The Chocolate Train: Stops at Gruyère and Broc

All aboard the Chocolate Train

The Chocolate Train begins at Montreux, Switzerland and makes its way through the mountains to its first stop Gruyère, home town of the famous Gruyère cheese, and on to Broc, Switzerland, home of Cailler chocolates (a Nestle company).

The train itself is composed of "Belle Époque Pullman” deluxe carriages, all of which are 1915 1st class, and 1^st class panoramic coaches.

The tour was completely full of enthusiastic chocolate lovers. Who wouldn't be excited to board a train that looks like a candy bar? The cars had shiny gold exteriors and lovely script just like candy wrap.

It’s a full day on The Chocolate Train. It leaves early enough for it to include cups of hot chocolate and chocolate filled croissants in case riders needed that morning extra boost of caffeine.

I fear this could be the size of chair I'll need after the chocolate tour.

As the train initially climbed away from Montreux and a panoramic view of the Swiss Riviera, we absorbed the ambience and “went with the flow”. This was easy while sitting on green velvet seats in a car that was decorated like my great grandmother’s living room. And gazing out the train windows I though, “Isn’t it wonderful that Switzerland actually looks like all those travel photos we’ve all seen?”

Along the trip, mountain springs looked like beautiful, clear hard candy glittering in the sun. Ripe purple grapes reminded me of grape gumballs. As we rolled by steep green pastures sprinkled with dairy cows I thought, “Why don’t we make and eat chocolate cows as well as bunnies for Easter?” Well, once the mind has played the game of Candy Land, it’s difficult to get out.

The first stop at Gruyère, a town that invented one of my favorite cheeses, is a visit to a museum of sorts. It’s really a demonstration of cheese making following a guided history shown on illustrated walls… English was one of several languages provided on personal listening devices to hear to the narration. Then you tour the ongoing process of making and aging cheese.

swissblog.com

We come from the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, land of milk and cheese. My husband and I had no surprises. 

However, about four years ago I took a friend to a local Wisconsin dairy to see the milking operation and cheese factory. The up-to-date milking equipment at that farm was imported from Switzerland. Milking’s now a matter of the cows forming a line up to automatic milking stanchions. This is more cow friendly than the older system of cows waiting separate stanchions waiting for the milking machine to be attached to pump milk.

Back at Gruyère, the impeccably clean cheese making equipment is mostly vats with paddles turning the liquid as it forms curds after rennet is added. I was impressed that the vats were copper instead of stainless steel. We had a good look at all the equipment from above. And while observing the cheese they also give you a sample to munch on as you walk around it. I think samples are always the best exhibit!

The tour leaders then loaded us onto buses for the short trip up to the castle and town around it for lunch.  We had about two hours to do what we wanted. There were lots of restaurants, hotels, shops and the castle was open for museum like tours. We had a meal and then just strolled around. The view from the castle is worth a long pause to enjoy.

cailler.ch

Next we were off by bus to the Maison Cailler (Nestlé) which is a chocolate factory at Broc. This is everything you'd expect and maybe more. The exhibit is very well organized. The visitors are divided into groups of about 10 and then proceed through semi-animated rooms depicting the origins and history of chocolate to present times. 

It seems like chocolate has been with us forever, but it's actually only been available to larger populations since about World War One. The refined product we know now is largely due to European development. Our tour included a walk-by of a research/factory area. The entire tour, we were exposed to the lovely fragrance of warm chocolate--similar to the way movies make sure the popcorn odor wafts into the reception area. Even as we were returned to our train cars for the return trip the intense chocolate odor drifted into the train cars.

Of course, there were samples! Lots of samples at the end of the tour. At the end of both tours, gift shops offered the opportunity to load up on your favorites.

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Getting Around Switzerland by Train

Getting around Switzerland by train is quite easy. Want to go to the town down the road? If you hop in a car you’ll find the parking expensive and often difficult. But if you take the train, most often it’s going to be a pleasant commute.

