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Here's the diary of our Switzerland trip - click a picture to enlarge it to 640x480!
Day 1 8/4/06 – 8/5/06 Wow, first traveling vacation in almost 3 years! Following past proven practice, Dave worked at home for BNY until we left for the drive to Bob & Joyce’s on Staten Island about 3:00. Checked our bags, sped through security, and boarded our brand new 767, bulkhead row, for a very comfortable and totally civilized trip to Geneva, nonstop. Dave got about 3 hours sleep, Jill 2, Kristen 1, because she stayed up all night watching movies and playing video games on the personal TV. We all got a kick out of “Over the Hedge”, though. Picked up the bags after a cursory passport check, then our Hertz rental – a Toyota Corolla Verso, which is just like the Renault Scenic – a nice, new, mini-minivan. I went to the counter, said “Reservation pour Siebenheller, “ess-ee-uh-bay”, which is the French pronunciation of the first 4 letters. The woman looked at my passport and said in English “Oh, you’re pronouncing it in French”. Then a glance at the driver’s license – “Oh, you’re from Colts Neck. I’m from Point Pleasant. I’m going there in a few weeks; I have a sister and a house there.” Small world. Picked up some cash from an ATM, some sodas, and hit the road for our 1.5 hour drive, in 60 degree drizzle, to Chateau D’Oex.
First stop, the Co-Op supermarket. First purchase, some L’Etivaz cheese, then about $80 worth of other groceries. Next stop, the Tourist Office, where I met our house hostess Estelle Martin after a 10-minute wait. Picked up a couple of brochures, then followed her up the steep hill, past David Niven’s former home, to our chalet. ...
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The chalet is on two floors, with 4 bedrooms up, and an open living-dining with small but functional kitchen down. You’d better like knotty pine, because you’re surrounded by it! It’s not huge, like some of our prior rentals; it feels “just right”. The appliances are modern, and there are plenty of electrical outlets and 2 modern baths, one with skylight. The heating system is barely functional downstairs, and we need it since it’s 50 degrees in August! And the hot water is hot, hot, hot. But the highlight, and our reason for choosing the chalet, is the spectacular view across Chateau D’Oex to the rocky, jagged mountains across the valley. Even in the mist and rain it looks great. You can almost touch the mountains, which are covered in pines and large sloping fields, dotted with chalets and cows. With the clouds floating by at our level, it makes a spectacular vista, even in the rain. We decided to take a walk around Chateau D’Oex in the rain, and bought some bread and cheese for dinner. See the “Cheese Log” at the end of the diary.
By the time we got home, wet and exhausted, it was time for dinner. Jill made a very nice meal of Cat’s Eyes, string beans, and roasted fingerling potatoes with rosemary, Cat’s Eyes?!?!? Yes Cat’s Eyes. They looked really interesting at the butcher’s counter, but not what you think. They make Cat’s Eyes by taking a pork loin, cutting a slice in it, stuffing the slice with beef, leeks, and bacon, covering the whole with bacon, tying with string and cutting into cutlets. I asked the woman at the counter and they are best fried. They were great, and the bacon was real smokehouse stuff, not flavored artificially. Delicious!
Some Toblerone (which we now know is owned by Kraft), a little more wine (not as cheap as France), and we were in bed by 8:00. Kristen and I had had ½ hour naps earlier, Jill had not. Our bed is a very comfortable firm Queen, with view and balcony. Kristen has a twin with the same view and balcony. We passed out within minutes of hitting the pillow, under the fluffy duvets.
Day 2 – 8/6/06 Jill and I awoke at midnight to a couple of gunshots in the valley, or maybe it was fireworks. Otherwise, silent as a tomb. Jill and I both dislike the duvet concept, what’s under the duvet is broiling, what’s not is frozen. When we awoke it was 10:00 – 14 hours of sleep! Kristen and I still couldn’t get out of bed till 11:00!
Rain, drizzle, clear, 50 degrees – more of the same weather. Ham and eggs and baguette for breakfast – and before we knew it – it was 1 PM! We got our butts in gear and backed down the driveway. Found the Hotel – Restaurant Ermitage and went inside for lunch. A mistake, since if we had looked at the menu outside we would have realized it was a bit more formal and expensive than we had in mind. Kristen was on her best behavior, as we skipped the starter and had pork (Miss K) and Beef (mom & dad), though mom’s was supposed to be Veal. Kristen and I had some kind of home made sorbet that sounded like “Pistachio” but wasn’t – it was melon. Tasty for dad but not Kristen. Unfortunately, too much money at 120 CHF – about $90. And to boot, once we got home Jill found that it was a place she had decided not to go to, based on the brochure!
After lunch it was on the road in search of either “Sommerfest” in Zweisimmen, or “Drinking Sunday” in Launen. We opted for Sommerfest but by the time we got to Zweisimmen there was no sign of Sommerfest, or Summer, for that matter. But the rain let up enough for a brief walk around town, and some photos of cows (plastic) in the traffic circle. Besides the cows, we did enjoy the spectacular scenery and a couple of churches we went into. The Rougemont church was from around 1100 and seemed to have the original frescoes and decorations still in place. We pressed a button to turn on the lights, and they came to life. Also awesome was the organ, which formed one wooden ensemble with the vestibule. And the churchyard was nice, all the graves (recycled every 15 years or so) immaculate and flowered.
The Saanen church was larger but “only” from 1620. It too had intact frescoes, inside and (a fragment) out. The pulpit was a masterpiece of wood inlays. And Saanen’s organ was nicer, and more colorful. The churchyard had many flowered graves, and we enjoyed a stroll around, surrounded by the mountains.
Then back home, all stores closed, for dinner of leftover potatoes, string beans sautéed with bacon, a little Cat’s Eye, awesome cheeses with OK bread, and soon – gateau aux fruits I got from the patisserie.
