Novel

26 July 2015:  Today was a special day:  We crossed Lac Léman and started hiking in the Alps.  It was the perfect point for Mary to return to the GR5. 

The GR5 arrives at the northern shore of Lac Léman at Nyon and departs from the southern shore at Saint-Gingolph (a town on the Franco-Swiss border).  The best way to get from Nyon to Saint-Gingolph is by boat.  There is a fleet of old (but modernized) paddle-wheel boats that sail around the lake, with stops at just about every town on the shore.  All of the boats were originally steam-powered; most have been converted to diesel-electric power.  We have fond memories of our boat trip across the lake in 1989.  The scenery is spectacular:  towns and vineyards on the north shore; jagged mountains rising from the south shore.

The boat schedule from Nyon today was not convenient for us, so we took a train to Lausanne and sailed from there on the "Vevey" to Saint-Gingolph (a voyage of 2 hrs, 45 min).  The weather was not as sunny as in 1989, but the cruise was equally enjoyable.

We picked up the GR5 in Saint-Gingolph and hiked to Novel, a small village where there is a new, comfortable auberge, Le Clozet.  It's great to be in the Alps.  We're starting with several short étapes (2 hours today, but uphill all the way, from 374 m. to 970 m.).

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Lausanne train station:

Carroll studies the map over coffee while waiting for our boat in Lausanne. 

Arrival of our boat, the "Vevey" (completed in 1907):

Scenes from our cruise around Lac Léman:

Vineyards:

We passed "La Suisse", a sister ship that is still steam-powered:

Lunch aboard the"Vevey":

We bought some chocolate in Nyon yesterday. 

"La Suisse" again:

This large tree appeared to be growing in the lake:

Arrival in Saint-Gingolph:

The trail to Novel:

We were pleasantly surprised to find a new, comfortable auberge, Le Clozet, in such a small, isolated town like Novel.  We wish them well!

The weather is changing!