Spring Break (Part 1: Perry's Swiss Adventure)
2014 marks the first year that I have ever had a two-week long spring break.
It's also the first spring break in 5 years that I haven't been traveling to a competitive event with my students. Mind you, I miss flags-in-a-barn alright, but this whole 14 days of complete and utter freedom thing is pretty sweet.To start, I enjoyed a few quiet days at home in Leysin before entertaining my first ever visitor from the US. I was lucky that we had our last real dump of snow just as everyone else had left town. That means four early morning hours of fresh powder on the mountain with no one else around. It was my last day of real skiing for the season and definitely one of the most memorable.
And now, it was time to have my first "you-have-to-cross-the-Atlantic-to-get-here" visitor!
Perry, my old friend from Alabama, and I had spent months planning his visit to Switzerland. We sent countless emails back and forth and shared Google Docs in preparation for the big event. We had it all mapped out - train times, museum opening hours, estimated costs, meals - seriously everything. Just to give you a taste of what our initial plans looked like, check out part of the shared doc I created for Perry to choose activities from.
Normally I'm not that particular (that's a lie), but traveling extensively in Switzerland does require a great deal more forethought than your run-of-the-mill beach vacation.
Why so serious, you ask?
1.) Public Transportation
Swiss railways, buses, and boats are some of the cleanest, well run, and timely modes of transportation in the world. They're also so meticulous that you have little room for error, especially when you live in a high mountain village and the last train leaves the valley floor at 10:56 exactly.
2.) Opening Hours
Business after 6pm? Please.
3.) Remote Locations
The alps. Not the easiest terrain to navigate I assure you.
4.) Overwhelming Number of Tourist Opportunities
I swear there is no shortage of things to do here. It's overwhelming.
Alright, off to what we did.
Day 1: Perry arrived in the early morning to Geneva. After the train ride to Leysin and a little time to freshen up, we headed to nearby Aigle to explore the Chateau D'Aigle, a 12th Century castle that is now home to a Wine Museum (and also where my school hosts their Prom). During our stroll through the cobbled streets we also encountered the Fountain Walk, a 5.2km path with over 40 fountains. Perry loves a good placard as much as I do, so we spent many a long moment geek-ing out over these things. Next, we strolled to Henri Badoux Badouxtheque to try some of their wines and then returned home to Leysin by train. To finish out the day, Perry and I cooked dinner together - something I miss dearly from our two years as being roommates in NWFL.
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| Top and Bottom Left: Shots inside Chateau D'Aigle. Bottom Right: Tasting an award winning Chasselas inside Badouxtheque. |
Day 2: We dedicated the second day to enjoying the sites and sports of Leysin. No train travel required - just some skis, the last bit of winter snow, and a wonderful meal at my favorite Leysin restaurant La Fromagerie.
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| Top: Perry all suited up for a day of skiing. Bottom: Beautiful mountain views from La Berneuse. |
Day 3: On the third day of Perry's Swiss adventure, we traveled to Lavaux, the UNESCO world heritage site. We arranged for two wine tastings, one at Domaine Louis Bovard, a well known proprietor in Cully, and the other at Lavaux Vinorama, a tasting and sales center that houses nearly every wine grown in the region.
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| Looking up to the Lavaux terraces from Cully. |
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| Amazing views! |
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| Top: Hiking through Lavaux. Bottom: View of Cully from Rivaz. |
Now, let me just say, the vines at this time of the year are in their most pathetic state - gnarly, brown, no leaves, and generally withered looking - BUT - this was still easily one of the most beautiful walks I have ever taken (only to be outdone by the following day... keep reading). I cannot explain, nor do the pictures show, the contrast of the lake and mountains, the never ending sunshine, and the dizzying perspective of the terraces of this area. YOU MUST COME HERE. Seriously.
Oh yeah, and then Perry and I went to a Michelin starred restaurant for dinner. Almost forgot!
Day 4: On day 4 we visited nearby Bex and visited the salt mines. Not only did we learn that Bex Salt Mines supplies salt for the whole area, but we also go to ride in a mine car and saw a wedding party coming to have their reception in the underground banquet hall.
Day 5: On the fifth day (also my 30th birthday, y'all), Perry and I traveled to the canton of Fribourg to visit Gruyeres (home of the cheese) and Broc (home of the "best" chocolate in the world - Cailler). We also got to ride part of the GoldenPass line, a well known panoramic train that travels through Fribourg, one of Switzerland's more rural cantons.
This was a day of indulgences - in the Maison Gruyeres the tour greets you with a free sample of 3 types of Gruyeres and we had one of the most filling and cheesiest lunches there. Next we were off to Chateau Gruyeres, where we walked off some of our lunch calories by strolling around the highly stylized rooms of this prestigious castle.
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| Cheese! And shots of Gruyeres. |
Lastly, we traveled by local train to Broc Fabrique - the small industrial area that is home to Maison Cailler. After a Disney quality factory tour, you enter a room like no other - the tasting room - where visitors can taste nearly every and any chocolate made by this top ranked Swiss chocolatier in a seemingly endless quantity.
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| The tasting room at Maison Cailler. |
Day 6: On our next to last day together, we visited nearby Lac Leman hot spots - Montreux, Chateau du Chillon, and Vevey. The weather for our day lakeside was fantastic.
We started in Montreux and walked along the lake to Chateau du Chillon, the second most photographed site in Switzerland and the most visited historical site in the country.
Next, we traveled by train to Vevey for a little shopping and more lakeside views. Unfortunately, many of the stores and sites were closed (even though it was a Monday!). But all in all, it was a nice relaxing day and well deserved after all the business of the preceding trip days.
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| Beautiful views around Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) and inside Chateau du Chillon. |
Day 7: Perry's last day in Switzerland was spent exploring a "big city" (at least by Swiss standards) - Lausanne. We visited the Olympic Museum (Lausanne is Olympic Headquarters, y'all) and had lunch at a two starred Michelin restaurant, Anne Sophie-Pic. This meal was definitely a highlight of the week.
Unfortunately, I have no interesting photos from this day!
I was sad to see Perry leave the following morning, but we had a wonderful time enjoying the sites, sounds, sports, and food of this beautiful country I know call home.
That's all for now.
A la prochaine,
SwissMissD
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