Diana Krall on the IPod, which I have hooked up to the stereo. I must say I am very pleased with the technology we brought on the trip. The IPod – which hooks up to the stereo, or the car via an FM transmitter – adds a new dimension to our sonic adventures. The new Fujifilm F30 camera is awesome, like having an SLR the size of a deck of cards in your pocket. And it can show the pictures on the TV, or back them up on the IPod!
Day 3 – 8/7/06 Another late awakening. Jill went to bed at 10:30, but Kristen and I weren’t tired. I was reading in bed, sat up, and Kristen called from the other room at 11 PM “Dad, whatcha dong?”, so we both continued reading – K till 1, dad till about 2. Up at 9 (girls) and 10 (dad), watched the occasional drizzle fall, has croissants for breakfast,. Miss K watched a little Fantasia 2000 on DVD (since we have only 2 TV channels), and we left before 12. Destination Gstaad, where we arrived before 12 and after paying to park with the help of a nice German-speaking girl (fluent in English, of course), walked onto the main street to hear the church bells chime 12. One can almost imagine the place in the snow, with rich Eurotrash schussing down Main Street to the nearest ski lift. But even with the Eurotrash mostly absent, this still seems to be a rich resort town where no one really lives anymore.
We strode down the street looking for a place to eat and pretty much ignoring Hermes, Louis Vuitton, etc. The town looked like the home of the $150 lunch, but we found the “Apple Pie”, a nice homey pizza / sandwich / crepe place where we had a very tasty thin crust pizza lunch (Margherita and Chasseur (hunter) – mushroom), for about $50, a bargain. Miss K had chocolate ice cream and Dave a huge thick wedge of the warm namesake apple pie for dessert. Yum. Burp.
Past Feutersoey, where we had hoped to find an antique store that sells old cowbells, but didn’t see it. Over the Col de Pilon and into Les Diablarets, a low-key ski town nestled at the bottom of several massive mountains.
Parked, walked across a glacial-melt creek via a brand new covered bridge, and explored the town. Found a little antique / curiosity shop run by an old guy who makes all sorts of stuff – crafts, tables, chairs, etc. His tiny shop held a collection of antique cowbells, ad we rang them all and selected a 150CHF model that looks like it was worn for about 50 years. It’s about 7” wide with an old wide leather belt. Monsieur explained to me in French that t was cheaper than some of the smaller bells because it had been repaired long ago and didn’t ring true. That’s ok by me, I think it lends character. It is from “50 years ago, before the war”. Monsieur showed me the maker’s logo and said “He’s dead”. I’m very pleased with my French and it was fun having an extended conversation with him. I should have gotten his picture.
Oh yeah, forgot that we got a hat and tee shirt in the Gstaad tourist office, from a nice girl who also gave us some tourism info. Stopped for groceries on he way out of town, then headed over the Col De Pilon, where – guess what – the sun started shining! At the top of the Col there was a farmhouse with a sign that read “Fromage D’Alpage”, or cheese from the high alpine pastures. I hung a U-turn and parked in the drive next to the tractor. Kristen and I stick our heads into a door and saw a woman and a boy about 10. The boy was turning a crank on a horizontal churn, about 5 gallons, making butter. The woman was moving some stainless steel milk cans and rinsing out a cheesecloth. The room, and the woman, about 35, smelled very barnyard-y. She had coveralls and rubber boots on. I asked if we could buy some cheese, she said yes and took us into what I can only assume was her kitchen. As she got down 2 large wedges I saw the 1940 coal-fired stove (for cooking) blazing away. In the corner – one of those gigantic 100 gallon copper pots and a fireplace, where they must still make the cheese. I gave me 2 slices to try, and I bought a very large wedge of one for about 15CHF. The woman had 28 cows, a very thick accent, and a very, very hard life. But we had a great conversation, and her family makes great cheese I’ll always remember.
Then over the Col, passing some psycho bicyclists, with the sun now out in full force! Saw some picture perfect views of Chateau D’Oex on the way down, and we’ll have to go back for pictures.
Walked around town, some cute shops, and a playground with a cable swing we’ll have to get Kristen, or Jill, on.
Back home, backing up the drive this time, and parking in a vertiginous parking spot. Three more cheeses on the porch, with Weissbier and a postcard-perfect view of the jagged mountains.
Jill made sausage, fingerling potatoes, green beans, and salad, very nice. If it’s nice – who knows – maybe tomorrow holds a balloon ride, or a cable car ride!
Day 4 - 8/8/06 A beautiful day in the Alps! It was a little foggy when we arose, but you could tell it was the type that would burn off. Breakfast of baguette and jam, and an early exit. Destination – the Wispile cable car, which was recommended to us by the Gstaad tourist office as a family destination. (Early exit means 10 a.m.) The Wispile lift is just on the other side of Gstaad. It cost about 56 CHF for 2 adults and one free kid’s ticket. You can see how the whole area must be a skier’s paradise, since with one life ticket you can ski tens of miles of trails, with all levels of expertise, many, many lifts, connecting many towns. We got our computerized tickets and went through the automatic turnstiles, and boarded our 4-person gondola for the 15 minute ride up. We passed several groups of brown cows, bells clanging, and my “Hello, Girls” brought one group to a halt, staring at our gondola. The view got better and better the higher we went (from about 1000 to 2000 meters). Long distance views over Gstaad and other towns, jagged mountain peaks, white fluffy clouds, pine trees, etc. Just gorgeous.
But wait, it got better. At the top we took a short walk to the restaurant / outdoor terrace / playground area where the views turned to about 270 degrees. Now we were seeing the same amazing view in several directions. And after a ½ hour or so walk, we could see the snow-covered high alps to the east. Wow! Many people of all nationalities, shapes, sizes, were hiking off in all directions, some with pets. Even some heterosexual males carrying wicker baskets and hunting mushrooms.
