First stop, Montreux!

I hadn’t seen my Grandma in a long time, and since I rarely ride to the French part of Switzerland, I wanted to take this opportunity to visit her before entering France.

It was a beautiful day to ride. I woke up quite early to avoid heavy traffic and give myself time to skip highway riding. The bike was humming, navigation was working, and the luggage was securely fastened—everything seemed perfect. That was until I suddenly realized the GPS had gone into battery-saving mode, and the screen had dimmed to the point of being barely visible. Just 2-3 hours into my journey, despite all the careful preparations, I encountered my first issue 😄.

It had to be an issue with the connection to the battery—a connection I had set up myself. So, it was time to grab my tools and start troubleshooting on the side of the road. I couldn’t spot the problem (amateur eyes, of course) and decided to look for a workshop. As luck would have it, I found one nearby. After a quick phone call, they kindly offered to check it out during their lunch break! The mechanic quickly measured and inspected the battery, eventually discovering that I had used poor-quality material to "glue" the wire to the connector, which was then screwed onto the battery. A total beginner mistake! He fixed it within about 30 minutes, and I was beyond happy to have it sorted out.

Off I went, continuing my journey to Montreux, with the GPS charging and leading the way! 💪😄

The second part of the ride was uneventful but enjoyable. I had my favorite music playlist on and was soaking up the excitement of the upcoming days and the adventure ahead. I still hadn’t fully wrapped my mind around the fact that I’d be on the road for almost two months.

Seeing my Grandma was wonderful, and we spent a long time chatting before I set up my tent. By the time I finished, it was almost night. I pitched the tent in the large garden where my brother and I used to play as kids whenever we visited.

I was too exicted to sleep and noticed music nearby and a lot of people, so i decided to take stroll at the lake and noticed that there was a huge gathering and food stands etc. It was Montreux Jazz Festival! I have never been and decided to grab a bite and sit a while to enjoy the festivites before heading back and witnessing a beautiful Moonrise!

The first night was short—I woke up a few times, not yet used to the sleeping mat. The music and noise from the Jazz Festival didn’t help much either. Despite that, I still felt rested. Grandma served breakfast and joined me as we ate together before I said my goodbyes and set off to find a nice entry point on the French TET.