Can you actually overdose on cheese?
Trip Start
May 23, 2008
1
39
54
Trip End
Ongoing
Bern, Switzerland
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sunday was a realy lovely "family day" out with Peter able to accompany Jaqueline, Desiree and myself on a drive to the lakes district in the Canton of Fribourg (Switzerland is devided up into different regions, almost like states), which is about half an hours drive from Bern - nothing is ever really that far away in Switzerland! Our first stop was a cute little medievil town called Murten, which is situated on a lake called Lake Morat, and the location where Peter and Jaqueline got married. Although they call it one of the smaller lakes, any ammount of water in Switzerland is going to be quite large! there are 3 major lakes in the area, all interconnected by canals. The weather was pretty dreary, but the lakes and surroundings were still beautiful, and the old town was bright and colourful with the everpresent window boxes full of flowers, and swiss flags lining the main street. As it was a Sunday most of the shops were closed except for the very touristy ones and a couple of cafes, so we had some hot drinks down by the lake, and then Desiree and myself caught one of the ferries across the lake and down one of the canals to a small town called La Sauge, where we met up with Desirees parents and the car, and had lunch in a cute little restaurant. As it was so cold we all decided to have soup, and a couple of bottles of Sauser - my new favourite Swiss drink. Its made with grapes fermented with yeast, so like wine has an alcoholic content, but not as high a percentage, and its not as full a flavour, more like a refreshing drink. It uses the grapes that arent fit for making wine, and must be consumed within a small period of time from production. Therefore, its only really available from September to October each year, and im so glad that i got to try it as it was god damn delicious!! Shame i cant get it year round as i would have sent some home to Australia. I guess you will all just have to get over here and try it for yourself.
After lunch we drove up to the top of one of the hills in the area to check out the view over the lakes. They - as most lakes in Switzerland are - are absolutely massive. Sometimes they are so big that when you stand on the shore, you cannot see the otherside, and could probably mistake them for the sea. They have such a huge ammount of water, although they are still very consious of wasting it. But even their toilets have more water in them than usual!! Occasionally they have major problems with flooding, especially in the cities etc where there are many houses along the edges of the rivers.
But of course the benefit of so much rain is everything is beautiful and green! The drive back down the hill was gorgeous, like one of those car ads where the car is driving along the tree-lined country roads, with all the autumn leaves flicking up and blowing around as it drives past. We drove to the nearby capital city of the area, Fribourg, which is now my most favourite city in the whole of Switzerland. Its absolutely beautiful. Stone houses and terraces line the cliff edges and riverbanks, and rows and rows of apartment style dwellings with slate roofs wind along the narrow streets. It looks so old and classically european that i can almost imagine Oliver Twist wandering around. It was cold, dark, drab, and so cool! It even had a big gothic cathedral in the centre of town, with its huge spire towering over the city. We drove through the main part of the town, then out to a huge bridge with a great view over the city, which proved as a very nice photo stop.
After Fribourg we headed back to Bern and had a very Swiss dinner of Raclette, which i loved even more than fondue. Each person is given a small tray which you place in a huge big slab of cheese, followed by anything else you might like... onion, mushrooms, garlic, bacon etc. You place your tray underneath a small grill in the centre of the table, where the cheese melts, and then after a few minutes you take it back out and tip it onto potatoes seasoned with herbs. YUM! If that wasnt enough, for desert we had another Swiss specialty, meringues with strawberries and fresh Gruyère double cream. Pure gluttony. I was in dairy heaven. This cream is by far the best in the world. It kicks King Island cream in the arse. Amazing. Although i always have room for desert (i have become such a sweet girl on this trip) I was absolutely choc-a-block full by the end!
And im still not getting a full nights sleep, i was up until 2am trying to catch up on blogs. Unfortunately there is just not enough hours in the day at the moment! Though my theory seems to be that theres plenty of time to sleep when your dead.