We walked back to the terrace and had a couple of Diet Cokes and admired the view while Kristen went on the play gear and fed the goats. Per the usual European experience, there were many obvious shortcomings at the terrace that would make an American litigator drool, and the fact that I even think that way makes me kind of sad. Dave had a mediocre Rosti with cheese (kind of like a big hash brown), Jill a very good pork schnitzel, and Kristen chicken nuggets and fries, wit drinks about 60 CHF ($45). Kristen and Jill strode off to some kind of Indian village / obstacle course thing 15 minutes away, while I reclined in one of those alpine resort outdoor chairs and scanned the mountains with my binoculars. It’s amazing how high up people build chalets, and how high cows can go! Jill and Kristen returned to report and unsafe and scary experience at the obstacle course involving rope and wood steps, mud, and Kristen nearly panicking on a rope bridge with Jill unable to help her. But Kristen persevered, conquered the bridge, and returned – probably not scarred for life. Back down the life, more cows, and watching several groups we recognized from the top hiking down, including one guy with 2 terriers trotting ahead of him on the path.
On the way home we stopped in Rougemont for a look-see, looked and didn’t see much of interest. Tried the phone card number I bought in the USA, but apparently the number for Switzerland doesn’t work. Back to Chateau D’Oex (the Gstaad tourism person pronounced it more like “Chateau Duh that “Chateau Day”, as the guides say), where I bought another phone card from a newsstand after much travail, with the lady calling someone to find out which card worked for the USA, me knocking off part of her cash register, (don’t ask, but she laughed), people waiting, etc.
End result, we were able to call home from a payphone and check in, Jill had a better connection than me. Kristen finally got a souvenir of a nice goat and lamb (3”), and then we backed up the drive again to home.
We were all dehydrated, and sunburned too – 2 stupid mistakes. Had some water, now wine, and writing the diary on the balcony with the awesome view, smelling wood smoke and barnyard, and hearing the noisy braying of a donkey and the high pitched whistle of the train in the valley below.
Keeping it simple tonight for dinner again – ham and cheese omelets, salad, bread and wine. In town this afternoon I got asked by the UPS guy how long it would take to get to Geneva – told him 1 ½ to 2 hours. I count this as extending my streak of getting asked for directions once per trip by a local!
Day 5 – 8/9/06 Cracked an eye open at 8, and it looked like heavy fog, but it might turn nice given time. Jill and I arose around 8:30, I made myself a nice ham and Fromage D’Alpage omelet, and we finally dragged Kristen’s butt out of bed around 10. The fog was burning off as we ascended back up the Col De Mosses toward Aigle. The spectacular views are now becoming routine. We got to Aigle, parked, and took a long walk through town toward Chateau Aigle – 13th. C. As we approached, several churches began pealing out 12:00, lending a romantic atmosphere.
At about 12:10 we walked into the restaurant across from the chateau, despite the high prices on the menu outside. Hey, we’re eating dinner at home every night…
The odd place had about 3 tables and no reception, though it did also have a small outdoor terrace. So there we were, standing in the middle of a fairly classy place, being told that no, there were no tables. Kind of odd, and unfriendly, for a place right across from a (very) minor tourist attraction. Rather than walking back down towards the car, we decided to tour the castle (and wine museum) first. Chateau Aigle ended up being “not worth the journey”, especially after we climbed up 5-6 stories of circular staircase to see some (nice) old wine stuff – casks, bottles, corkscrews, etc.
Walked around the (small) ramparts, then checked out a room of 50+ year old wine labels. Some were cool. Various countries including China, the Baltics, and other oddities.
Saw the chateau apartments, though we lost interest (except Kristen) and about 1:30 went back into the village to another restaurant we had seen. It hadn’t looked that attractive on the way in, mostly because a group of men were seated just inside the door – but on the way back we saw their outdoor terrace open, with some café tables, a fountains and an awning. Looked good., So we had a seat, much needed, and a larger bottle of water (with “boules” - carbonation) while we waited for our plats du jour of roast chicken with frites and salad (Dave & Jill) and “Chicken Nuggets with Frites” (Kristen). Never saw the phrase “Chicken Nuggets” in France, but it’s on almost every Swiss kids’ menu. Lunch was good, and leisurely, though Jill thought her chicken a little dry. About 2:30 we called it a meal, and Dave enjoyed the nicest café bathroom on the continent, downstairs. Bade goodbye to monsieur and madame, then off for some more intense scenic driving. First – up numerous switchbacks to Villars, a large attractive resort town with magnificent views south. I should add that there were now many views of terraced vineyards, impossibly steep, on the way up to Villars, AIgle being a Swiss wine center. Villars was a prosperous-looking resort town on the edge of a cliff, fairly spread out with numerous large chalet apartments, restaurants, etc. We liked it so much we visited twice – well actually we missed our turn and ended up in the next town (where a train running down the street forced us into the opposite lane), then came back to find our turn towards Les Diablarets (The Little Devils, same town where we got the cowbell.) The route took us over the Col de Croix, a ridiculously steep road where we saw numerous bikers, motorized and non-, making the ascent. Stopped near the top for some photos, then slowly descended into Les Diablarets. Kristen had a chocolate ice cream and dad a Capirhena (!) sorbet at a café on a corner.
Then back home via the Col De Mosses. We’ll have to come back for the Donc Festival – rock and blues in the middle of nowhere, believe it or not, starts tomorrow. Route back took longer than I had remembered. We were exhausted when we got home, and Jill made a very nice dinner of goat cheese salad, I cooked the bacon and melted the goat cheese. Meringue “cookies” for dessert, plus a little chocolate. The meringue was kinda sweet for me.
