Mongolia... A totem wishing travelers a safe trip.

French side of Lac du Léman.
The sky, the mountains, and the lake.. one perfect harmony by God.

Another hint of Mongolia! Gers, or Mongolian tents.
They made me miss the Gobi Desert so badly!

Ski lifts. It seemed people come to ski in winter... 
I wish I could too! Only if I had brought my skis and proper ski clothes :(

On the way to observing platform.

French side on the left and Swiss side on the right.
The closest city visible is Montreux, and further away is Lausanne.

Had fun matching the labels with the mountain peaks!

Jungfrau :) :)

Personal best shot!

A man parachuting towards the valley.

Lac de l'Hongrin and the mountains on the back.
I especially loved this view! It's as if it popped out from a poster or something.

Lunch time!
I now know how to make the best B.L.E.T sandwiches. hehe :)

Snacking and chillaxing...

It's a bit far, but on the left side there's Mont Blanc.
Too bad I couldn't fit in a plan to visit Chamonix during my stay, but this will do!

I was sitting on the cliff for about two hours, doing nothing but listening to gospels and enjoying the view.
The air was chill but the sunshine kept me warm.
Such a heavenly and thankful experience...

The last train to Montreux around 4~5pm.

The train driver let me sit in his chair and gladly took pictures of me driving (or pretending to drive) it :)

Since it is not easy to make a trip out of the city, I wanted to drop by Montreux. But the quick change in altitude made me really tired by the time I got there, so I just decided to go back home.
Nevertheless this trip was personally the most breathtaking, most welcoming, most heartwarming, and the best of everything. I wish I could come to this mountain peak again, perhaps in December, and next time I hope it is completely covered in snow!