Switzerland: Chateau D'Oex
SUNSHINE!!! I was so excited we saw sun that I went to the backyard and took pictures of the neighboring wheat field. haha! :D
My brother-in-law Didier had some friends who were visiting Chateau D'Oex (pronounced day) and he hadn't seen them in a long while. It was the perfect excuse to take a short two day excursion. He took Ariane with him by car and the rest of us went by train. From a nearby village, we took a small cable car (funiculaire) to the train station.
Right across the train station in Chateau D'Oex was our hotel, Hotel de la Poste. Very convenient. We were a little confused when we went in the hotel because there was no lobby or front desk. We had to go into the hotel restaurant to find the owner who showed us to our rooms. Once we all had time to drop off our luggage and freshen up, we hiked around the village. Absolutely beautiful! Wooden cottages scattered about the lush green mountains - think Sound of Music.
We ended our hike at the local playground. They had an interesting piece of equipment that was very popular with the older kids. You hang onto a piece of rope which is knotted on the bottom to act like a seat. Then you slide down a rope tied to the end of a post on the other side. A yard before you reach the post, there's actually a metal pulley device that stops you. Because of all the momentum you get from riding across, you swing up quite hard. (They can never do that in the US - I can foresee too many lawsuits with that one.) But it looked REALLY fun! Our stint at the playground when Zach had a huge tantrum - he's very loud when he cries. So Didier took him back to the hotel early to take a nap. hehe.
We walked up to a little church and through the main street before heading back to the hotel. That evening, we had a delicious dinner - paradelle with spinach, bacon, cream, and Evitaz <- I had no idea what that was but it seemed local because there was no translation for it. (I found out later what it was though!) For dessert, sorbet in the flavor of fleurs de sureau. Tasted kind of lychee at first but then you get a heavy flower flavor in your mouth. (Back in the States, found out it was elder tree flowers.)
My brother-in-law Didier had some friends who were visiting Chateau D'Oex (pronounced day) and he hadn't seen them in a long while. It was the perfect excuse to take a short two day excursion. He took Ariane with him by car and the rest of us went by train. From a nearby village, we took a small cable car (funiculaire) to the train station.
Right across the train station in Chateau D'Oex was our hotel, Hotel de la Poste. Very convenient. We were a little confused when we went in the hotel because there was no lobby or front desk. We had to go into the hotel restaurant to find the owner who showed us to our rooms. Once we all had time to drop off our luggage and freshen up, we hiked around the village. Absolutely beautiful! Wooden cottages scattered about the lush green mountains - think Sound of Music.
We ended our hike at the local playground. They had an interesting piece of equipment that was very popular with the older kids. You hang onto a piece of rope which is knotted on the bottom to act like a seat. Then you slide down a rope tied to the end of a post on the other side. A yard before you reach the post, there's actually a metal pulley device that stops you. Because of all the momentum you get from riding across, you swing up quite hard. (They can never do that in the US - I can foresee too many lawsuits with that one.) But it looked REALLY fun! Our stint at the playground when Zach had a huge tantrum - he's very loud when he cries. So Didier took him back to the hotel early to take a nap. hehe.
We walked up to a little church and through the main street before heading back to the hotel. That evening, we had a delicious dinner - paradelle with spinach, bacon, cream, and Evitaz <- I had no idea what that was but it seemed local because there was no translation for it. (I found out later what it was though!) For dessert, sorbet in the flavor of fleurs de sureau. Tasted kind of lychee at first but then you get a heavy flower flavor in your mouth. (Back in the States, found out it was elder tree flowers.)
posted by pc at
11:34 PM
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