Tina Turner's blissful final days: Star lived quiet life in Swiss village where she was known as 'modest'
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: Tina Turner spent her final days wandering the gorgeous lakeside village she called home in Switzerland. The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll would casually stroll through the streets of Kusnacht while shopping for high-end apparel and fine cuisine.
Turner moved to Kusnacht in 1995 after her German husband Erwin Bach obtained a job overseeing EMI Music's Swiss business in the neighboring city of Zurich. She gave up her US passport and became a citizen of Switzerland in the same year. Turner and her husband Bach had lived on the beautiful estate known as Chateau Algonquin for a period of 22 years. The land registry office in Kusnacht confirmed that the estate, which Turner named after her Native American Algonquin ancestors, has been sold after the 'Proud Mary' singer's death, DailyMail reports.
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What did Tina Turner do during her final days in Switzerland?
Turner would often relax on a chair in the neighborhood park and gaze over the Zurichsee Lake at the snow-capped mountains that serve as the landmark of this Alpine country in addition to casually wandering through the streets of Kusnacht. And even though she had a personal butler and a complete team, the star would drive her Porsche Cayenne through the narrow lanes by herself.
'She was very friendly'
Turner, who picked up the distinctive Swiss vernacular while learning German to qualify for Swiss citizenship, started attending yoga lessons in the Horn Public Park, which is close to her expansive chateau. A neighbor revealed, "When she first came to live here she took up yoga. She attended classes held in the park," according to DailyMail.
Another neighbor added, "She liked to go to the park and sit by the water. It is a very peaceful place. She would say 'Gruezi,' how we say 'hello' in Swiss-German, to people walking their dogs. She was very friendly," according to DailyMail.
Turner also frequently went to a high-end clothing store in Laredo and Arzu Oezoguz, a shop assistant, said, "Ms Turner would come into the shop. She was very modest. She would come in with her husband Erwin. She was not conceited. I would say 'Hello, Ms Turner' and she would say 'hello' back," according to DailyMail.
"She liked shoes. We have some very nice shoes here, made by Italian designers. They cost about 1,000 Swiss francs. We also sell clothes. Our dresses cost about the same. Ms Turner liked to buy these. And she bought cashmere sweaters for her husband Erwin. Other times I would see her driving around the village in her Porsche Cayenne. She was a very polite lady," Oezoguz concluded.
'Wealthy people live their life in peace here'
Neighbors now remember Turner as being "modest," "friendly," and "polite." Butcher Benny Lang said, "Tina Turner would come into town to do the shopping sometimes. She had a butler but she liked to go herself, with her husband Erwin. They particularly liked the Moreira Gourmet House."
Lang added, "It is the best place in the area to buy smoked salmon and white truffles. That's what they bought there," according to DailyMail. Another resident said, "I would see Tina Turner walking in the street with her husband," according to DailyMail.
The resident continued, "They seemed very relaxed and happy together." One resident said, "Wealthy people live their life in peace here. We leave them alone and let them be who they want to be. That is why they come to live here," according to DailyMail.
