3 countries, 10 days, 1 home - Montreux, Gruyeres, Bern, Titlis & Zurich

Other posts from the 3 countries, 10 days, 1 home series:


- Coming back home teaser
- First Travel video
- Nice, France
- Cannes & Monte Carlo
- Milan, Italy
- Leukerbad, Switzerland
- Tasch, Zermatt, Montreux

__________________________________________________________________________

It's been a while since I've written about my Europe trip. The Egypt one took me about 4 months to complete and compile HAHAH. I guess I've been losing modjo recently with all the packed schedule but  I will still write about it for real! and thankfully, this is the last post from my Europe trip. Previously, I wrote a post about going up to Tasch, Zermatt and ended the night at Montreux. None of the places I went to were far from each other thus, the rides from one spot to another were just nice and pleasant. 

So Montreux, is a small sleepy town facing Lake Geneva, where most people flock for their famous Jazz Festival due to the music history of the city. Many well-known rockstars back in the days supposedly wrote their songs, recorded and have performed there, and some even decided to reside there. The Montreux Super Pop Festival that started in 1969 have been said to be the platform for bands such The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd brought in throngs of fans into the small town while the "Golden Rose" in the 70's attracted performers such as Queen.

I'm sure most of my guy readers would know the song, Smoke on The Water. It's like one of the wajib songs to play when you start playing guitar, right? hahaha well, even the history of this song was pretty much related to the Casino Fire that happened in Montreux. It was said that Deep Purple was to camp in Montreux, on the eve of Frank Zappa and Mothers of Inventions concert in the casino theatre. Somehow, it caught on fire due to the flare gun being set off by a fan into the rattan ceiling of the theatre thus burned down the whole complex. So Smoke on the Water was supposedly to be the smoke coming from the theatre fire that was spreading across Lake Geneva. 

Don't sue me if the story wasn't right, it was what I've been told =P

photo from MontreuxMusic.com

Another rock icon that made his mark in Montreux was Freddie Mercury, lead vocalist and songwriter of the band Queen (that sang We Are The Champions or Bohemian Rhapsody). He was diagnosed to be HIV positive and had AIDS so the statue of Freddie Mercury that is facing Lake Geneva was erected as a memorial in 1996 by his father and Montserrat Caballé. Starting 2003, fans from around the world gather in Switzerland annually to pay tribute to the singer as part of the "Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day" on the first weekend of every September.

We had about half an hour to enjoy the freezing breeze coming from Lake Geneva at 7am in the morning before departing to our next destination so it was photo opp time!

What a view to start my morning after a cuppa!

Next, we went to Gruyeres, a small town in Switzerland that produces cheese called Gruyere. It's hard an yellow, and are usually melted in a fondue pot along with other herbs and dipped with bread (oh, heavenly!) which you will see when you scroll along to the bottom later as I had the chance to have a taste, or more like a pot -_-"

The specialty of this cheese is the slightly salty flavour that changes as it matures. It's known to be the best to do baking with as the taste is not overpowering. 

About 10 minutes from the cheese factory, we took a ride up to the castle overlooking the town of Gruyeres. The castle is a preserved medieval town so you can expect cobblestones, and wooden doors. Much like those in the movies, although there were some modern elements to it. Pipes ran fresh, icy cold water from the hills though. Very refreshing and you're allowed to bottle some for your journey =)

We were heading to Berne and stopped at this R&R on the way where I had lunch to one of the most beautiful view a person could have while eating a bland tomato pasta that had no meat in it -_-"

And once we reached Berne, we had a short city tour before heading up to Mount Titlis. Bern, located in the canton Bern (canton is sort of like a province), is a historic city under UNESCO's World Heritage sites where the main language is German. This beautiful city is located around the River Aare with a medieval theme and sandstone buildings and are pretty much very lively, even in winter!

Bern is known for being where Albert Einstein resided during his lifetime and also my favourite chocolate in the world - TOBLERONE! You can visit the apartment during visiting hours which was turned into a museum.

And don't forget to visit the famous lion statue. It really felt like Narnia there! HAHA

We were treated to a folk performance during dinner time, and I got to taste the Swiss Cheese fondue! I'm not a big cheese fan but omg, that was the best cheesiest food I've had ever! No joke. I even burned my tongue eating it and I finish almost half of the basket alone. What. a. glutton.

Next morning, we woke up early to head up to Mount Titlis, another skiing mountain but BIGGER!

It was very windy and cold up there but the sun was so bright I had fun just walking and playing with clean snow! definitely not the kind of snow you might have felt on the roadside. Totally different! =D

Like a scene from an epic robot movie kan? ALASSSKAAAAA *just kidding*

We ended up back in Bern to have a walk or do some quick shopping and I bought these! Cornflakes in premium chocolate from my favourite chocolatier (I wanna cry now since they're not available anywhere else except there!) and some awesome macarons (I forgot to try the ones in their McCafe's). I'm not a fan of the macarons in Malaysia cause they're usually too sweet for me. Apparently in four seasoned countries, their chocolates, candies and macarons are milkier as they use less sugar and I LOVE EM TO DEATH! Just because of our tropical weather, manufacturers put more sugar in for them to set well. T_T

Cost me quite a bit too! The gold one, is champagne flavoured but no, no trace of alco inside LOL but the colour was gold, I couldn't resist hehe  ^.^

Just when it's getting dark, we headed off to Zurich, our final destination for the night before we flew back to Malaysia the next morning. Had very little time to shop, as it was 2 days before Christmas and shops usually close earlier than usual. Even Prada decided to not let us in just cause they were closing 

-_-"

Ended up at Chanel and Ferragamo, thankfully ^.^


Happy girl got lucky! =P

Pretty trams and lights on the main shopping district, and a ton of beautiful people too! I saw Bottega Veneta's collection and OMG I really wanted to go in unfortunately they were closed! HMPH!

loved this skirt on the mannequin T_T

And sadly, it was the end of my trip. However, at least I came home to the arms of my lovely man, just a day before he left for almost a week to Singapore. What la haha




Next trip where to? hmmmm lemme see  =P


xx

Revive Rev-Up contest - my entry

Remember my post about the Revive Rev-up contest for the year 2011 here?

