Dec 1, 2016 - Montruex - off to Gruyere & Broc-Fabrique

Now for that view out of my bedroom window - same view from the dining room at breakfast :-) Explore today - Travelled in a Belle Epoque carriage to the cheese factory at Gruyere and then onto the Callier chocolate factory at Broc-Fabrique. Gruyere - tour, tasting and then a walk up to the beautiful village and castle. Aliens exhibition on in the village. Callier chocolate factory - tour, chocolate tasting and more chocolates- YUM

Aug 2, 2015 - Lake Gruyere

Church this morning for the Quintens. We would have gone, and it would've been great to catch up with some of the folk we met the first weekend we were here and say goodbye to them all. But we really had so much to do, and had some plans for the afternoon so needed to get it done this morning. Top priority was packing, or at least finishing packing. It wasn't really that big a job so the rest of the morning was doing all the housework and washing etc. You know how much Alex loves cleaning - he's a pro. Been taught well. We prepared lunch...

Jul 8, 2015 - Gruyere Castle, Cheese and Friends

Cheese and a Castle in Gruyere I wore a cardigan today! Amazing. First day since we've been away (2 weeks now!) that it's been cold enough. Pleasant temperature after the heat wave we've been in. We had a slightly more relaxed day today, with Alex working in the morning (doesn't sound relaxing does it? - for him anyway!) Johanna did some school work and I... actually not sure what I did! Oh yes, Marina and I went to get the vegies from the green grocer which is a farmer about 10 mins drive from here. This was truly local Swiss roads, very...

Oct 14, 2014 - Fond of Fondue and Charmed by Chocolate

The Swiss love their cheese and chocolate, but surprisingly, we are not seeing many overweight among the citizenry. I guess endless hiking up steep mountainsides gets rid of all of the calories. Arriving in the charming little town of Broc near Gruyeres, we found that it's home to the Cailler chocolate factory, an establishment founded in the 1800's and still producing wonderful varieties of chocolate delights today. The tour is probably the best industrial tour we have ever taken, and at the end, we were invited into a room where every...

Apr 17, 2009 - Spring travels

Lately we had visitors from back home, so have done a lot of travelling with them. Very enjoyable. from: Fribourg-Interlaken-Brienz-Luzern-Montreux,Vevey, Lausanne, Morges- Vitznau-Rigi, Genève. All but 10 minutes was sunny and without rain, over a period of about 15 days!

Jan 24, 2009 - First Day of Fesitval - Snowed Out

It has been snowing like crazy since the middle of the night and many inches of snow on the ground. Jon, Al, Steve and Jeff went to the morning Pilots meeting for the weather briefing. The opening ceremony was still held at noon in the snow with three sponsor balloons (Parmagiani, BCV and Chateau d'Oex) balloons tethering but no other balloons flying today. Honored guest David Cooper, who was a member of the Breitling crew that launched from Chateau d'Oex in the first successful around the world balloon flight, arrived on the launch field...

Oct 26, 2008 - Eating Cheese in Gruyeres

Another BU field trip I went on was a trip to the village of Gruyeres, where the famous Gruyeres cheese is made. We visited the museum that showed us how the cheese is made, and later we hiked up to the village on top of a hill that overlooked the surrounding Swiss countryside. The views were breathtaking. The village of Gruyeres is exactly how I envisioned Switzerland to look like.