Melbourne shopping

A book, all I wanted was a book.

I set off down a Melbourne street to find a bookshop, followed some schoolkids into an alley and found myself in 'the southern hemisphere's biggest under-cover shopping precinct'. It is a series of shops with pedestrian bridges across intervening streets. Mercifully no Muzak,  so it is relaxing, especially on an early morning week day.

I asked a passer-by where the nearest bookshop was and she scratched her head and said "Well there used to be lots, but the only one I know if now is right at the other end of this street. Just keep on walking and you'll find it."

So much stuff....

So walk I did, on and on past clothes and yet more clothes. No bookstotes and hardly even a shoeshop. Who wears all these clothes, clothes that are apparently out of fashion two months after they are bought? Someone must or these stores would go broke.

Three storey of clothes shops

I eventually found the bookshop. It was busy fortunately so there is still a need for books in Melbourne.  Just imagine though a city with as many bookshop as clothes stores.

Big little purse in Melbourne

Melbourne is more relaxed than Sydney and it has a network of interesting inner city laneways  lined with shops who take the art of window display seriously so it is a nicer place to shop. 

Queue at tearooms in Melbourne laneway

Melbourians also seem to be more conservative that Sydneysider. I was surprised to see well dressed 14 year old girls waited patiently in the long queue to 'that' tea shop, the one with the green flock wallpaper and cakes with real European flair. I'm not sure where 14 year old girls would queue in Sydney?
European? Yes, Melbourne definately feels more European. More solid, less stressed, more, well, cultured.

Big little purse in Bourke Street

Zweisimmen to Gstaad by rail

 Zweisimmen is half an hour by rail from Gstaad and I took the train there yesterday. It is a very curvy scenic journey up and over the hill.

Salzburg Elevation  = 424 m (1,391 ft)
Bern Elevation  = 542 m (1,778 ft)
Zweisimmen Elevation =  947 m (3,107 ft)
Gstaad Elevation = 1,050 metres (3,445 feet)

Zweisimmen to Gstaad by rail.

Now I have finally visited Gstaad I realise how lucky I was deciding to stay in Zweisimmen instead of Gstaad. Firstly that extra train change after a long haul flight would have been one too many. I would not have enjoyed the scenic journey.  But secondly,  Gstaad is like a large upmarket mall and I found it similarly sterile. It might be upmarket but it is not relaxing ( well perhaps it is for people who love shopping.)

Pretty Gstaad

Visitors were a mixture of Swiss in hiking gear and internationals/locals shopping in the swanky shops. Middle Eastern folk were noticable by their presence, carrying large shopping bags.

Art ...

Art too

I visited two art galleries which were full of the type of art made in workshops according to an artist's directions.

In short, I found Gstaad tiring and alienating. Good for a concert perhaps, but not for a holiday.

Gstaad - playground of the 1%

I  have belatedly read the wikipedia entry for Gstaad:

"Gstaad... is a bilingual village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland... and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst the high society and the international jet set."

So no wonder the prices are exorbitant and they have to bus people in for larger concerts.

Gstaad promenade (from Wikipedia)

"Gstaad is home to one of the largest ski areas in the Alps (220 km (137 mi) of slopes). The middle of the village features a picturesque promenade bounded by numerous shops, restaurants, art galleries, and hotels. Designer labels including Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chopard, Brunello Cucinelli, Prada, Moncler, Ralph Lauren, and Cartier all have stores in Gstaad, while many smaller boutiques stock labels such as Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Tod's, Burberry, Dior, Oscar de la Renta, and Marc Jacobs."

Funny isn't it that shopping takes pride of place in the list of attractions. I guess you come here to buy the things that mark you out as one of the 1%, otherwise who would know?

Art galleries are included in the list above so I plan to do a gallery-crawl before the Kuafmann concert.