Montreux – Swiss, Eurotrip

Montreux, Switzerland

Nestled at the foot of the Alps and facing Lake Geneva, this ravishing beautiful and vivid town of Montreux gets encapsulated into minds of the traveller forever. Montreux Riviera is filled with scenic beauty, culture and wine, gastronomical delights, casinos, yachts, leisure, entertainment and music for the soul.

Lake Geneva & the Alps, Montreux

View of the Alps, Montreux

Lake Geneva at Montreux

The flowers, mainly tulips, were in full bloom at this time, growing in vivid colours and changing the look of the place.

Tulips, Montreux

Tulips, close-up shot, Montreux

Vivid flowers, Montreux

Baazars were set up on the lakeside to entertain the flock of tourists with small flea shops selling Kashmiri shawls to antique jewellery, Red Indians playing musical instruments and people selling dry fruits.

Flea shops, Montreux

Flea shops, Montreux

Red Indians playing music & selling candles, Montreux

The statue of  British icon ‘Freddie Mercury‘ (born Farrokh Bulsara), the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band, Queen, stands at the main tourist attraction spot facing Lake Geneva. Every September since 2003, Montreux celebrates Freddie Mercury’s Montreux Memorial Day.

Statue of Freddie Mercury, Montreux

I took a long walk along the beautiful lakeside upto Chateau de Chillon, capturing every beautiful view in my camera and in my mind. Switzerland gives you that relaxation, peace and being one with nature feeling, Nirvana, as one might call. I happened to see some of the amazing things on my long walk such as a circular platform on Lake Geneva where people can read books or chat, children playing in the water, the flower gardens with hay sculptures of ‘Madagascar movie’ animals, creepers, vines and tulips near Lake Geneva, beautiful yachts, people sun-bathing at the luxury resorts of Montreux,  a long over-bridge built on the mountains at Veytaux and the stunning sight of the beautiful Chateau de Chillon.

Platform on Lake Geneva, Montreux

Platform on Lake Geneva, Montreux

Children playing in the water, Montreux

Hay sculptures of Madagascar Movie animals, Montreux

Hay sculptures of Madagascar Movie animals, Montreux

Creepers, vines, flowers and yachts on Lake Geneva

Veytaux, Switzerland

View of Chateau de Chillon, Veytaux

The historic castle of Chateau de Chillon, 3 km from Montreux, is Switzerland’s most visited monument. Since the roadway is lodged between Lake Léman in the commune of Veytaux and the cliffs, there is no way to get around Chillon. In the modern times, the Castle is known for having inspired Lord Byron’s poem, The Prisoner Of Chillon (1816).

Chateau de Chillon, Veytaux

Chateau de Chillon, Veytaux

And there ends my journey of this beautiful lakeside of Switzerland, Montreux, whose every moment is etched in my memory forever.

Lausanne, Swiss – Eurotrip

Lausanne Capitale Olympic, Switzerland

Lausanne, the Olympic Capital of the World, located in Romandy in the French speaking part of Swiss was my next destination. Although, as usual I missed out on the sports part of it during my sight seeing, I got to see the beautiful natural beauty of Lausanne. I was not so keen on seeing every museum, but my main purpose in Switzerland was to see the scenic beauty.

Lausanne Capitale Olympic

Saint-François church, Lausanne, Switzerland

Saint-François church, built in 12th and 13th century and now standing amidst modern day banks, post office buildings and retail stores, was my first pitstop at Laussane. This church was reminiscent of the medieval times even amongst the bustling traffic filled street and busy shoppers.

Window display of a chocolate shop, Lausanne

Louis Vuitton store, Laussane

The Swiss are known for their watches, chocolates and love for luxury, clearly visible on the high street, in the shops and through their luxurious and extravagant window display.

View of Lausanne Cathedral, Lausanne

Built by medieval architect Villard de Honnecourt, the gothic-styled Lausanne Cathedral, also known as The Cathedral of Notre Dame had a beautiful view from across the bridge. Splendid facades, intricately carved statues and vividly painted stained glass windows are the prominent features of this internationally renowned medieval church.

Intricately carved church entrance, Lausanne Cathedral

Carved statues, Lausanne Cathedral

Church Interior, Lausanne Cathedral

Church top view, Lausanne Cathedral

Church top, Lausanne Cathedral

Stained glass window, Lausanne Cathedral

Place de la Riponne, Lausanne

Place de la Riponne, Lausanne

Palais de Rumine, Lausanne

The Florentine styled Palais de Rumine, next to Cathedral Lausanne, presently hosts one of the four sites of the Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne. Additionally, it contains the following museums: Cantonal museum of fine art, Museum of Archeology and history, Numismatic museum, Geological museum and the Zoological museum.

