Touring Europe♪⑦ A 1-day Trip to Annecy
On my fourth day in Grenoble, having more or less grasped the geography of the city, I decided to change things up and take a 1-hour and 45-minute train ride to Annecy. It’s a summer resort town on the shores of the lake with the highest transparency in Europe, located an hour and a half from Geneva (I only learned this after arriving in Grenoble. Since I’m on a spontaneous trip where I haven’t decided anything other than staying here for five nights... (lol)).
Since it’s a local train, seat reservations aren’t required, but I tried to find a reader to follow ChatGPT’s advice to properly scan the Eurail Pass QR code, but I couldn’t find one.
When I hesitantly asked at the ticket counter, the response was, "What is your question?!" with a nuance of, "What do you want to ask!?" I felt the cultural difference in a tone that would be unthinkable in Japan. Though, I do wonder about the recent trend in Japan where politeness just keeps escalating...
To cut to the chase, scanning the code is unnecessary. There are no ticket gates, no station staff, and once the platform number appears on the display board, passengers just wander onto the platform through automatic doors. I remember being able to just walk out when I arrived, too. Doesn’t this mean people could just ride for free all the time? Not that it’s any of my business...
Without the delays common to the Eurostar, the train departed on time and arrived in Annecy on time. It’s a much more impressive station than I expected.
Since I only had two cookies for breakfast, I started walking aimlessly, thinking I’d have an early lunch on the way to the lake. My appetite has decreased, and I’m staying at a room-only hotel because if I ate the hotel’s breakfast buffet, I wouldn’t be able to eat the local specialties in town.
Suddenly, I stumbled upon a lively alley lined with food stalls. Perhaps because it was Sunday, it was quite crowded. Beyond the alley, where ice cream shops and cafes lined both sides of the stalls, I spotted the familiar PAUL logo. A baguette sandwich just like in Japan—that would be too unoriginal, I told myself. As I continued along the canal, the Palais de l'Île, one of the tourist spots, came into view. Things usually work out even when I’m just wandering around.
From here, it’s just a little further to the lake. I entered a restaurant that displayed a "Specialty" (as Google translated it) menu. When I ordered it, seeing words like chicken, cheese, and French fries, it turned out to be a chicken breast gratin with cheese, served with French fries. Everything was whitish (lol). There were illustrations on the paper used as a placemat. It seems the International Animation Film Festival starts today. Is that why there are so many people?
Once I had a good meal, I headed toward the lake. The scenery that came into view... Fabulous! Breathtaking!
After fully enjoying the mysteriously blue lake and checking the signs for the animation festival, I headed to the Annecy Castle. Built by the Counts of Geneva in 1219, the castle is now an archaeological museum. Unlike Grenoble, there is an admission fee (€6.5).
From exhibits that look like Yayoi-period pottery to the history of fishing and modern lakebed exploration, it’s quite interesting. Although it took much longer for humans who traveled in the opposite direction from Africa to Europe to reach the Far East, despite that time difference, similar pottery was made in both places. It makes me think once again that "all humans are brothers."
From the castle garden, you can look down at the lake to the east, and beyond the mountain range to the northwest, where it ends, is Geneva.
At the brasserie tables, along with the standard massive steaks & French fries and gratins, there were also occasional pots of cheese fondue. In this connected Europe, food cultures are also blended together.
