Татьяна Хамина (Intermediate)
Montreux. The town I will never forget (эссе, 2010)

In my opinion, one of the best places on the Earth is Montreux. This small town is situated in the heart of Europe – in Switzerland. When I think of Montreux, the first thing that comes to my mind is the majestic Alps and the beautiful Lake Geneva. From my point of view, Montreux is an incredible and magic place. Why? What kind of magic is hidden in this tiny Swiss town? I want to tell you the secret.

First Montreux is a very beautiful and picturesque place. It is called “the Pearl of the Swiss Riviera”, and it is true. The view is spectacular, with the Alps in the distance and a great lake, where you can see the reflection of the mountains like in the mirror. There are a lot of flowers every season. I cannot remember all of them, but there are roses, white and crimson poppies, yellow daffodils, red tulips, azure cyclamens, and blue irises. It is like in Paradise!

There is a lot of gorgeous buildings in Montreux as well. I think one of the most beautiful buildings there is Le Montreux Palace. It is one of the greatest hotels of the world. Many Russian celebrities stayed there, and Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky were among them. Vladimir Nabokov is one of my favorite writers, and very interesting for me is the fact that he came to Montreux and spent the rest of his life in this hotel. It is great that Nabokov wrote stories both in Russian and in English with the same success, and that is why he is a classical writer in both Russian and American literature! I'd like to use English as skillfully as Nabokov did it. Unfortunately, it is impossible, because he was a genius, and I am not.

Celebrities are the second reason, which makes me think that Montreux is a magical place. This town is very small, not more than twenty thousand citizens live there, but many famous people came to that place and made it legendary. For instance, Lord Byron walked around Lake Geneva and visited the majestic castle Chillon, which inspired him to write his famous poem “The Prisoner of Chillon”.

Several celebrities like Nabokov chose this beautiful town as a new place of residence. May be the reason of it is not only in the wonderful landscape and fresh mountain air, but also in the amiability of its residents. They respect the history of their country and save memory of the famous people, who lived or stayed there. For example, the Congress Center Auditorium in Montreux was named after Igor Stravinsky, and a monument of Vladimir Nabokov is located near Le Montreux Palace. There is a statue of Freddie Mercury on the embankment of the Lake Geneva as well.

By the way, Freddie Mercury is my favorite singer! In my opinion, he was the greatest showman and the most talented front man of all times. He liked Montreux and stayed there many times. First Mercury came to the town in 1978 to visit traditional Montreux Jazz Festival. He fell in love with the amazing Lake Geneva and a quiet town and decided to settle there. He used to say: “If you want a peace of mind, come to Montreux”.

Freddie Mercury lived in the apartment with a beautiful view of the lake. His rock band Queen owned the “Mountain Studio”, where they recorded their last album with Freddie’s voice: "Made in Heaven". Its cover shows a figure of Freddie in front of Lake Geneva and a sunset behind it. It is a pity, that the recording studio is closed nowadays. On the studio walls there are lots of notes and messages dedicated to Freddie Mercury, which Queen’s fans write because he is still alive for them. I myself is one of those myself, so I think his wonderful music will live for ages.

To be honest, I have never been to Montreux. However, I think the best holiday trip is a journey that you are only planning to go on. I hope I will visit this magical place next year and see it all with my own eyes.

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