How My Love of Queen Led Me to a Small Town in Switzerland
When I start to like something new, I never just have a casual liking. It is always a MAJOR obsession. On top of that, I have also had a very vast musical taste. From a young age, I was obsessed with the music of all decades and all genres including Rock and Roll, Country, Showtunes, pop, classical, etc. In the past few years, my taste for 70s music had started to develop much more. This has included David Bowie, Dolly Parton, Elton John, and, the most important to our story, Queen. In fact, I had such an obsession with Queen that I dressed up as Freddie Mercury for Halloween and made an infographic for my design class about him. In fact, he studied graphic design in college just like me!
When I found out I was studying abroad, I was looking for places to go related to my various English obsessions. I quickly learned about Queen’s time in Montreux, a very small city on the edge of Lake Geneva. I knew I wanted to go there ASAP! When I start to like something new, I never just have a casual liking. It is always a MAJOR obsession. On top of that, I have also had a very vast musical taste. From a young age, I was obsessed with the music of all decades and all genres including Rock and Roll, Country, Showtunes, pop, classical, etc. In the past few years, my taste for 70s music had started to develop much more. This has included David Bowie, Dolly Parton, Elton John, and, the most important to our story, Queen. In fact, I had such an obsession with Queen that I dressed up as Freddie Mercury for Halloween and made an infographic for my design class about him. In fact, he studied graphic design in college just like me!
When I found out I was studying abroad, I was looking for places to go related to my various English obsessions. I quickly learned about Queen’s time in Montreux, a very small city on the edge of Lake Geneva. I knew I wanted to go there ASAP!
I finally got the chance to go a few days ago, February 16-17th, 2020, and my life was forever changed. One of the greatest draws to Lake Geneva for Queen fans is the Statue of Freddie mercury that sits on the shoreline. It was a very surreal experience standing in front of a statue I have seen in pictures so many times before.
The Freddie Mercury Statue
If I do say so myself, It is even more spectacular at night. Right after I took this picture, a young girl of about 15 came up and place a bouquet of yellow roses at the pedestal of the statue.
Le Montreux Palace
For a while, the members of Queen did not own any property in Montreux. So, they stayed at Le Montreux Palace. Living up to its name, the place felt royal. During their time there, they took pictures on the terrace that overlooked the lake. It was definitely more of an ask for forgiveness, not permission situation. I had to walk through a dining room in order to reach it.
The Queen Experience
The Final Queen-themed attraction in Montreux was the Queen Experience Exhibit in Casino Barrière de Montreux. The exhibit included famous costumes and memorabilia from Queen’s career from merchandise to handwritten song lyrics by the members.
However, the most moving part of the museum is the walls covered in signatures and drawings people had left. It truly shows how much this band meant to people and would for a long time to come.