A village for the rich...(Part 1)

While staying in Paris for my courses at Le Cordon Bleu, I tried to travel around during weekend or after the course... Gstaad was in my list, a small village in Switzerland and as they call it "the village for the rich", but I still have another reason to go there - the tennis tournament between the tennis stars!
I booked the hotel in Gstaad but after that I changed my mind I canceled it and booked another one in Rougemont - a village nearby and I don't know why...But it was good as I got a chance to know two villages: one for the rich and another one for the very rich! The only damage to me was the two way tickets from Rougemont to Gstaad everyday for my tennis tournament and it was 10 Euros for less than 10' route!

                I booked a hotel in this village, Rougemont, 10' by train to Gstaad.


I took a train from Lucerne to Rougemont and it was quite a long way as Rougemont up to the mountain, with some very few-minutes transfer to another train, but it was a terribly scenic route from Lucerne to Rougemont! The train with huge glass window so everyone could enjoy the fantastic view...

               The train to Rougemont - huge glass windows so you can enjoy the beautiful view...

                 The scenic route to Rougemont...

I arrived to Rougemont in the early afternoon, it was a bit chilly and with showers. I asked some men sitting near to the train station, but they have no idea where my hotel but I quickly found a village map right behind the train station and heading to village by the main road...

                 The main road from train station to my hotel in the village...

                 My hotel, owned and managed by a lovely couple, the wife was so helpful... 

After check-in to the hotel, I decided to go around Rougemont, it still rainy a bit! No problem! Actually Rougemont and Gstaad - these two villages are very popular for winter holidaymakers, skiers due to their beautiful mountains, hills...but I fall in love with this unspoilt village, with the evergreen valleys, the charming wooden houses (chalet), some of them are over 300 year old, the small routes in the village and the peaceful, purely fresh air in the mountain.And that could explain why Diana, Princes of Wales lived here for some time in the late 1970s.

                  A small fountain next to my hotel... 

                 My hotel on the left and the above-mentioned fountain right in the middle...

                  When I walked around in Rougemont , discovered peaceful corners...

                  beautiful wooden traditional houses (chalet)...

                I planned to make a long trek to Gstaad but gave up the idea due to my time limit... 

              It was so peaceful so some people could find it boring but look at the green... 

                 Rougemont - a small village with population of nearly 900 people. 

                Small route in the mountain...

Later when I left Rougemont and heading to Lugano, met my Swiss friend living there. I did ask him about how to keep the green like this everywhere in Switzerland, he explained it's a hard work by the farmers and especially by the cows...in hundred of years!

                The owner was taking care of the trees in the garden...

              The green, the peaceful atmosphere makes me fell so refreshed after the course in Paris 

         Many windows, floral balcony, some writings under the roof - traditional Swiss chalet

               My quick lunch before heading to Gstaad - a village for the super rich! 

After few hours of wandering in Rougemont, I returned to my hotel, had a quick lunch, I tried to order something very Swiss, but it turned out a plate of cold cuts with cheeses! By the way only here in Switzerland, you can find the vending machine for cheese, Swiss pride! The next part of this post will be about Gstaad, a village for the super rich, where I spent my days under the strong mountain sun for the tennis tournament and got a very strong suntan that made me look like a man coming back from long holiday in sunny Hawaii!