Phil and I have now traveled back and forth from Zurich to St. Moritz, Brig, Zermatt, Montreux, and Lausanne. Here are a few reasons take trains in Switzerland:

Typical Swiss Train (Wikipedia)

• If you buy an Swiss Saver Flexipass, you’ll have the option of always using first class cars and buying future tickets at half price. (You choose the duration for which you can use the pass). If you use the train a lot, or for a longer distances, this is a very wise choice.
• Know that the cars are well maintained and clean.
• Most, but not all, of the trains I've been in have accommodating wheelchair-size WCs (although I have no idea how a wheelchair gets up the stairs of a train).
• Snacks, coffee, and meals are often available.
• Sometimes you’ll meet interesting people. Not everyone rides the train to chat, but there are a lot of foreign travelers willing to connect with others.
• While the trains run in a timely fashion, there can be delays of 5 to 10 minutes.
• If you have a credit card with a chip, you’ll be able to use the automated ticket machines rather than stand in line waiting at the ticket counter. Our experience in using credit cards at machines in various countries have been unpredictable as to whether it's accepted to buy a ticket.
• Easy ticket access makes it possible to decide at the last minute which train you’ll take.
• Trains run often, so it’s been like hopping on a bus that runs every 20 minutes for us.

Peek-a Boo with the Matterhorn

This is a story about not taking a photo of the Matterhorn. 

A viewing of the Matterhorn (which I really would have liked to see with my own eyes and through the lens of a camera) just didn't happen. The mountain behaved like a shy stripper.

Matterhorn and next door neighbor having a chat no doubt. (Wikipedia)

First she was all covered in silver grey clouds, and then she raised her skirt just a little so we could see her ankles. Next, she dropped her skirt down and showed us a bare shoulder… just enough to let us know she was really there. 

Eventually in the afternoon the sky cleared a bit and let the sun through to us. But Ms. Matterhorn was making her own weather, clinging to her lacy, cloudy garment, never giving us the opportunity to introduce ourselves properly to her.

A few days ago we left St. Moritz (a place I want to go back to a few times more… sort of like Disneyland, one can’t get enough) continuing on by Glacier Express to Brig, another Swiss German language village well equipped to handle a lot of tourists but which still maintains a sense of earlier times in its architecture and preservation. We made a day trip of going to Zermatt from Brig.

Zermatt, Switzerland www.hotelsofzermatt.com

Of course we all know what the Matterhorn looks like so we could live without witnessing her. Think of it as knowing what the moon looks like because astronauts took pictures. I must say there were many large posters of the mountain displayed up and down the street to remind us of what we missed.

There was plenty to do in Zermatt (the town nearest the base of the mountain) while we waited through late morning and early afternoon for the lady to show herself. The town has lovely hotels, restaurants and endless opportunities to comparison shop watches and do-dads with Swiss flags on them.

I should also mention that much of the touristy items are dishware and sculptures of the ever-present Swiss cow. Or, how about a rubber ducky to play with in the bath tub made in soft red plastic with a white Swiss cross on it? This last one would be a delightful gift for young adults headed for college.

I kept looking for gift items that were miniature trains or at least something that exploited the images of wonderful train system of this country. Machts nicht! So far I haven’t found anything like that. Swiss capitalists have missed this entire category. I might mention that the Glacier Express offered exclusive watches for about two to three thousand dollars. Well, I like watches but really…

In the end, our day was well spent enjoying the iconic Swiss design of the streets and buildings and the horses and carriages carrying tourists to their hotels. Car-free pedestrian streets have proliferated miniaturized electric vehicles mostly used by locals to get around the tourist. If you follow the primary, narrow pedestrian street back far enough, one finds a very pleasant park from which to view the mountain… or not.

Email Home from St. Moritz: Watch Out for the Cows

Hello!

Am I having too much fun? I'm continuing my survey of vin rosé, but the summer's run out and I suppose I'll have to change with the season. I spent some time writing today, so I can't be having too much fun. 

Actually, we went by mountain train up the slopes of St. Moritz area today to take in the view. When off the train, we were almost run over by flocks of bicyclers, then some cows with bells, and even tourists with cameras while we just stood gazing out upon the irony of shrinking, melting glaciers and the seemingly unnecessary avalanche fences below them. 

A warning to stay away from cows and their calves posted on mountain side

The challenge was to enjoy the peaks, valleys and lake while the touring helicopter buzzed us. I wished that the music served with our hot chocolate had been some good Golden Oldies instead of that Euro-disco trash stuff.

I realized once again that the reason I don't take a lot of pictures is because I can't use the viewfinder with my glasses or without them. I wonder if there's a special prescription I can ask for just to take photos on vacation? 

Well, dinner tonight will be served by Italian-speaking waiters taking orders from Swiss and German customers. Both the waiters and us English speakers hope for descriptions on the menu using shorter than 46 letter words. 

It's amusing to listen to the various dialects of German; the differences are like putting Scottish, American, Welsh and Australians at one table and expecting them to communicate. My less than perfect sense of German makes my five years of studying the language all seem worthwhile.

