We chose the charming town of Gruyeres, in the heart of the Gruyere region, a little to the northeast of Lausanne. In addition to being home to a well-preserved 15th century castle, Gruyeres also contains the world-famous Gruyeres cheese factory, where (in my opinion) the absolute best cheese in the world hails from.
Our train ride to Gruyere was delightful, a two hour trip snaking through green mountains, horse and cow pastures, and tiny alpine towns.
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| train ride to gruyeres- verdant fields and misty hills. |
Once we got to Gruyeres, we immediately headed to the Gruyere cheese factory, La Maison du Gruyere. Le Maison du Gruyere contained a wonderful museum, in which a charming guide, Cherry the Cow (Cherise la Vache) led you through the process of cheese making. The museum was designed to be very kid-friendly, something the 9-year-old in me always appreciates. Guests were invited to touch cow hide, ring cow bells, and smell the countless plants—thyme, violets, basil—that contribute to the unique taste of Gruyere cheese.
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| La Maison du Gruyere |
In addition to the museum portion, we were also able to see Gruyere cheese being actively made. Every day, 48 wheels of cheese, each weighing 35 kilograms, are made in the Gruyere factory!
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| left: compression vessels used to solidify the cheese. right: tanks where milk is stirred and allowed to coagulate. |
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| each copper tank contains 4,800 liters of soon-to-be cheese! |
One of the neatest parts of the experience, however, was tasting the cheese! With museum admission, each guest was given three samples of Gruyere cheese, aged different amounts of time. It was interesting to note how much an extra three months in the cheese cellar can change the sharpness, saltiness, and overall flavor of the exact same cheese.
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| cheese-aging cellar. currently, there are 7000 wheels ripening-- that's 540,133 pounds of cheese! |
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| painted cow sculpture outside the museum- it reminded me of chicago's cows on parade! |
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| what? you didn't know Ben's actually a twin? |
La Maison du Gruyere is located a little outside the actual city of Gruyeres, so after our tour, Ben and I meandered up towards the town and castle. It was a beautiful afternoon, a little cool and damp, but very clean feeling. Unlike the sunny Lausanne we left behind, Gruyere was overcast, the mist giving the mountains a strange and almost magical feel. Call me a nerdy bookworm (it’s okay, I freely admit it!), but I felt like I had landed into the Lord of the Rings (it’s really not that far off- Tolkein was actually inspired by Swiss landscapes!).
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| misty mountains. |
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| charming alpine hotel. |
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| wild flowers- one of the many scents found in gruyere cheese! |
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| dairy cows grazing on steep green hills. |
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| brown sheep. |
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| the gruyere valley. |
French words of the day: tasse, plaque, bol = cup, plate, bowl
La Gruyere indeed is another name for heaven. So small a village, yet it has so many restaurants, a museum and a castle.
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