We got an early start today and arrived at the Castle of Chillon shortly after it opened. Good idea – lots of tourists visit this place and it can become quite busy. In my distant past I remember reading "The Prisoner of Chillon" by Byron. Here you can see the pillar to which Bonivard was chained, and Byron's name where he etched it into the pillar. We explored the castle from the dungeon to the highest ramparts. You can see our pictures of the castle, but for something really unique, take the virtual tour.

I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of Chillon, but didn't wear yourself out. There's more to see today. Leaving Chillon, we drove north to Romont. Here, a castle sits in the middle of town. We parked, took a look at the castle, and then found a sidewalk cafe for lunch. Adjacent to the cafe was a computer store. Like many small stores in the US, it carried an assortment of software, hardware, and interface cards. Much of the inventory looked familiar. I did a few quick price checks – most of the stuff seemed more expensive than in the US.

We had two more stops in our planned itinerary, so off we drove to Gruyeres. Before we went to the city and castle on the hill, Meredith checked out the factory store in the valley. She didn't find any cheese that she wanted to buy, so we drove up to the town parking lot.

Many of the castles in Europe have artwork from the past displayed, and Gruyeres was no exception. What was exceptional about Gruyeres was the modern art on display. It was colorful and somewhat abstract, to say the least. One of our photos gives you a sample of one of the tamer pieces.

As the afternoon wore on, we left Gruyeres and drove to Fribourg, an ancient walled city. We got there about 5 PM, just in time to experience a rush hour. Yes, the Swiss do have a lot of cars and they do drive them, especially at quittin' time. We drove through town, took a couple of pictures, and headed back to Leysin. Tomorrow, our path would take us from one corner of Switzerland to the other.