Yesterday (Monday) Desiree and me were up nice and early to catch the 9am train to Zermatt, in the foothills of one of their most beautiful (and high) and most famous peaks, The Matterhorn. It took us almost 2 hours to reach the chalet-style town, and then another hour to to reach the summit of Gornergrat, which gives you spectacular views over all the mountains in the area. In fact, Switzerlands 10 highest mountains are all visible from this particular area, and are all at over 4000m high.
We got lucky with the weather, with blue skies and only a small ammount of cloud, as we were assending up to Gornergrat the Matterhorn slowly came into view. It looked utterly amazing, a rugged and sheer jagged peak covered in snow, and a whisp of cloud which looked like it had been caught on the tip and dragged off by the wind. It looked so isolated and windswept. We reached the research station at the top and stepped out of the train into the freezing wind. a cloud had just come over and so without any sunlight it was utterly freezing. -4 degrees to be exact! We felt sorry for the huge cute Saint Bernard dogs who were sitting up there for tourists to have pictures with, and hiked up the hill a little bit to the top of the ridge where we got a gorgeous 360 degree view. The cloud quickly disapeared, and we sat out on a rock on the edge of a cliff in the sun for ages and ages, looking at the people hiking below us (they litterally were so small that we could barely see them, the perspective from where we were sitting was incredible) and watching the crows floating around on the thermals and waiting for someone to throw them some food. It was actually really pleasant when the sun was out, and the weather was perfect the whole time we were up there, though the clouds seemed to shift and develop and disapear so fast that the scenery always seemed to be changing.
When we finally tired of the mountains we caught the train back down to Zermatt. Unfortunately, in cars or trains i seem to drift off to sleep really really quickly, and couldnt keep my eyes open on the way down so i missed the lovely views, but as soon as we got back down the bottom i was all powernaped up and ready to go. We had a drink in a pub in the town, the wandered the car free streets. It was very busy, tourists everywhere. By the time we walked up to the end of the main street we were over it and decided to head back to Bern. Not to say that the town wasnt cool, cause it was! One of the hotels even had a horse and cart to take their clients from the station to the hotel. But we were sick of the crowds and the shops are all the same. I yet again slept on the train for about an hour, but managed to stay awake for the rest of the journey home. Cedric picked us up from the station and took us back to the house, where Jaqueline cooked us a really nice dinner of what they seem to think is a Swiss specialty, though we know it as french toast - bread dipped in egg and milk and fried. I promised that i would now call is Swiss toast from now on, they were actually suprised that i knew what it was and that we cook it at home. i had a piece of it as a savory dish, and then another piece with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled over the top. no matter what country its from, it was still tasty. Is it just me or are my blogs turning into food topics??
We had a quiet night in and i spent another night catching up on blogs till the early hours, and then today was what i call a lazy day, as Desiree had to work and i needed a break from sightseeing. Not that the sightseeing didnt stop. I woke up at 11am and in the afternoon Jaqueline and Leila took me back to the mediastore where i had bought my replacement mp3 player, as i had to swap it as it was broken. We then drove up to the top of Gurten, which is one of the mountains surrounding Bern (its only a baby one though, 858m high) and has a lovely view over the city, although it was still a little hazy and couldnt see much of the mountains. We caught the funicular up to the top and had a late lunch, checked out the views, i climbed a tall tower, watched the kiddies go around and around on a miniture railway (i secretly wanted to go on it myself), then started freezing and so we headed back down. We picked up Desiree on the way back, dropped off Leila, and have had a reasonably boring night in.
So I am still LOVING Switzerland! even the cold isnt bothering me. I even get excited when it starts to rain! There have been a couple of nights where i have fallen asleep to the rain on the roof, because im on the top floor its so nice!
Tomorrow Desiree is at work again, but the rest of us are going down to the lakes near Geneva for the day. Also coming up, we are going to a soccer match (woo hooo) and exploring the city of Lucerne.
