Reliving Glimpses of Montreux

The weather has become properly December-like, with snowflakes beginning last Sunday and snow that has stayed on the ground here for the past couple days.  This means that it is very cold outside because usually snow at this low elevation doesn't usually last too long unless it falls in substantial quantities.  So it's a good moment to think about the last rain-less, snow-less, fairly warm weather day we've had lately, which was the day I spent at the Montreux Christmas Market.

Having posted most of the Market photos, I have just a couple more.  I held this pair back because I wanted to post them together.  Here is a view of one of Montreux's luxury hotels, le Grand Hotel Suisse, as seen from the train station

and here it is again from the waterfront, with topiary "sculptures" in the foreground.

Creating animal shapes, realistic or fanciful, from shrubbery is a long-standing tradition along Montreux's lakefront - where flora and fauna literally meet.

But creativity is not limited to animal shapes.

And the medium is not always shrubbery.  Each time I visit, I see something new!

But the main attraction remains the beautiful lakefront itself.

Yes, those are indeed palm fronds in that photo.  It is for good reason that the Vevey-Montreux area is often referred to as the Swiss "Riviera."

The Date That Lives in Infamy

Today commemorates the 71st anniversary of the surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.  More than 2,400 Americans were killed and more than 1,200 were wounded.  It was the most significant act of terrorism on US soil in the 20th century.  The only other foreign attack on US soil that took more lives was the one that occurred on 9-11, which occurred early in the 21st century.

While I was not even a "gleam" in my father's eye when the Pearl Harbor attack occurred, that event not only - and most significantly - resulted in US entry into the worldwide conflict known as World War II, it also kick-started the chain of events that inspired my father to enlist in the US Navy and marry his Montana sweetheart before setting off to fight his battles in the South Pacific.  That union resulted in my conception.  But I only arrived on the scene when the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a little more than two years old.  War was raging everywhere - from the ultimately lethal steppes of the Soviet Union, to the scorching deserts of North Africa, to the steamy jungles and tropical islands of South Asia and the Pacific Rim, to nearly the whole of the European continent, which would remain absolutely devastated for years afterward.  When I was born, the Allied Forces were still struggling desperately in each of those areas.  That the Allies would ultimately prevail in this conflict was not at all a sure thing.  In fact, the outlook looked quite bleak at that time.

One day after the Pearl Harbor attack, then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress and the US people via radio.  In the first line of his speech that day, he uttered the phrase "a date which will live in infamy" to refer to the events of the previous day.  That phrase has remained one of the most evocative of an era particularly rich in evocative phrases.  Immediately following FDR's speech,

[t]he Senate responded with a unanimous vote in support of war; only Montana pacifist Jeanette Rankin dissented in the House. At 4:00 p.m. that same afternoon, President Roosevelt signed the declaration of war.

Yes, my fellow Montanan Jeannette Rankin - the only woman in Congress - stood alone.   Not even this outrageous act could shake her deep convictions that war was wrong.  She was vilified, threatened and harassed for having those convictions.

But this post is not about Ms Rankin, who remains one of my heroes.  Even if I do not wholly support her on that particular vote, I understand and share her abiding hatred of war.  No, this post instead deals with another remarkable woman of the era, journalist Elizabeth McIntosh, who happened to be covering news in Honolulu in December 1941.  Ms McIntosh wrote a compelling article about what she saw and experienced in the week following the attack.  Her editors "killed" her story, believing that its graphic content would be too "upsetting" for readers and especially upsetting for women, at whom the article was specifically directed.  So the article was never published - until yesterday when it appeared in the Washington Post, 71 years after the event.  Here is a sample of her powerful writing:

      Then, from the neighborhood called Punchbowl, I saw a formation of black planes diving straight into the ocean off Pearl Harbor. The blue sky was punctured with anti-aircraft smoke puffs. Suddenly, there was a sharp whistling sound, almost over my shoulder, and below, down on School Street. I saw a rooftop fly into the air like a pasteboard movie set.     For the first time, I felt that numb terror that all of London has known for months. It is the terror of not being able to do anything but fall on your stomach and hope the bomb won’t land on you. It’s the helplessness and terror of sudden visions of a ripping sensation in your back, shrapnel coursing through your chest, total blackness, maybe death. 

Hers is one of the very few contemporaneous accounts I have read that actually details civilian casualties, describing "charred bodies of children" and bodies lying on slabs in the "grotesque positions" in which they had died, one being that of a little girl in a red sweater and barefoot, who "still clutched a piece of jump-rope in her hand."   Most reporting was about the military casualties, striking enough in its impact.

But military forces are "fair game;" they know what they've signed up for.  Civilians somehow believe that they are exempt.  We simply are not exempt, as was seen not only in World War II war theaters, but in every smaller scale conflict since - whether that conflict occurs between nations or within them.

Ms McIntosh is now a still lively - and incredibly alert - 97 years old.  A short time after her experiences in Hawaii, she joined the newly-created Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of today's Central Intelligence Agency, and worked as a spy throughout the duration of the war.  In that, she was like another of my personal heroes, coincidentally another "Betty."  Ms McIntosh has officially joined my pantheon.

