Are we above the clouds??

My appetite for adventure was satisfied by Saturday's excursion to Gruyere! This is less than a 2 hour trip from Geneva, and thanks to the demi-tariff (half off on traveling anywhere in Switzerland), it was an affordable trip. Well, Gruyeres is known for four things: the chocolate factory, cheese factory, it's castle and le creme. Unfortunately, we could not go to the chocolate factory because it is closed till April for renovations ( I may go back with my host parents). But the other three we experienced.

I ventured off with 12 or douze members from my group. (Have I mention that we like to travel in huge groups; therefore, we have American tourists stamped on our foreheads.) The train ride is pretty amazing. Our last part of our travels consisted of a little tram that took us to all the isolated towns and villages. The countryside was incredible. There was clear views of the mountains and lakes, I still can't get over it. So, it did rained early, therefore, it was a bit of foggy by the mountains. Yet, it convinced Steve that we were riding a tram above the clouds. Sorry Steve. Though the Swiss are advanced in many ways, they have not come up with the technology to ride above the clouds. Give it a few more years.
We finally got to Gruyeres, and like the tourists we are, pulled out our cameras several times to capture the magnificent view. The first thing we went to was the cheese factory. We took tons of pictures of the machine putting the cheese in the different slots (see video). It was pretty cool, but then we left. It was only till I got home to my host parents for them to tell me there was this tour section where we can see the cheese being made. I don't know if my group knew, but I was oblivious to that section.
Moving on, we started to look for food. We followed this sidewalk and it lead us to this icy hill. When I say icy, I mean it was all ice and very little snow. But that did not stop us. We climbed this very long, steep hill to get to food and castle. You should have seen us. I was one of the few that got stuck in the back, fearing for my life. I swear I thought any second I was going to slip to my death. So, the girls I was with held on for dear life to trees, branches, and lamps. Needless to say, we made it. It was only hours later on our way back, we found that the sidewalk we were on continued to a clear road and stairs to the castle. We were not happy on the way back.

After that ridiculous climb up, it was time to eat. We ate at La Maison des Traditions, where they make their cheese for fondue. I shared a meal with Sarah; though we had no idea what we got, it was a good life decision. It had bread, bacon, potatoes and CHEESE. The dish consisted of 90% cheese, I kid you not. It was the greatest thing I have ever eaten.

It was time to walk off all the calories we consumed, so the castle it was. There was a video about the history of the castle, and the narrator was quite the character. He was a bit creepy to say the least. Anyways, the reason for the name Gruyere is for this crane ( "le grue") that flew over a sunset. But start of the castle is still unknown. It has been owned by different people but was finally put on sale. It was bought by the Bovy and Bolland families who help restore the castle, particularly the paintings seen all over. Finally, the canton bought it and it was made into a museum that I may enjoy years later. So, it was really cool to look at and there were many photo opportunities. Switzerland is known for it's castles; hopefully, I'll see more during my time here.

Then the le creme. We got it with strawberries and meringue (a white sugar pastry). In my opinion, I thought its a nice addition to the fruit, but it's incredible with the meringue. But the creme isn't that great by itself. I think that's all I can really say about the dessert portion of our day.

Then the trip home. Us silly Americans got on the wrong tram that took us further into the country side. So we got off at Grand Villard to wait for the right tram which runs by the hour. Yea, we were really pleased with ourselves, especially since it was freezing and and everything was closed. In this little town, it consisted of a pizza place, a cooking school, an antique shop and a car wash. Another Swiss tradition is everything closes extremely early, especially on Saturday and there is no point in leaving your house on Sunday because nothing is open. So, we headed back to to the train station ( a small single room with benches), and we played charades! Time flies when you're having fun because we only got through a few rounds until our tram came.

We made it back to civilization, and had dinner in Lausanne. We were all craving kebabs. Though the better choice would have been kebabs, I got a falafel sandwich that was still good. Plus, I got Coke for the first time since I got here (one of the many things I miss). Then I traveled back to Morges where I came home and slept like a baby. And that concludes my first adventure.