Replies to comments.
haha Elly - I love it that you got to comment before my mum, that make me laugh. She was so mad! hahaha not really, but she made comment on it when i spoke to her. I found it very ammusing. Yeah both Paris and Switzerland have been utterly amazing. When i first set off, i didnt really know what to expect, though its been more amazing than i could have ever imagined. My whole way of living now revolves around where i am or where i will be the next day. It really gives you the chance to have unlimited experiences, though i never thought that i would meet so many australians! the one thing that suprised me though was how many random people you would talk to, on the bus, in your hostel rooms etc. You end up talking to them like you have known them for years, and then the next day they leave and you meet someone new. Being in Switzerland in a house has ment that i havent had much contact like that, and im starting to miss it a little bit. But im still loving being in a real house and chucking my shit all over the room and not having to worry that someone is going to steal my stuff! There hasnt really been anything bad, except maybe i didnt realise how tiring it would be. Travelling is hard work! And i hate to think how many memories i would have lost if i hadnt done my blog, its going to be great to read over when i get back home. Hows work and everything going? Are you wearing shorts and thongs again yet?
Mum - phleeeze, why are you making comments in regards to my romantic moment with Liz up the Eiffel tower? Your making me feel uncomfortable. There were clearly no french boys to share it with... they are probably not stupid enough to wait in line so long! There is no need to be puzzled. Switzerland is definately dairy heaven. Maybe thats one of the reasons that i dont want to leave! Even though there is a little bit of snow, no its not ski season here and even if it was, its too bloody expensive and unfortunately wouldnt be in the budget. Unless you want to send some funds my way. Im always open to donations!
Donna - First off i didnt actually physically walk up the Eiffel tower, you cant. Its all elevators, which means that there was 0 calorie burning undertaken. Do you burn calories standing in a line? Cause that would be handy, i do alot of that. Trust me though, im putting on weight! I wish i had heard some yodeling, i missed out on that. Maybe there will be some in Austria when i get there in about a month. Larry is on his way home, we will see how everything goes with him. Dont worry about him though, these things happen.
Comments
Does overdosing on cheese effect your memory?
Hey Kate, all that cheese must have effected your memory. Your blogs have been about food since day 1. Well, not entirely, but you sure make mention of food on a regular basis. Isn't that all part of the experience? Food just adds another dimension to your trip. I've just got to visit those fabulous mountains. Your photos are amazing and I can see why you were sooooo impressed. A big thankyou to Desiree and her wonderful family for giving you such a warm Swiss welcome and allowing you to experience their beautiful country from a local point of view. How lucky are you with all the new friends you are making on your travels? Your address book must be bulging with contacts. Yes I know, it's all probably on some web site floating around in cyber space but it's still bulging. Well that's my comments for this time except to say I don't care who gets in the first comment as long as they take the time to make one. Anyone up earlier than 6am to read your blog this time could have been first but I guess I'm the only silly one. Luv from your silly Mumxox
What The Fu.......
Ha Ha hey Kate now get your mind away from the swear words I am referring to the funicular and wondering what it is, looks a bit like a tram type of thingy. By the way I don't believe you can overdose on cheese but you can get mighty constipated if you eat too much...so be careful or you will have to eat prunes. I will pass on to Sam that we now call it Swiss toast... that's probably one of the first things she ever cooked by herself. I hope you have been making your bed in your attic room. As beautiful as Switzerland looks I think it would be too cold for me, have they got ducted heating in their house? Oh and pat pat to those beautiful St. Bernards. Sounds like you're gonna come home exhausted but it will have been so worth it. Well Terry, Jess and I are off tonight to start our Level 2 First Aid Cert we're doing it over three nights I hope it's fun and doesn't require too much brain power. The weather has picked up here we'll be back into t-shirts by tomorrow. Well thanks for another fabulous blog and great photos.
Elly and I were chatting at basketball and said it was funny cos we read each others comments that we write to you and how interesting your blogs are.
So anyway hi Elly...sorry Kate to use your blog but we said we would say hi to each other.
Try and get some sleep Kate, take care, continue having fun, talk soon, luv Donna xx