Chocolate and Cheese in Gruyère, Switzerland

Gruyère cows enjoying their lunch

Switzerland is the land of chocolate and cheese. Nowhere is this more evident than Gruyère, home to Cailler chocolate and, of course, Gruyère cheese. It's also full of rolling hills, snow-capped mountains, quaint villages and medieval castles. Cows roam the countryside and their tinkling bells fill the air. A day in idyllic Gruyère is quintessentially Swiss and one we try to share with all our visitors.

Getting to Gruyère from Zurich is fairly easy - two and a half hours by train with two changes, the first in Fribourg and second in Bulle. The trains run once per hour. With an early start, there will be plenty of time to explore!

Gruyère, town and castle

Gruyère Castle

Begin with a visit to the town of Gruyère and the Gruyère Castle. Follow signs for the short uphill walk from the train station (or catch the local bus). In town are cute shops fully of kitschy Swiss souvenirs and plenty of restaurants for lunch - or bring a picnic to enjoy on the castle grounds, like we did.

Jamie exploring Gruyère Castle

Picnic lunch with a view at Gruyère Castle

After your stroll through town and lunch, head back downhill to La Maison du Gruyère. For a 7chf entry fee, you will learn how Gruyère cheese is made, watch the process in action and taste three varieties. 

Cheesemaking at la Maison du Gruyère

Hop back on the train for a short ride to Broc-Fabrique. Take a deep breath when you arrive at the station - can you smell the chocolate? It's a short walk from the station to Maison Cailler.

Jamie and me before eating too much chocolate.

The 9chf tour covers the history of chocolate and Cailler, information about how and where Cailler sources its raw ingredients and an overview of the manufacturing process. All in English (among other languages). Best of all, it ends in....

...a buffet of chocolate.

I always leave with a stomachache. Well-worth it. Before you go, stop into the cafe for coffee or hot chocolate and stock up on discount candy bars. Or pop into the Nestle (the parent company of Cailler) shop by the train station for snacks on the train ride home. 

May 2015 visit with Julie - so much colder than May 2016!

If there's time, I highly recommend hopping off the train in Bern for a stroll through town and a quick dinner. Bern isn't often on people's Swiss itinerary, but its Altstadt is probably my favorite of the larger Swiss cities. 

Altstadt in Bern

Have you been to Gruyère? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Celebrating Sechseläuten in Zürich, Switzerland

Sechseläuten, or in proper Züridüütsch (the Swiss-German dialect in Zurich), Sächsilüüte, is Zünfte, historical guilds, parade through Zurich to Sechseläutenplatz, where the Böögg, an effigy of a snowman, is burned on top of a large pyre.
Zurich's spring festival. Each year, on the third Monday of April, members of Zurich's

How the Böögg burns predicts the quality of the coming summer. Its head is loaded with explosives and, the quicker the Böögg blows its head off, the nicer our summer will be. Last year's explosion at 20 min. 39 sec. indicated a mediocre summer ahead. Luckily for us, the Böögg was wrong and the summer of 2015 was gloriously sunny and warm.

What will be 2016's prediction? Watch the live stream of the parades and burning of the Böögg. Coverage begins at 3 p.m. CET here http://www.telezueri.ch/live

Until then, check out my photos from last year's celebration!

Celebrating Fasnacht in Basel, Switzerland

It's Fasnacht in Switzerland! Late January through February, Protestant areas of the country celebrate the pre-Lenten festival season known as Fasnacht (the Swiss-German version of Carnival). Parades of costumed children, grotesquely-masked adults and "Cliques" of piccolos and drums parade through streets in towns large and small, passing out candy and dumping loads of paper confetti.

Morgenstreich, photo courtesy of news.ch

The best and largest of the many celebrations is in Basel. It begins with the Morgenstreich, "without light," parade, at 4 a.m. on the Monday following Ash Wednesday. Every light in the city is turned off for the parade of glowing floats and lanterns. Fasnacht continues for 72 hours, during which parades and festivities fill the Basel Altstadt. After Morgenstreich, there are two more "official" Fasnacht parades, or Corteges. Last year, the Sleachmours took the 40 minute train from Zurich to Basel for Monday afternoon's parade.

