Switzerland: Chateau D'Oex Day 2
DH and I were the first ones down to breakfast out of the entire hotel! haha! Sat down for some fresh croissants, hot tea, and fresh bread with different jams. The gondola was right next to our hotel, so we took it (teleferique) up the mountain. We then switched from the big gondola that held our entire party to smaller gondolas. I rode with Cass, my little 5 year old niece. While going up, we heard what sounded like church bells (again, a la Sound of Music during the wedding). But she corrected me and told they were cow bells! It was so musical. Who would've thought the sounds were made by a bunch of cows.
At the stop, we played at the small playground...and it had the pulley thing!! Of course, all the adults all had to try it out. You get a really forceful swing upwards at the end. There was so much momentum that Zach fell off on his try - a little too much for a 4 year old. After some more swinging and seesawing, we started our hike down the mountain. We passed local farms where we could step into the barns and feed the cows. Even saw a billy goat munching on the grass. Passed through a herd of cows - man, they smell! Parts of the hike were strange because we were literally walking through other people's backyards. But that's how the trail went!
For lunch, we went to Didier's friend's (Pascal and Henriette) rented chalet. Got to experience a four course luncheon - started munching on raw carrots, and then an entree of roast chicken and potatoes, and (of course) bread and cheese. Pascal apparently worked in the agricultural department so he knew a lot about cheese and farming. He had bought Evitaz, a local cheese, and it was absolutely incredible! The milk is from cows that are fed only grass. Then it takes a whole year to prep the cheese before they sell it. It was so good you didn't even need the bread. And after this cheese course, they brought out dessert: meringues and strawberries with cream. SO YUMMY...
We couldn't really linger too long at their place because we had to catch the train back home. Didier stayed longer since he was going to drive home. So we took only Cass with us on this return trip because we had to make many transfers:
- Golden Pass train to Montreux (big summer jazz festival going on)
NEVER take the Golden Pass train without reservations - the whole train was booked out by tour groups. We had to stand the entire trip. Luckily Viv found a seat where she could hold Cass in her lap.
- boat ride to Ouchy (big white party going on - all these trendy looking people dressed all in white were milling around the docks)
- bus to Lausanne
- bus to our little village and then walked home
That evening we took a walk through the village - yeah, it took us like 5 minutes to walk through the whole village. haha! But we went down a road that led us through the wheat and corn fields. We turned back and then took another road off of the main road. That was a short trip after the road became littered with cow droppings - lovely.
At the stop, we played at the small playground...and it had the pulley thing!! Of course, all the adults all had to try it out. You get a really forceful swing upwards at the end. There was so much momentum that Zach fell off on his try - a little too much for a 4 year old. After some more swinging and seesawing, we started our hike down the mountain. We passed local farms where we could step into the barns and feed the cows. Even saw a billy goat munching on the grass. Passed through a herd of cows - man, they smell! Parts of the hike were strange because we were literally walking through other people's backyards. But that's how the trail went!
For lunch, we went to Didier's friend's (Pascal and Henriette) rented chalet. Got to experience a four course luncheon - started munching on raw carrots, and then an entree of roast chicken and potatoes, and (of course) bread and cheese. Pascal apparently worked in the agricultural department so he knew a lot about cheese and farming. He had bought Evitaz, a local cheese, and it was absolutely incredible! The milk is from cows that are fed only grass. Then it takes a whole year to prep the cheese before they sell it. It was so good you didn't even need the bread. And after this cheese course, they brought out dessert: meringues and strawberries with cream. SO YUMMY...
We couldn't really linger too long at their place because we had to catch the train back home. Didier stayed longer since he was going to drive home. So we took only Cass with us on this return trip because we had to make many transfers:
- Golden Pass train to Montreux (big summer jazz festival going on)
NEVER take the Golden Pass train without reservations - the whole train was booked out by tour groups. We had to stand the entire trip. Luckily Viv found a seat where she could hold Cass in her lap.
- boat ride to Ouchy (big white party going on - all these trendy looking people dressed all in white were milling around the docks)
- bus to Lausanne
- bus to our little village and then walked home
That evening we took a walk through the village - yeah, it took us like 5 minutes to walk through the whole village. haha! But we went down a road that led us through the wheat and corn fields. We turned back and then took another road off of the main road. That was a short trip after the road became littered with cow droppings - lovely.
posted by pc at
11:54 PM
<< Home