Day 6 – 8/10/06 Yesterday Jill bought some parakeet seed at the Co-Op, and by today the sparrows found, and devoured it on the balcony. Today we took a “vacation from our vacation” as Rick Steves would say. Got up, lolled around the house, Kristen played with her dolls and watched a video (Barbie Rapunzel). Just took it easy. Went into town for lunch at “Au Montagnard”. Great interior – kind of like 200-year-old chalet meets TGI Friday’s, if you can imagine that. All sorts of old Swiss stuff on the walls – I liked the old wooden skis with the homemade wood branch ski poles. Jill liked the detailed mural of Swiss cows, Kristen liked the cowbell display. Miss K had ham and excellent frites, Dave & Jill had a very nice fondue – very creamy and light, almost like it had been whipped. Tasty, and no room for dessert, except for Kristen. With 2 glasses of wine 78 CHF. Three tables were occupied, including the owner / chef’s family, whose kid was calling him from upstairs. Went across the street to a very nice playground, with modern equipment and a sliding cable car type device that Kristen went on about 100 times. After checking out the rest of the amusements, we went to the municipal pool across the “highway”.
The pool was huge, maybe twice the size of the South Shore Swimming Club. Again, many features to delight any attorney, including slide and diving board. They had a snack bar, changing areas, terrasse, benches, lap lane, kiddie area, toys, etc. What they didn’t have much of was sun, which is why we just about had the place to ourselves. Kristen and I went in for a while; Kristen just about had frostbite when she came out. About 16 CHF for 3.
Back into town for more groceries, including some raspberries and huge blackberries, plus home-smoked bacon I’m really looking forward to. Mailed a few postcards (over 7 CHF to airmail 4, yikes), then drove up above our chalet, where there are a couple of farms and more views.
The sparrows are yelling at me to go back inside to they get some more seed. We have salad, bread, cheese and berries instead – right after I finish this Absinthe!
Day 7 – 8/11/06 Woke up about 7, went to the bathroom, climbed back into bed, and regretted feeding the sparrows yesterday… they were chirping rather aggressively as I attempted to reenter the Land of Nod. It didn’t matter though, because before 7:15 I could not believe my ears as they registered the sound of… a weed whacker! The owner had said she was having trouble getting him to show; I guess she was finally successful. The property is so steep a lawnmower is impossible, so it gets an hour of weed whacking instead. Sleep was futile; I got up around 8 with berries, toast and leftover almond tart for breakfast. It wasn’t looking too delightful for the day’s travels, so we planned a boat trip on the Thunnersee – Lake Thun. Unfortunately the drive to Lake Thun took somewhat longer than I had hoped – about 1 ¼ hours to Speiz. This does not bode well for some of our other possible excursions. Parked in a “high rise” lot, with no one else in it, and had about ¼ mile walk to the boat dock. We quickly boarded a very nice excursion boat to Thun – I hope it was nice, 3 round trips (ok, in first class) cost 90+ CHF (~$70) for a 2+ hour trip. The water was that aquamarine / turquoise blue common to glacial melt lakes and rivers. Beautiful. Lots of ducks and swans, etc., many types unknown to us. I went to pay for the tickets on board with my Visa, and – Oh Shit – the Visa was gone. Jill paid with hers and got harassed by the deckhand because her signature did not match the card. She had to sign three times before he was happy. As we ascended to our first class cabin, separate from the Hoi Polloi, I realized that I had probably left the Visa at Au Montagnard for yesterday’s lunch. Our waitress brought us 3 sandwiches and Diet Cokes, and we settled back to enjoy the scenery. We stopped briefly at several towns on the north side of Lake Thun, and our second stop, Oberhofen, looked particularly attractive. It was raining and misting on and off (more on than off), though Kristen and I were able to go onto the back deck and take some photos. Oberhofen Castle has one room jutting into the lake that made for some pretty photographs. After an hour we were in Thun, but the dock area was rather unattractive, being adjacent to the rail and bus stations. With the rain getting heavier, we opted to return to the boat. Saw a sailing school in progress, and decided to debark at Oberhofen to check out the castle.
It ended up a good choice, as the interior was lovely, well maintained with period furniture, art, antiques, etc. I especially liked going out into the room over the lake – 4 windows, a table in the middle, exquisite wood paneling – it was a masterpiece and I could imagine myself enjoying a drink, or a cigar there.
The rest of the castle has some great furnished rooms too… Louis XIV, Louis XV, and all that. Miss K had about 10 minutes on the playset outside before the next boat at 3 p.m.
Got back to Speiz, tired, about 3:30, got back to the car about 4 and drove home in the rain.Bummer. Went shopping at Co-Op and parked for a while in front of Au Montagnard to see if I could reclaim the Visa when they reopened at 5:30. By 5:40 it was still dark, so I drove off, only to see the lights on. I knew that would happen! I parked a couple of blocks away, Jill and Kristen walked back, no one spoke English but it turned out that the card was at the Gendarmerie (police station)! After a quick ID check from a very attractive female cop (Arrest Me!), and thanks all around, I had the Visa back and it was time to back up the . driveway. Jill made a nice dinner of salad, pasta with sauce and bread, and of course some wine. Dave deleted some bad / redundant photos from the camera to make room for more. Miss K is playing with her mini-dolls and George Harrison is on the iPod / stereo. One thing is for sure – ain’t no one going to whacking weeds tomorrow morning!