Palais de Justice, Lausanne

My last stop was the Palais de Justice in Montbenon, Lausanne which had a beautiful view from its garden that faces Lake Geneva and the Alps. The view was breathtakingly beautiful and stunning.

Garden near Palais de Justice, Lausanne

Morges, Swiss – Eurotrip

Day-time in summers in Europe are pretty long. The sun sets only at around 9pm. This gave me a chance to not only cover Geneva but also Morges on the same day in Swiss. Lucky for me, Morges was having its ‘Tulip Festival’. Beauty beyond words, I will be not be writing much in this blog. I shall let the photographs speak for themselves.

Marimekko

Established in 1951, Marimekko is a Finnish textile and clothing design company renowned for its original prints and colours. Simplicity, vibrancy and boldness defines Marimekko’s designs which ranges from high-quality clothing, interior decoration textiles, bags and other accessories. The idea was to mix tradition and modern art, and bring artistic work to forefront through textiles, products and clothing.

Lately, I came across Marimekko’s new website which is graphically very alluring. Celebrating its 60th anniversary, the website will feature a new story, a new gem each month. Marimekko also invites its users and fans to join their Facebook page ‘Marimekko Tribe‘ to share their photos and videos using Marimekko products.

Marimekkos new website

The website also features an interesting blog wherein people can share their everyday Marimekko experience (http://blog.marimekko.com/). Marimekko celebrates its journey through design and colour with its users through its beautiful film.

Marimekko unveiled its new Spring Summer 2011 collection with the launch of  a ‘Fashion Show’. Here’s a glimpse of it. The video features beautiful models dressed in vibrant and colourful Marimekko clothing, walking amidst a display of multitudinous  and vivid beautiful, blooming flowers, totally resembling  with the brand image.

For its Spring 2011 collection, Marimekko has collaborated with Converse to launch a range of women’s focused shoes. Bringing forth the most iconic Marimekko designers to create vibrantly bold and simplistic designs, Marimekko has turned Converse shoes very feminine yet bold, bringing forth a timeless lifestyle.

This short film, shot in Helsinki,  Finland, narrates the synergistic work between Converse and Marimekko. As Marimekko reveals, this cinematic semblance commemorates the timelessness of Marimekko & Converse. The film’s soundtrack features tracks by Finnish music artists Husky Rescue and Uusi Fantasia.

Geneva – Eurotrip

Heaven, Switzerland

I went to Switzerland for the second time during my Eurotrip. Although, exactly a year back, when I visited Swiss for the first time, it was like being in heaven. The summer of 2010 was the most blissful and relaxing period of my life.

My first solo trip to Switzerland and my first pit stop being – Geneva. I tried covering Geneva in a day, but couldn’t visit the Red Cross and the UN Palace of Nations. Yet, my camera caught the beautiful blooming moments of Geneva Spring.

Jet d'Eau, Geneva, Switzerland

Brunswick Monument near Hotel Le Richemond, Geneva, Switzerland

Jardin Anglais facing Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Fountain at Jardin Anglais, Geneva, Switzerland

Jardin Anglais, Geneva, Switzerland

Flower Clock, Jardin Anglais, Geneva, Switzerland

Place de la Madeleine, Geneva, Switzerland

Merry-go-round, Place de la Madeleine, Geneva, Switzerland

This 15th century church, Place de la Madeleine, restored in the 17th century, is a beautiful landmark in Geneva’s Old Town with wodden horses, merry-go-round and flee shops selling antique jewellery.

Old Town, Geneva, Switzerland

Colourful blossoms, Old Town, Geneva, Switzerland

Cathedral St. Pierre, Geneva, Switzerland

The Cathedral St. Pierre offers a panoramic view of the city and the overlooking Lake Geneva. Its beautiful interiors, stained glass windows, elegantly carved architecture  and neo-classic façade makes it a popular tourist attraction.

Interiors, Cathedral St. Pierre, Geneva, Switzerland

Grand Theatre de Geneve at Place de Neuve, Switzerland

Promenade des Bastions, Geneva, Switzerland

Giant Chess Boards, Promenade des Bastions, Geneva, Switzerland

Reformation Monument, Promenade des Bastions, Geneva

Blossoms, Promenade des Bastions, Geneva

Promenade des Bastions, Geneva, Switzerland