Montreux, you’re still on my mind
Sunset over Lake Geneva in Montreux.
MANILA, Philippines - It’s very easy to fall in love with Montreux. This charming city in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland is cradled by the Alps and Lake Geneva. Everywhere I looked harked of romance, I momentarily thought I would find love here.
It was a quiet Montreux that greeted me. Winter was budding so the cuddly weather heightened my imagination and anticipation of discovering the city. It also helped that the scenic route of the mesmerizing Lavaux vineyard, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the welcoming site that escorted me to Montreux.
“It’s one of the better times to be here. Everything is quiet. You will have time to discover the city, even yourself,” said Judith Morsel, media and communications representative of Montreux-Vevey Tourism.
If I were in this French-speaking city in June, everything would be frenetic, what with the Montreux Jazz Festival happening from June 30 to July 15 this year on the shoreline of Lake Geneva. The music festival is said to be the second largest annual jazz festival in the world after Canada’s Montreal International Jazz Festival.
Founded in 1967, the festival, which now attracts almost half a million music lovers from around the world, remained purely devoted to jazz until the ‘90s when Quincy Jones reportedly brought other international artists for the festival’s expansion. Ella Fitzgerald, I was told, was a regular during the early years of the jazz festival. Ditto with Led Zeppelin, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Joe Satriani, Santana, Pink Floyd among other celebrated artists.
In the quiescence of the city, my feet led me to a larger-than-life bronze statue of Freddie Mercury, the late vocalist of Queen. Montreux, dubbed as the music capital of Switzerland, was Mercury’s second home. The city was also the setting for his final work. And I hammed it up with Freddie Mercury as I sang him his songs We Are the Champions, Love of My Life and Bicycle Race. I only stopped in my adulation when people started to line up to offer colorful bouquets at the foot of the statue. Yes, the singer is an icon in Montreux.
Fifteen minutes by bus from the statue of Freddie Mercury is the Chateau de Chillon, an island castle by the lake. Morsel said it is one of Switzerland’s most visited historic monuments. Chillon was first used as a Roman outpost. The castle was built for many years and the oldest part of it dates back to 1005. In different times, Chateau de Chillon served as a fortification, a summer home, a prison, a munitions and weapons depot. Today, Chillon is open to the public for a minimal fee. Must visit in the castle is the Camera domini, a room occupied by the Duke of Savoy that is decorated with medieval murals of the 14th century.
The appeal of Chillon is lasting. At least three hours is needed to navigate the nooks and crannies of the castle. When you’re overwhelmed with information about the castle, it helps that at every turn, the lake helps give you a fresh start again.
Montreux’s neighboring city of Vevey, an hour away by bus, is another site to visit. Vevey, the headquarters of Nestle, is famous for the Charlie Chaplin Museum. The lakeside city became the adoptive hometown of Charlie Chaplin when he was not allowed to return to Hollywood while sailing from New York to London. He was accused of being sympathetic to communism in the early ‘40s, which did not sit well with US congressmen. Chaplin fell in love with Vevey and lived in a four-hectare manorial home. The artist who popularized silent movies was responsible for the line “You’ll never see rainbows if you’re looking down.” A few years after he was allowed to return to the US to receive his Oscar, Charlie Chaplin passed away. He died in his sleep on Christmas Day (Dec. 25, 1977), at the age of 88, leaving a home that is now a museum.
For me, the best part of being in Montreux is strolling the shore of Lake Geneva. The people are cordial and caring, welcoming even. I shared a moment with an elderly couple in feeding the geese in the lake. As the sun was setting over the lake, the couple regaled me with their love for each other.
The lasting imprint of the city was the sunset. It was subdued yet sublime. Even for a single moment, Montreux did not fail to excite me.
The scenes of Montreux, to this day, are still on my mind. Photos by BüM D. Tenorio Jr.
(For more information, visit www.MySwitzerland.com or inquire at info@myswitzerland.com.)
(E-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com.)
