Day 22: Rolle to Versoix

This is along day to be sure: according to our guide it will be our longest day.

We start with a walk along the lake.

But soon it is back up the hill away from the lake.

We have now walked deep into Swiss wine country, with Lake Geneva on our left and vineyards hanging down towards the lake and vineyards climbing up the hills on our right.

Between the villages of Gland and Nyon we encounter the Toblerone Line, a 10 km defensive barrier stretching from Lake Geneva to the Jura mountains.

Built in 1935 in anticipation of a Nazi invasion, it was fortunately never put to the test.

There is now the well maintained educational Toblerone Trail following its entire length, but sadly we still have miles to go so must leave that for another day.

A little farther along the way we walk by a small airport with a grass runway. This old Russian bi-plane catches our eye.

And then there are orchards and more fields.

Finally reaching the town of Nyon, we take a detour to look around. Previously settled by the Celts, Nyon is the first Roman city built in Switzerland, founded in fact by Julius Cesar in 45 BC (then called Colonia Iulia Equestris). In addition to the Roman forum still visible, we find a statue of Julius himself.

“Hey Cesar! How many hotdogs did you have at the forum today?” “Et tu, Brute.”

Then on to Versoix, or so we thought.

As we finally come to Coppet we realize that we are not only reaching the 20 mile mark, but are still 2 or more hours away from our destination.

And look, a thunderstorm!

So we take the prudent path, head to the nearest train station and hop a train to our final resting stop for the night. When we arrive, the rain sets in.

And so to bed. One more day!