Swiss Discoveries: Cut Your Own Flowers

A few weeks ago, while walking Henry past our local Gemeindehaus (town administrative offices), I noticed a field of flowers in full bloom. Rows were labeled by flower names, photos and a prices per "stiel," (stem). Small box cutters hung from nearby cash boxes along with a comprehensive price list. Putting two and two together, I determined it was a cut your own flower field.

Gladiolas and Sunflowers

Our First Eurovision

A few weeks ago, Matt was flipping TV channels over dinner and, quite by accident, stumbled on Eurovision, an annual European music competition. Participating countries each submit a song and performer(s) to compete in a live, televised, three day event. Rounds 1 and 2 introduce each country's song and audience voting results are combined with scores from a panel of judges determine which countries move on to perform in the finale, during which, top acts perform once again, and live voting and judges scores name an annual winner.

We were immediate sucked in by Eurovision's truly bizarre mix of music, from polished pop ballads to strange "modern" takes on traditional folk music. I have no idea how countries select their performers or the talent level of their pool of contestants, but some of their submissions were... ill advised, to say the least... making for very amusing television.

Celebrating Dreikonigstag in Switzerland - Three Kings Day

Thank you Dimitri and Mamiko for the delicious cake!

On January 6, the twelfth day after Christmas, the Swiss celebrate Dreikoenigstag, Three Kings Day. It is also known as Epiphany in English-language cultures and officially marks the end of the Holiday season.

Dreikoenigstag celebrates the arrival of the Magi at the manger in Bethlehem and the day is celebrated with Dreikoenigskuchen, Three Kings Cake. In the cake is hidden a nut or a small plastic king and whoever finds it is king for the day. They receive a crown and are excused from housework!

Ringing in the New Year and Smothering it in Cheese

Our plans for New Years Eve initially involved a quiet evening at home with our first attempt at making fondue. As you may have read on facebook, those plans changed when our neighbors invited us to a potluck party for the building. Our neighbors are older, mostly retirees, and none speak English. We made some simple cookies and planned to drop by for half an hour before heading back upstairs to our fondue. We didn't realize that by showing up, we signed up for a fantastic three hour, three course meal. Our generous neighbors fed us duck, ham, potatoes, rice casserole and tons of desserts. We tried wine from the vineyards just around the corner from our flat (which apparently sells out quickly each year) and homemade schnapps and grappa. A neighbor's adult children joined us - and they spoke English! We chatted about the neighborhood, their plans for an upcoming vacation to the West coast states and the difference between American and Swiss Coca Cola (corn syrup vs. sugar). It was a wonderful party. A little before midnight we went back to our flat to ring in the New Year with a German countdown special, similar to Dick Clark. At midnight, we watched the fireworks being set off by our neighbors. The Swiss love their fireworks; they continued setting them off through most of the night and the remnants littered the streets the next morning.

Sleachmour Christmas

The Rapperswil Christmas Market was our favorite of those we visited this year. Rapperswil is a quaint town on the opposite end of lake Zurich with a beautiful castle and a scenic main street along the lake. We drank (more) Gluhwein, ate sausages, browsed stalls filled with toys and tasty treats and enjoyed locals singing English Christmas carols.

Holiday Hikes in Switzerland

Things are slow and sleepy in Switzerland over the holidays. We were itching to get out of the apartment, but (still) couldn't leave Henry, so we took lots and lots of walks. Luckily, walking paths are plentiful throughout the country, and our neighborhood. As are mountain and lake views. The mild weather may not have allowed a white Christmas, but it did help as we explored our new home.

615 km to Paris? Let's get walking!

Exploring Swiss Christmas Markets

We're finally out of the hotel and in our temporary apartment. Yay! Once we've unpacked our short-term shipment, I'll post a tour. For now, here's a bit about how we spent our first weekend as Swiss residents.

Switzerland is home to hundreds of Christmas Markets. Over the weekend we explored a few, beginning with the Uster Weihnachtsmarkt, just a ten minute walk from our hotel. Henry began the trip by walking, but soon shivered himself into his carrier. But that didn't stop us from enjoying some Gluhwein (mulled wine) and a snack.

Matt enjoying Gluhwein while Henry looks pathetic.