Tuesday 5 February 2013

Confiserie Tea Room Fredy's, Montreux, Switzerland

Confiserie Tea Room Fredy's, possibly named after Freddie Mercury
who lived here and has a statue to his memory in Montreux.
No more than a stone's throw from the shores of Lake Geneva, this excellent caff offers everything a caff aficionado is looking for: good value, high quality food, pleasant, efficient service and a decent atmosphere.

I'd walked from central Montreux for about one hour, following the pathway that hugged Lake Geneva until it ran out and I was forced to hit the road. The road follows the route of the 201 heading towards Vevey (in the direction I was travelling). After about an hour of walking I left behind suburban Montreux with it's old and seemingly empty mansions, some overlooking the lake, others overlooking the road. I was in a small town not that far from Vevey. I think it was called Vaud and the only reason I've worked that out (if I have) is that I've gone on to Google Maps and retraced my walk from central Montreux.
My soup and tea – lovely!

The address, according to Google, is 19 Grand-Rue, La Tour-de-Pielz, Vaud, Switzerland so I'm saying that's where this excellent little café is located.

It's fantastic as it sells everything from high quality cakes, pastries and bread to chocolates and has a small but cosy little restaurant area out back.

I chose a bowl of soup and bread (I can't remember the variety of soup, possibly leek and potato) plus a cup of tea, all for about seven Swiss Francs. The place was busy and, to be honest, I could have stayed there all day, but I only had enough money for the soup and tea so I savoured the moment, paid up and took the 201 bus back into Montreux.

If ever you find yourself in Montreux, there are a lot of places like this and they are truly magical places. I just wish I'd had a newspaper or my book with me as that would have been true bliss.