Day 8 – 8/12/06 Went to bed with rain, with the roof behind the headboard singing with rain cascading into the 1 foot wide gutters. Woke up to more rain, but the singing didn’t seem so musical anymore. Hey wait, what is that on the top of the Gummfluh (“our” mountain)? SNOW? On August 12th? Yep, even the gas station owner was surprised. He helped me out with the auto-payant machine, like the French gas station auto-payants, it only accepts debit cards. We had a nice conversation as he pumped my gas – it’s early for snow on the mountains, even here. He also told me not to bother with the Donc Festival - the Rock / Blues festival on the Col de Mosses. He said, in French, “People like this”, and made a twisting motion on his nose with his fist. (I thought it meant “stuck up” but Jill thinks “pigs”, which is probably right.) We had the homemade bacon with eggs – quite salty but with a great smoky flavor, the girls thought too salty. Certainly not very fatty. It had cleared a bit during breakfast, and we headed in the direction of the good weather, but as soon as we gassed up it started raining again. Destination – Gruyeres. I drove past a police barrier to try to get to parking lot #1 at the top of the village, rather than hiking up from lot #2, but the cop at the top wasn’t buying my leg excuse and told me if we didn’t want to walk we could take the mini-train from the cheese factory / museum instead. Sounded like a plan. Parked down the hill and went for a self-guided tour of the cheese factory, which was “ok” and had English language museum guide audio players to help out.
Then lunch in the large cafeteria that looked promising but was a little disappointing – Dave Rosti with veggies & cheese, Jill salad with too much cheese (even though we were in the factory), Miss K the ubiquitous chicken fingers and excellent fries.
The best part of the place was looking at the 7000 Gruyere cheeses (70 lbs. each) and watching a robot pick up each one, wash it with a saltwater bath, flip it, and replace it. I wonder how the old guy who used to flip the cheese felt when Robo-Cheeseman showed up? The mini-train was nice because we got dropped right at the top of the town, where Gruyeres castle was. Our first destination. It was quite nicely done, despite being the center of a major tourist town. The 19th century owner had a lot of decorative painting done to the interior, which added a tasteful accent to the original furnishings – which included a petrified hand. The hand had many myths associated with it until it was proved in 2003 to be from an Egyptian mummy! The castle was nicely furnished, had beautiful views, and many authentic elements dating back to the 1200’s. The girls liked the kitchen, and I liked the balcony with the awesome view.
I also like the room full of original modern paintings, all depicting the castle.
It was raining again when we left, but slowed a bit after we walked past the wedding party in the main part of the village.
We nosed around the main village square, and wished we had waited to eat lunch until we got up to “town”. Kristen had an ice cream cone and the girls walked the ramparts while I stood guard over the central fountain – circa 1980.
For a tour bus stop, Gruyeres does a decent job presenting their past, and present… there are still people living there despite the throngs. Then up, way up, to Moleson-sur-Gruyeres, though we knew we were probably too late to see the old style cheese making at the Fromagerie D’Alpage (we were). But we did speak with some cows, goats, and some very pink pigs.
We’ll come back another day to ride the luge track (I will anyway; the girls are chicken), and take the funicular and cable car to the top for views and lunch. About 20-30 minutes back home where we called the parents from a pay phone before pushing Kristen 20 more times on the alpine cable swing thing at the kids’ park. Finally home at 6:30 for cocktails and more Cats Eyes and potatoes and string beans for dinner at 8:30. Miss K is in the bath, Jill is sighing, and Dad is on his second Weissbier.
One thing’s for sure – tomorrow will be sunny – or rainy – or both.
Day 9 – 8/13/06 When the highlight of the day is a cup of coffee, you know you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel. Rain all night, rain all morning, rain all day. The trip is beginning to look like a rehash of our Germany – Austria – Switzerland trip of 16 years ago, weatherwise, and we’re all getting sick of it. We couldn’t get motivated to get out of bed, so it wasn’t till after 11 that we were done with bacon and eggs and out the door. Drove to L’Etivaz in search of a cheese to bring home, and arrived precisely at 12, their closing time.
A short ride back down the mountain to home, noticing that no one was out and about. Sundays, or at least rainy Sundays, still seem to be reserved for rest in Switzerland. Looked at the chalkboards in front of La Gare restaurant, but couldn’t get motivated to enter. Not much inspiring, including Kangaroo meat! Saw a nice menu at “La Poste” but – closed Sundays. Strike 3 was lunch itself at the Irish Tavern – we were th only guests in the very quaint, woody bar, but madame was only serving three dishes – a mushroom something, Fondue (we’re all cheese-d out) or an Assiette Froid, cold cut plate with salad. I suppose if you like decent ham, decent potato salad (but different) it was ok, but there were some mystery cuts on the plate that gave us all pause – including raw bacon. (Surprisingly not bad, if you trim the fat off.) Not a culinary highlight. Back up to L’Etivaz to see about a tour of their 14,000 cheese cellar. When we opened the car doors you could distinctly, and I do mean distinctly, smell the special house where they age the Rebibes – 3 year old special selections that turn Parmigiana-like. Mmmmm.
Inside my French must have been pretty good because before I knew it I was over my head a bit… but after a while I got the drift. There was a French language tour of ½ hour duration at 3:00, the next guy who spoke English wouldn’t be in till Tuesday, and we could go upstairs and watch a narrated slideshow (“Diaporama”) for 2 CHF for each adult instead, if we liked. That seemed like a good compromise, and the ½ hour show on L’Etivaz cheese, how it is produced in the high mountain pastures using only wood fires, etc. was quite well done, informative and entertaining. After the show we went back down into the store and bought some aged, shrink-wrapped L’Etivaz to bring back to the USA, and I had a tougher time with the 2 counter women’s French, as they now thought of me as fluent. I may have to give up my quest to bring a whole cheese home – most of these alpine guys weigh 50+ lbs. each! (Editor’s note: we should have sought out a Raclette cheese, which would have been the perfect size.) Back down to town, where we had a very nice, relaxing coffee, tea and hot cocoa at a coffee house / gift shop / pastry shop, and Jill bought some souvenirs.
Stopped by the cinema, not only does it appear the manager lives upstairs and the place has about 20 seats, the signage makes it look like “Pirates of the Caribbean” will be in French and they will be enforcing the minimum age of 12 years, so we’ll be skipping the movies. Went to the Chateau D’Oex town museum, 5 floors of an old house with quite interesting historical society stuff including reconstructed rooms, old painted / inlaid furniture, etc. My favorite was the cut-out scissor art, apparently originated by an uneducated hermit in the area.
