We walked up a gravel path towards the castle, admiring the beautiful views. The path was steep, but it actually felt good to exert some energy- Gruyeres was much, much colder than Lausanne and Ben and I were both shivering a little all day.
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| path from the cheese factory to the town of gruyeres |
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| walking up to the town, the castle and chapel just ahead. |
The town of Gruyeres was quaint yet bustling. Although the town only has 160 actual residents, it receives over a million tourists per year! The influence of tourism was very evident- the cobble stone streets were lined in small hotels, cafes, and souvenir shops.
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a demonstration of an alphorn, a swiss
instrument that sort of sounds like a
baritone. |
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| a bicycle race passing through the heart of the town |
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| continuing our beautiful walk to the castle |
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| Chateau de Gruyeres |
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| looking out at the alpine foothills |
Ben and I enjoyed a lovely self-guided tour through eight centuries of history and architecture. Much of the castle was, like many tourist-heavy European castles, renovated with furnishings and décor representive of the time period of the castle’s heyday. While I always enjoy looking at ancient tapestries and oddly short beds, I also enjoyed the more unique portion of the castle. In the 1800s, when the castle was no longer used as a fortress or place of residence, it was put up for sell. A wealthy watch-maker from Geneva bought it, and gave it to his starving-artist brother as a source of inspiration. The brother moved there, set up a studio, and began producing many great works of art.
Now, continuing the artistic spirit, portions of the castle serve as a museum and gallery for local artists. Most of the exhibits were very modern, and the contrast between ancient stone walls and modern canvas was very unique.
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"the room of the beautiful lucy", renovated in the style
of the 16th century. |
My favorite part of the castle, however, was the gardens. Despite the cold weather, the gardens behind the castle were still in full bloom, complete with garden paths and a lovely fountain. From looking at post cards, I knew that behind the castle and castle gardens was a landscape-dominating mountain, however, due to the misty weather, all I could see was an endless green hill, the top invisible in the clouds.
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| gardens behind the castle. |
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| beautiful flowers- I think they might be some type of mum? |
After a full day of cheese and castle touring, we finally took a rest, enjoying hot coffee (Me) and hot chocolate (Ben) along side freshly-made crepes filled with—What else?—Gruyere Cheese.
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relaxing and enjoying hot drinks while waiting
for the train back to lausanne |
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| lac leman, taken from the train on the way back to lausanne. |
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