16 hours ago
People blast European beauty spot made famous by Netflix for charging tourists 'outrageous' price to take a picture there, saying 'No way this is real'
Switzerland is famously beautiful and famously pricey, so it's little wonder that in some places there's a price on those stellar views.
One particular spot that has been a tourist cash cow in recent years is a gorgeous lakeside location that once featured in a hugely popular Netflix series - and sparked an influx of fans of the show to its shores.
South Korean series Crash Landing on You first aired six years ago but has amassed millions of fans across the world, with Asian fans particularly keen to stop by the scenic locations during visits to Europe.
The Kdrama tells the tale of a piano prodigy who, while studying in Switzerland, is forced to enlist in the North Korean military.
During his time at home he falls for a South Korean heiress who is accidentally dropped into the communist territory during a paragliding accident.
When it aired, it became the second highest-rated series in Korean cable television history.
Many of Switzerland's lakes and mountains are showcased in the show but one spot, the tiny village of Iseltwald on Lake Brienz, has proved a big draw for fans.
A turnstile placed at the end of the jetty means visitors must pay 5 Swiss Francs each (around £4.55) if they want a selfie in the place that appeared in the Kdrama
And in recent years, the village has decided to charge them for their moment of posing for the Gram.
There's now a turnstile - like the one you might get at a football ground - installed in front of the jetty that was used in a famous scene in the show.
Should you want to push through it and take a snap or too, it'll cost each person 5 Swiss Francs (£4.55).
Those who've seen images of the turnstile shared on social media said it was 'wild' that people were being asked to pay for a natural view.
One person wrote: 'Charging me for something nature created is wild.'
Another added: 'Be charging for air to breathe soon'.
But it works both ways, locals in the town have also protested about the amount of visitors the village has had thanks to the show in recent years, branding it 'rubbish tourism'.
On an Instagram post about the tourist spot, someone who lives nearby explained the logic behind the toll.
They penned: 'I live near this small town up and until the last two years there were nothing like this.
'But the place became famous thanks to Crash Landing on You series and there were too many tourists! That's why they took this step.'
It's thought the charging mechanism came into force a couple of years ago, after thousands of visitors descended following the series, right, becoming the second most watched cable TV series in history
One person, who worked in a supermarket told publication in 2022: 'Iseltwald is a quiet village with a population of 420. The local residents are not happy with this wave of tourists.'
Other destinations that have proved popular with fans of the show include Jungfraujoch, Kleine Scheidegg and the Sigriswil Panoramic Bridge.
Bans on Instagrammers trying to get selfies of popular tourist spots - often featured in films - have become increasingly popular in recent years.
Last summer, a road in Vermont that had become overrun with Instagram-crazed tourists was closed to visitors during fall foliage season.
Known for its appearances in commercials and the film Forrest Gump, Jenne Road in Reading has become a popular spot for those looking to snap pics of autumn's changing colors.
For the second year in a row in 2024, the town's board has voted to close the road to leaf peepers, MyNBC5 reported.
Jeanne Road resident Bill Bakker urged the board to close the road, describing the 'huge line of cars' parked nearby.
'We've had people park on our private property. It's just really just a very, very, very bad scene,' he said.
The site also includes Jenne Farm, a focal point of the scene whose beauty Bakker acknowledged.
'It's the way the hills sort of roll, and from this one viewpoint, you're sort of looking down through the field and onto the farm. So I'm not going to say it's not beautiful,' he said.