Took a short drive thru town, then back up the driveway, managing to avoid loss of life, limb, or property yet again.
Dinner tonite will be sausage, sautéed potatoes, string beans and salad, with a loaf of bread from L’Etivaz made with high-mountain butter. Tastes kind of like a croissant. Hoping for a better day tomorrow…
Day 10 - 8/14/06 Well, it was a better day today, though it not appear to be so at 8 when I got up. In fact, as I was in the bathroom and heard the raindrops on the skylight, I thought “here we go again” and skipped my shower.
But this time, once we hot the road towards Vevey, it indeed cleared up a bit, and once we found the lake (Geneva) side it was looking better. We did not know where we were, so I went inside a Gendarmerie, got buzzed in past the vestibule, and had a nice conversation about where the Place du Marche was (only 300 meters), parking rules, etc. By the time we walked the 300 meters it was time for lunch, and we tried to find a Fodor’s place with “Clef” in the name but couldn’t. Ended up at a nice, full, hotel / restaurant where Jill & Dave had the Plat du Jour (fish soup and ham, green beans and potatoes au (Gruyere) gratin, Miss K a pizza, water (San Pelligrino)for 68 CHF. It was nice, but smoky.
Took a walk through Vevey’s old town and back along Lak0e Geneva’s waterfront. OK, but not spectacular. Kristen enjoyed a rde on the carousel.
Then a ride through Montreaux (humming “Smoke on the Water” the whole way) towards Chillon Castle. Montreaux was very touristy, but not as crowded as we remembered from 16 years ago.
Got a half-decent parking spot near Chillon but still about ½ mile from the front gate. Last time we were there, we were about 100 yards (but memory has a way of playing tricks on you…) Dave remembered all the courtyards and exterior spaces, though none of the interior except Byron’s “Prisoner of Chillon” dungeon. Jill, on the other hand, remembered nothing, and must have confused Chillon with another castle.
Still, it was nice, even though last time it was May, and no one was there but us, vs. this time it was crowded but not ridiculously so.
The castle is in a great spot, right on the lake, and very photogenic. I took some photos in the courtyards while Jill & Kristen toured every room. One wonders, though, how much is truly original, vs. a “Disneyland” reproduction. My hopes are with “original”.
Had some refreshments overlooking the lake after exiting, then on the way back through Bulle we satisfied Kristen’s craving for McDonald’s. It was the one place on the trip I refused to put on my French accent, and just ordered a “Hamburger Happy Meal” in my normal voice. Hey, they are the ones mispronouncing stuff this time, not me!
Then across the street to Co-op for dinner fixin’s – this time a pre-prepared, though not frozen, pizza, which Jill ended up serving with salad. I got a “Tete de Moine”, or Monk’s Head, cheese to smuggle back home, plus some shrink wrapped Appenzeller, and my “big” Swiss souvenir – a $25 Italian espresso maker! Back home at 8 p.m. to enjoy the view, see the mess our sparrows made with the parakeet seed, have a cocktail and the pizza. Girls are playing solitaire, we’re listening to “Sinatra Live at the Sands” on the iPod, and life is better than yesterday. Hey, we even had sun from 4-8 p.m.! Wow! That will change your attitude after almost a week of rain. Jill’s looking at the weather report and it’s looking like tomorrow might be no rain too… today it was forecast that we would see “Grands Éclairs” and we figured we would see either large scale clearing, or big chocolate éclairs falling from the sky! I’m glad we saw clearing, though giant pastries would have been a sight!
Day 11 – 8/15/06 At some indeterminate time shortly after sunrise, I cracked my eyes and looked out the uncurtained French door towards “our” mountains and saw… Clear Skies! Then I fell back asleep. But at 7, Jill and I both fluttered our eyes at the same time and said “Yay!!! Time to get Up!” We dragged Kristen’s butt out of bed, had breakfast, and were out by 8:30. Believe me, with 2 females that counts as “record time”. Destination Schilthorn – Piz Gloria – the 10,000 foot summit featured in the 007 thriller “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. Also te site of Dave & Jill’s “James Bond Breakfast” 16 years ago – in the clouds – after spending a night in Walter Mittaghorn’s hotel in Gimmelwald. But that’s another diary. After an uneventful but lengthy drive, we passed Lauterbrunnen and arrived at the Stechelberg cable car station around 10:15. Paragliders landing in the adjacent field. Many cars in the car park since it was the first clear day in at least 3 weeks. 16 years ago, there were 10 cars in the car park, today about 1000. How much, you ask? About $176 for the three of us, including a discount Swiss kid pass for Kristen. Yikes, but cheaper than the Jungfraujoch trains by about $300 – 400.
As soon as we lifted off from earth, I could see it would be worth it as the snow-capped Alps came into view. There were 4 separate legs of the ride, with car changes at Gimmelwald, Murren, and Birg. Each car held about 40-50 people, all types – hikers, paragliders, tourists, young, old, Swiss, foreign. After about ½ hour, seeing “our” old hotel in Gimmelwald, and the 3 changes, we were finally there – at the top!
We walked out onto the snow-covered outside deck, just as depicted in James Bond. Temperature – about 35-40 degrees. Very pleasant, with a light breeze. And the view – oh yeah the view – Spectacular!
Many, many peaks, 360 degree surround views. I don’t know but maybe 30+ mile visibility. It doesn’t get much better. The Monch, Eiger and Jungfrau were front and center. This is the view I came to Switzerland for!
I spent about and hour and a half gaping and taking pictures. Jill Kristen went in after an hour- Jill has apparently developed acrophobia and couldn’t go near the edge. I only developed vertigo when I put the binoculars up to my eyes.