St. Nicholas Goes Upscale

Today, 6 December is St. Nicholas Day.  St. Nicholas, who is the centuries-old inspiration for the beloved - if imaginary - character that many children know today as "Santa Claus," became known as the patron and protector of children, among others.  He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as leaving coins in the shows of those who put them out.  In this area, he often visits the schools, accompanied by a donkey laden with treats for the children - at least for those who have been good.

Whatever St. Nicholas may be doing today, I know where he was last week - or at least where some upscale representations of the sainted personnage were.  They were prominently featured at the Montreux Christmas Market.

St. Nicholas may have morphed into Santa Claus.  But the European version is much trimmer than his North American counterpart.  His coat is also much longer and doesn't usually feature a wide black belt.

These Montreux versions with their patterned coats may not catch on with the children of the world as the more traditional depiction has.  But so long as they bring goodies with them, the children will probably not care too much!  

2012 Montreux Christmas Market, Part 2

It doesn't take a Christmas Market for the lakeside in Montreux to be a beautiful place.  Everywhere one looks is literally a feast for the eyes.  Whether one is gazing back at the city

or simply strolling along the lakeside where colorful flowers tumble in riotous profusion, one walks in beauty.

Even the "fast" food has a French - and seasonal - touch, such as here where magret de canard (duck filet) with foie gras (fat liver) or la sauce aux truffes (truffle sauce - not the chocolate kind) is sold as a sandwich.

There are lots of thirst quenchers available as well, as one might expect in a wine- and brandy-making culture.

Here's a stall featuring handicrafts from the Swiss Alps

and another with tons of snow globes, always favorites with me.

Here are some decorative examples of Swiss decoupage, lovely but not at all inexpensive.

Gingerbread is always a seasonal favorite in Christmas markets

and other sweets can be found in abundance.

One can also find Christmas balls of all colors and sizes

and there are wooden bowls and implements for creating epicurean delights.

Even Freddie Mercury's statue is festooned with a wreath to stimulate some holiday spirit.

2012 Montreux Christmas Market, Part 1

When one spots a Ferris wheel where one usually does not exist, it's a good clue that there are events happening nearby.

And yes, while this particular wheel would not "rev" up until later in the day, it was an excellent landmark to show where the bulk of Montreux's Christmas Market activity was being held.

But the market stalls, at least those closest to the street, were not focused just on Christmas, or even on seasonal food.  I got a kick out of this one - proudly sporting both Indian and Swiss flags, while advertising Indian food, underlining the fact that Montreux, as part of la Suisse romande, is an international city in every way.

As I made my way toward the lake, some stalls looked every bit as they would on any normal market day.

Aha, I'm getting closer.

Or am I?  A Christmas yurt?  Definitely a "first" for me.  But it looks warm and cozy inside.

A stall selling carved wooden plaques intrigued me for a while.

And traditional Christmas displays began popping up closer to Lake Geneva.

Carved wooden bears are a popular feature any time of the year,

and more cuddly versions abounded, although the bears were flanked by reindeer and mice as well.

Some visitors were as interested in photographing the wares as I was - we must have frustrated the stallholders.

Here's a gingerbread house, where jewelry - rather than edibles - is on display.

But what is literally breathtaking is to arrive at the lakefront

and see this panorama.

Vieille Ville in Montreux

Montreux's vieille ville is tiny in comparison to Geneva's, but it is truly a world away from the hustle, bustle and glitz along the lakefront. It also has some well-maintained and well-preserved buildings and was worth a walk, especially because the route occasionally provided some lovely, if slightly dizzying, vistas.

Before actually entering the Old City, however, I passed by the fairly impressive facade of a school.

Further along the same street, there was a WWI war memorial, to honor those from Montreux who had fallen in the 1914-1918 conflict.  While Switzerland itself was not invaded, apparently there were some from Montreux - perhaps dual nationals - who volunteered to fight.

But when the road became narrower and hillier, I knew that I was on my way to the Old City.

The road also had very neatly arranged cobblestones.

I could catch occasional breathtaking, albeit hazy, views of the Alps as I continued wandering uphill.

Aha! A balcony decorated for the holidays!

As well as some colorful doorsteps.

Here are some Swiss lions, carved in stone, guarding a doorway,

across the street from a charming wine cellar.

Coming down again, I was treated to yet another spectacular view.

I know that HWMBO will appreciate this shot of roofs and chimneys!

Before entering the lower city, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this house because I liked the design.

But now, it was time to head for the Christmas Market! 

Views from the Gare de Montreux

The gare de Montreux (Montreux train station), like all train stations in Switzerland, is in the center of town,  perched precariously between Alpine slopes, tamed at their lower levels by construction and the terraced vineyards that are a principal feature of the area,

and Lake Geneva.

More rugged Alps, appropriately sprinkled with snow at this time of year, loom above the station platform.

Before heading towards the Christmas market, I decided that I would visit Montreux's vieille ville (old city), so I began climbing the steps on the Alpine side of the platform.

From there I could look down at one of the Golden Pass trains,

which reminded me that I definitely plan to take some Golden Pass Line excursions this winter!