Well, I couldn't help but to submit my own entry and this week's theme is 'Big and Small'. I ran out of time so I've decided to use some past photos which fits the theme and thank God I had these photos. Tell me what you think about it!

Leaning on my tower 

The Giant

Why was I so gung-ho to submit my own entry when I myself announced it? OMG do you want me to slap you? Have you seen the prizes they were offering? No harm in trying, and I could use that prize money for real!

By submitting a photo or video, there's a weekly prize of RM1000 or per theme, provided that you have the highest points for the week. ONE THOUSAND RINGGIT WEI!

and other prizes, may I repeat, are as below:

*RM 1000 for participation with the most points at the end of the week

*RM 5000 for participation with the most points after 6 weeks

*RM 5000 for best video after 6 weeks

*8x RM 3000 category awards to be announced at the end of the competition

So do submit your photo or video! Be creative and fresh, that's how points will be awarded!

If you want to find out more, please check out - http://apps.facebook.com/revivecup

This is a final reminder, videos/pictures should be submitted to the Revive Rev-Cup – Battle of the States Facebook page (http://apps.facebook.com/revivecup)

Good luck!!!!

xx

Hanie

What I wore: Chilly day

I truly believe that I'm more rajin to dress up a little when I'm stressed. So I guess the way I de-stress is either I sing, blog, play dress-up or maybe channel it to something that needs aggression hahaha. On normal days, trust me, you'd see me in just tanktop, jeans and flip flops.

This time around, despite the oven Malaysian weather I opted for the knitted ribbed sweater since uni is generally cold. Little did I know that Mr Rainman would only make a cameo late evening, leaving me sweating buckets throughout the afternoon. The sweater and tights served me well though while I was n class and browsing through the frozen section at Tesco  =P

Anyhow, my sister inspired me to try out the double skinny belt look, so I chose two totally different tones, a brown and red but they kinda complement each other well, in my opinion. I loved the contrast of the denim hue and the black of the tights. point8cam's mum made me bracelets from Kenyah beads. At first I was scratching my head, thinking how to pair these outstanding beads with my already-very-loud-coloured-clothes but somehow, it fuses with the palette of my outfits well and I've been wearing them religiously now. Oh, and this was one of my sponsored bags from Sometime Boutique. Do check their website out! Until the next rajin-ness comes along!  ;) 

and as usual, awesome photos were by point8cam

Sweater: Times Square KL

Shorts: Primark

Belt: Zara (brown) & Forever21 (red)

Corset tights: Topshop

Handbag: Sometime Boutique

Moccasin shoes: Forever21

Beaded bracelets: DIY by point8cam's mum

Tassel Necklace: DIY by me

xx

Shop Scout: Sometime Boutique

I don't usually talk about shops much but this particular store caught me when the owner emailed me to have a view of their store and items. I'm pretty much very fussy when it comes to people asking me to write about their products. However, we had a chat and she told me about how she went on to search for designers to design handbags for her store, and they're not even local! 

It's amazing to hear about someone who believes in designs and practicality that shouldn't burn a hole in your purse. We share the same passion for designer handbags but we know that when a bag is good, it doesn't matter if it's a high-end designer label or not.

So I gave Sometime Boutique a visit over the weekend, just before I went for my exam revisions and it totally made my day. Not only that I loved the layout of the store - rustic, simple and homely but I also loved that the items were placed out in a such display that made me feel like I wanna hangout there. 

Upon entry you will see an antique sewing machine, one that my seamstress grandmother used to sew clothes on. Definitely brought back childhood memories. These little things she placed around the store, antiques and vintage items told a lot about the things she loves. 

I also loved the fact that the store was not overcrowded with multiple items from a different theme. They all gel well together for your viewing pleasure. Check out these vintage looking oval pendants that are being sold at the store! Adorable and don't cost a bomb, no joke! There's scarves and bow ribbons if you're looking for kitschy items.

The handbags are definitely a must-view. They currently only cost RM59 each (depending on design) as she slashed the prices for now. If that's not affordability in chic, then I don't know what is. 

The quality is ensured and the materials are usually PV leather; cheap, lasting and easy to be cleaned. Perfect for everyday use.

You girls should really check their website cause they are getting demand and the stocks run out pretty fast. I met the owner and I know she's really fussy about quality control so be sure that the items you're buying are pretty much have been inspected thoroughly by her ;)

Website: http://sometime.com.my
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sometime.onlinestore

I went home a very happy girl, with two huge paper bags filled with three handbags. Funny that other girls were eyeballing point8cam when he was carrying them paperbags. They must've thought "eh this guy buy a lot of nice stuff for the gf" HAHAHA I kid, I kid ^.^

These were what I chose:

Definitely coming back more next month to get more items! I might need a wall shelf just for handbags if this goes on HAHA

oh, and they have clothing items too! These are my faves although they do have more, check em on the website or facebook page!!

and here's an outfit ensemble I wore with one of Sometime's bags

Outfit details will be on my next post =)

xx