BTW, HappyWarrior,

I agree that Montreux is a great place to visit. However, Switzerland is stupid expensive, and Montreux is STUPID expensive, so I’d recommend looking for a hotel in one of the small towns west of it. There’s a small, cheap, commuter rail that should connect you easily, or it’s a pleasant lakeside walk. (I stayed in the Montreux youth hostel, which was a nice hostel, 20 minutes from either Montreux or Chateau de Chillon, and a few minutes from a train stop.)

Also, a nice day trip is to take the train into the mountains and visit Gruyeres (which also, weirdly, hosts a Giger museum - said it was weird) and go further to a cheese factory and the Callebaut chocolate museum. There are tour companies, but it’s easy to do on your own. The train is one of the heritage lines, and the views are spectacular rising into the mountains above the lake. Overall, though, Montreux is a good stop for when you’re burned out being a tourist and just want to relax in the sun by a gorgeous lake.

Also also, if you make it to Hamburg, drop me a line. Even if you want to meet up in Berlin, I haven’t been in forever and love the city. :) (Hamburg does have an Emigration museum as most of Central Europe emptied out through it in the 19th century - I know ancestry research is an interest of yours. Otherwise, while it’s a really pretty city and seems to get a lot of tourists, I don’t see it as a major tourist stop.)