I heard some American say he needed to find someone to take his and his daughter’s photo, so we swapped with him. We all enjoyed (envied?) watching a couple of psychos take off on paragliders. Imagine the ride on the way down!
About 12:30 we went into the restaurant inside that revolves about once every 30 minutes. The panorama continued to unfold as we waited (and waited!) for our quite good meal of goulash (Jill), spaghetti (Kristen) and Murrener pasta (Dave), plus a couple of beers that seemed to pack more than their usual punch. 60 CHF.
Around 2:00 it was time to bid goodbye to the amazing view and head down. Though the cable car itself showed off some nice highlights too. Stopped at Gimmelwald, where Kristen went on a playset.
Then, after landing, Trummelbach Falls, which Dave skipped in favor of an Orangina at the attractive outdoor café. K&J reported that it was very nice, as I had remembered from 16 years ago.
Stopped in Lauterbrunnen and bought some souvenir hiking staffs (collapsible aluminum), then a long drive home for Ravioli dinner and Oasis on the iPod.
But first a discussion in French with the woman at the Gare about the cost to train it to Brienz tomorrow for our trip to Ballenberg. I did quite well, I must say. But we’ll drive – the train would be about $120 and not worth it. The sparrows must be going nuts over the seed – the dirt
from the planters is all over the balcony every evening! Girls playing Go Fish. P.S. Kristen spotted a Moufflon from the cable car near the top of the Schilthorn. No one else did, it was over 100 feet below us. And our Dutch neighbor has her son and grandkids visiting… at one point the boy had the dog out for a walk and shouted back to the house “Der hund ist gerpoopen”!
Day 12 – 8/16/06 Half asleep in bed at 7 a.m. I heard Jill mutter “Oh Shit”, and roll over. Another bad weather day? Looks like it. The decision was to skip Ballenberg, as planned for today, and do lunch, antiquing, and that’s about it. So we had bacon & eggs, put a DVD on for Kristen, and took it easy. At least till the sun came out around 11… then it seemed like maybe we should get our asses in gear – even though no one else on this street of vacation rentals ever seems to. What do they do? So the decision was Murten, aka Morat in French, site of a major turning point in Swiss independence history, though damned if I can tell you what happened. Got a parking spot right on the main street of the medieval walled city and it looked like some kind of festival was in progress.
Found a decent looking pizzeria next to a fountain right by the Barentor (Bear Tower) and ordered up 3 pizzas. Then we were treated to the start of a road race run by an auto club. They set up a timer clock, and about 25 old classic cars started once per minute – Porsche, Lamborghini, MG, Ferrari, etc. All from at least the 1960’s, and we had front row seats.
The pizza was pretty good, as it should have been for $40. (All food in restaurants here is expensive.) After lunch, it was up the block for one of the old churches, and up a couple of flights of wooden steps to the ramparts. Nice views over the roofs, including a suspicious-looking houseplant. Kristen enjoyed climbing the towers and looking at all the chimneys, including a twisted one.
Strode around the town in what was now 72 degree bright sun, did some window shopping. Spied the Murtensee and decided to drive down and have a look.
There was a nice grassy lakeside park, and as luck would have it, one of the 2 (!) benches in the entire large park was vacated as soon as we got near.
Kristen was dying for some bread to feed the ducks, swans, etc. – we should have saved some of that pizza crust! She had to content herself with some vicarious feeding with some other kids. There was one very interesting looking diving bird with a crest, who peeped like a sparrow.
Miss K got an ice cream (she’s trying to hold a record for ice cream every day, as I am for cheese; our stomachs show it) and we took the 1 ½ hour drive home. Stopped at the Co-Op for some glue to fix something the girls broke. . Stopped at the Espace Ballon where Jill unfortunately found out that our balloon flight for tomorrow is cancelled, as have been all flights for the last 3 weeks, with the possible exception of yesterday. Bummer. Home for drinks and quiche, pasta for Kristen. Tomorrow, Ballenberg, which Jill is really looking forward to returning to. Gassing up the car this evening, a 90+ year old guy with a 70 year old hat stepped out of a younger guy’s car and said to me (French of course) “looks like we’re both trying to drink from the same bottle”, since I was gassing up from the same pump he wanted to use. I wish I had attempted a conversation with him – imaging all the changes he’s seen in this area. The L’Etivaz slideshow said that there was virtually no outside communication or travel around here until 100 years ago!
Day 13 – 8/17/06 Took our time this morning, left about 10:30 – destination Ballenberg. It was over 1 ½ hours of driving and it appeared that we arrived after most others at the West entrance. After paying about 50 CHF admittance, we walked to the first building, which happened to be a restaurant, went in and had lunch. Kristen – Weisswurst & fries, Jill a foot long sausage and Rosti, Dave a ham sandwich and salad – about 50 CHF.
Ballenberg is a collection of historic houses from all over Switzerland. All the regions are represented by little villages spread out over a 3 km x 2 km area. The houses are authentic old structures, and inside they’re set up with period furnishings, books, kitchen stuff, etc. Jill and I visited 16 years ago when it was smaller.
Now they have a horse-drawn carriage that ferries people from one end of the park to the other, so we did. For 25 CHF we had a ½ hour bilingual guide who took us and 2 other families from one end to the other, and saved some hill climbing. And best of all, before she had a chance to chicken out, the guide hauled Kristen up to the driver’s seat! She even got to hold the reins for a while.
We had already seen the area near the west entrance, now we walked back and saw several other villages. Jill liked the Wine Maker’s house, Kristen the pottery and schoolhouses, Dave the shoemaker.
Many area were participatory or exhibitions, which made the visit engaging. People were reaping rye in the fields by hand.
