SMOOTH ROAD
To reach that village, the car had to weave through the pine forests and navigate the winding slopes. Swiss-standard roads are beyond comparison: very well-maintained, without any potholes or bumps, so the car runs smoothly.
Switzerland boasts some of the world’s top schools for hotel and tourism management. Therefore, even a hotel room in the countryside must meet the hotel standards as they are taught in school: the room must be tidy with clean and fragrant bed linens.
Would you like examples of hotel standards from different star ratings?
In addition, the hotel staff always wear a smile. It seems they are used to welcoming distant travelers, knowing that a timely friendly and kind smile, like welcoming a long-lost relative, will dissolve the fatigue of the journey for the guests.Speaking French in this mountainous region is treated even more like a VIP, as there are plenty of travelers who do not speak English or any commonly used European language.
Traveling on a budget in Europe or the US is the same when it comes to accommodations. The organizing company advertises the accommodation very aggressively, claiming it is excellent. It is indeed nice, but in reality, guests are only accommodated in hotels far from the city center. In Europe, for example, there are five-star hotels in the suburbs or near airports.Of course, guests can still opt for “private stays” in the bustling city center. And pay extra!
Actually, accommodation is not that important. Sightseeing is the main focus, and people always take you to must-visit tourist spots in different European countries.
When we arrived at the hotel, the afternoon sun had not yet set.Check in, open the window, look up to see the deep blue sky, look straight ahead to see the same blue, and look down at an oblique angle to see a valley filled with flowers.It seems to be sunflowers or dandelions; they look like they are shimmering in the late afternoon sunlight.
It seems to be sunflowers or dandelions; they look shimmering in the late afternoon sunlight.
STRANGE BUT FAMILIAR
Everything looks so strange yet feels incredibly familiar.
Strange because I am in a developed country but still maintain small villages, where life flows slowly like in a distant time, when people woke up with the sunrise and went to sleep with the cover of night.
Surely, choosing to live in a village also means choosing a gentle pace of life to enjoy the fresh atmosphere and natural scenery. Not far from the bustling city lies a space that is too quiet, where the sound of a car can wake up an entire crowded hotel.
Familiar because in the past, I used to live like that in a small neighborhood, in those distant days – almost always quiet throughout the day, especially on hot summer afternoons…
Since I arrived here before the sun had completely set, I wandered a bit, admiring the Swiss-style houses with their tall, darkened red ardoise roofs and pine wood walls that still seemed to exude a captivating resinous scent.
There, one feels like a time-traveling tourist in an incredibly gentle and peaceful space, with a very slow-paced life, not caught up in the hustle and bustle of the city, tirelessly toiling and forgetting the passage of years.
At that time, it had been many years since I had enjoyed the fresh atmosphere, reminiscent of the old days of the city in its youth, looking up to see the green mountains and white clouds floating around. The paradisiacal beauty on the high mountains. So relaxing.