We've got a lot of fun to pack in before we pack clothes tonight and clamber onto the Glacier Express again tomorrow morning. We leave at 10 AM sharp by Swiss clock time. I'm looking forward to seeing even higher mountain views as we progress to Brig, another famous Swiss village offering much gemütlichkeit.

Lots of love from both of us. We really are having a great time here. See you soon.

Suzan a.k.a. Mom

Buy the Swiss Watch that Fits You Best

I write while enjoying a view of the village and its surrounding mountain tops from our hotel room at the Steffani Hotel, St. Moritz, Switzerland. I’m still not quite past jet-lag but I’m awake enough to write on a caffeine buzz induced by Swiss-chocolate to keep me going.

Phil and I did a little shopping in the chic shops all around us in this very elegant tourist town. The last time I was here, thirty years ago, I bought down-filled leather mittens for skiing. I still have them and they are still the best mittens I've ever had for extreme cold.

My new Mondaine wrist watch posing with its family.

This time I was on a serious prowl for a watch. I will admit that my watches in the past few years have been purchased from Overstock.com. It’s pretty difficult to tell if a watch will fit me from product descriptions as I inherited “sturdy” bones and a lot of ladies’ time pieces are too small and not all that adjustable.

Well, Switzerland is no place to look for a bargain in a watch. People really do buy watches with an amount of money that could buy a car. However, my watch band began to fall to pieces in the past week from me stretching the band out a few too many times, plus it’s never really kept time that well.

There’s a watch for everyone here though. I found a ladies' Mondaine that’s totally adjustable and doesn't have “bells and whistles” that I won’t use. It cost more than I usually spend (which is to say I normally spend very little) but it’s definitely comfortable, adjustable, and easy to read.

Swiss Train Station Clock

I assure you that it’s easy to read! My proof is that virtually every clock in every Swiss train station has the same face, but a thousand times larger! Wherever I travel here I see this wonderful clock face. And whenever I check the time in the future I will be reminded of our exceptional Swiss rail trip.

Time Travel in 2014: Jet Lag Recovery Refined to an Art

Right up front, I apologize to all the fascinating cities around the world in which I've initially begun foreign travel in another time zone. I often sleep off and on through the first three days of every trip. Right now I'm apologizing to Paris... I'm not taking her for granted, I just can't keep my eyes open during the day and closed at night.

View of Montparnasse Tower, Paris from Jules Verne Restaurant in the Eiffel Tower

As a sample, I've stumbled half-asleep through Amsterdam, London, Munich, Paris, Lyon, Honolulu, New Delhi, Buenos Aires, and many more. About ten years ago I was finally diagnosed with a sleep disorder: a seemingly permanent jet-lag condition even while at home and not traveling.

No remedy seems to work as well as skillful use of sleep medication... but there are still no guarantees. The techniques offered in travel articles and from friends might work for normal people but I'm not normal. Personally, I think "sleepus interuptus" should be classified as a mental disorder because it drives one crazy if ignored.

So, despite much experience traveling for pleasure and business, I haven’t found the perfect personal solution that gives me that “ready-to-go”, alert consciousness everyone desires while taking in museums and cathedrals. My husband and I now make a point of making travel plans to include an initial three days recovery time before trying to follow an itinerary.

View of Montmartre from the Eiffel Tower during our anniversary dinner

As I write this, we are now leaving Paris after three days of recovery. But we have used the time well to meetup with old friends and celebrate our wedding anniversary. Following blog entries describe our trip.

Itinerary: Minneapolis to Paris, St. Moritz, Brig, Montreux, Zurich

From www.forwallpapercom

We are now on a trip that left Minneapolis, MN (USA) on a non-stop flight on Air France to Paris. 

• We stopped in Paris for a few days recovery time, then flew on to Zurich, Switzerland and immediately from there began a train tour of Switzerland: St. Moritz and Brig via Glacier Express and on to Montreux and again to Zurich via inter-regional Swiss train. 
• Finally we will return to Paris from Zurich by Swiss Air. Then fly non-stop on Delta Airline returning to Minneapolis.

Goals:

• A special trip to see the Alps and Switzerland for an extended period of time. Phil and I have been in and out of Switzerland before, but have never spent much time there.
• Relax. Write. Enjoy good food. Enjoy touring by train. Flexing our French and German language skills.
• Experiment with staying a few places and making day trips from those spots when we feel like it.