The it was back to the car for our ride home. The highway stretch from Brienz to Speiz is fine, with lots of tunnels and views of the Brienzersee and Thunnersee. And high speeds. But the stretch from Speiz to Chateau D’Oex is getting old. Though quite spectacularly scenic, it is slow moving and requires the driver’s full concentration. A bit much at the end of the day. Oh yeah, Jill stopped by the Co-Op for some extras and we all enjoyed an al fresco dinner of salami, cheese, bread, leftover cheese, etc. A hard rainstorm overnight knocked out power. It had better not do so tonight (our last night) or we’ll miss our plane. Weather for Ballenberg was a nice sunny 75 degrees. Now (the next morning) it’s a bright clear blue sky, still a little chilly. Making us rethink our last day plans to just do lunch and an antique store, and pack. It’s 10:00 and a lot of the work is done – maybe we’ll take in something else.
Day 14 – 8/18/06 The original intent for today was pack, lunch at “Le Chalet” and visit an antique store or 2. But the key to traveling with us is tom maintain flexibility, so when we woke up and the weather was the clearest yet, we modified plans a bit. Jill the packmeister spent a couple of hours getting everything strategically getting everything plus souvenirs back in our bags. I sawed a slab of bacon into thick slices and fried ‘em up, which made breakfast along with toast, jam, Nutella, the last egg, etc. Jill also did her last load of laundry; I think we’re the only people who come home with more clean clothes than we left with! It was too nice out 75, sunny, no clouds) to spend any more time than necessary packing, so we went into town to call Continental, try to get bulkhead seats again, etc. Blew some of the remaining calling card accidentally hanging up the phone, failed to get bulkhead seats, forgot to confirm departure time – 0 for 3. Went to the TI and used their computer to get the departure time. It was too nice for Le Chalet – we pictured it dark inside – so we had a nice lunch outside the hotel on the main square. My gazpacho was very good, My sausage just ok, Jill’s salad good, Kristen – what did Kristen have? 68 CHF
My choice was to take a Michelin “green” road over the Jaunpass so we drove past Gstaad and Zweisimmen one last time, then started the steep ascent up the narrow, lightly traveled road.
The views were spectacular, in a pre-Alpine way – farms, fields, trees, distant snow-capped peaks. And glory of glories – there were even some pullouts with benches on the ascent where you could pull over and enjoy the view! Nothing as radical as a picnic table, but still…
Psycho motorcyclists, and even more psycho bicyclists were everywhere. Cowbells, steep slopes, and a very strong sun. Just about filled u[p the memory card on the camera. In the valley following the pass was a tiny church, candle burning inside, but unfortunately nowhere to park. A mile from anywhere… who goes here? Maybe 5 people can fit inside. It appeared there were avalanche barriers on the steep slopes above and we wondered if any towns had ever been wiped out below. It looked like maybe, there were lots of crosses, etc. After the pass drive we suddenly smelled chocolate in the air outside Broc. That could only mean one thing – the Nestle Cailler chocolate factory. They gave tours, so we stopped in and paid our 8 CHF. (Kristen free.) The self-guided tour was just “ok”. We tasted some raw cocoa beans, hazelnuts, and almonds, but the highlight was that midway through you got to eat as much chocolate as you liked! Kristen and dad has 10-15 pieces each, Jill exercised considerably more restraint. They were good stuff – the kind you get in a fancy chocolate box. The table was about 40 feet long! I wanted to ask the girl working the table what nationality were the biggest chocolate hogs, but she was busy. Jill and Kristen bought more for souvenirs on the way out. The tour should have showed more factory floor; there was no packaging machinery on display.
Back home past Gruyeres castle again, then we decided to stop in the little town of Lessoc for a petanque festival we had seen signs for. Of all things… I could (and did) see such a thing in France, but Switzerland? Unfortunately, the tournament did not begin until the evening, on all of about 6 courts. However, the town did have the most lovely covered fountain (1793) so we parked ad nosed around a bit. They also had an Indian family, which must be a bit of a rarity in rural Switzerland, to say the least!
On the way out of town we got stuck behind the truck loading / unloading supplies fotr the tournament. A guy on a motorcycle indicated that we should turn around and go out of town another way, saw my dumb look (I was just going to wait), looked at our license plate, said “Ah Ha”, and drove off.
I was wondering if the plate somehow indicated “Rental” when I realized the car had Zurich plates, and he thought I spoke German. Then another guy came over, said very nicely in French again what we should do… but I choked and didn’t respond… then he too looks at the plate and says “Anyone here speak German?” to his buddies! Now guy #3 comes over, gives me the rundown in German, and I’m feeling like a total idiot, and to top things off, I respond “Da” like a Russian spy instead of “Ja” like a tourist from Zurich. Now they all must think I’m just a lunatic.
Which brings me to my self-criticism of the day… I do pretty well now with French in a structured situation, especially if I can think about the conversation in advance. But off the cuff – off the script – I still have problems. I must have looked like a deer in the headlights in Lessoc! Back to Chateau D’Oex, where the Fete Au Village was underway. Why did we not know about this? No banner over the road, no note on the TI… did they want anyone to show?
We spent an hour or 2, there was a jazz band, and the accordion band was fun. A brass band was setting up. The sanglier (wild boar) was just about gone, and we debated eating raclette but settled for a Heineken instead. We only had about 20 CHF left and had planned a “leftover picnic” for dinner, along with final packing and cleanup. Too bad we didn’t know about the fete in advance, we would have planned better. Back up the . driveway one last time, where we enjoyed the fete music from the balcony followed by an early bed. Up at 5 a.m. for the drive back to Geneva, stopping only for gas. Painless car return, at least 4 security checkpoints, high security due to some terrorist scumbags being caught in London last week. Spent out last francs on a sandwich and some chocolate just prior to our secured herding area. And oh yeah, I did snag those bulkhead seats again – after striking out on the phone yesterday and at check in today. It helps to be nice to your gate agent! Total: $9,229.81, and worth every penny!
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