Gruyere with Maddie

Maddie is probably my kids most favorite cousin, although she is technically Chris’ cousin.  She is always so fun, has lots of imagination just like they do, and is always up for something new.  So we wanted to make the most of her visit and show her a really good time.  To that end, we took her to the area near Gruyere for a day of sightseeing.

First stop was the Cailler chocolate factory/museum. It was a big more crowded than our previous visit, but considering it was summer, we still didn’t have much of a wait.  I think about 15 minutes. And we found plenty to amuse ourselves until then.

The first time we came here, some of the displays/lighting/special sound effects scared our kids.  sigh  But this time, they were older and they were able to enjoy it much more.  They even laughed at how silly it was that they were frightened the first time.

The best part of this tour is the tasting room at the end. Sarah and Sophie made a vow to taste one of everything.  Sarah almost made it, but then she felt like she was going to really throw up, so she stopped. 🙂  Sophie wisely quit before she got to that point.

Now they don’t just set you free, willy nilly, in this room filled with goodness.  They do try to educate you on the proper way to enjoy chocolate.  But I don’t know if any one actual pays any attention to this sign.

After the chocolate binge, we went to the theater and watched lots of old fashioned commercials for Caillier.  Our favorite movie, though, is the one they made of a tour through the original factory.  Visitors are just walking by the machinery, no barricades, no hair nets, no contamination worries.  Cuh-razee!  And you can immediately see why they had to stop those kinds of tours. 🙂

Next we drove over to the Gruyere castle.  There is a short hike up the hill from the parking lot, and although not too strenuous, it was a hot day and there is no shade on the trail.  So the first thing the kids did was cool off in the fountain at the top.

There are several restaurants, shops, and apartments found within the outer castle walls, just like when it was originally built.  Very picturesque and touristy.  In fact, at all the restaurants we passed there were many tourists eating fondue.  We know they were tourists because no Swiss would EVER eat fondue in summer.  It is considered a strictly cold weather food.  The smell of the cheese, combined with the heat, kind of made us nauseous to be honest.

The castle itself was gorgeous and very interesting.  Plus it was nice and cool thanks to those thick stone walls.  First up was a little film explaining a short history of the castle, including when they had to fight against the invading French, and were victorious against horrible odds.  Hopp Schwiiz! 🙂

Then we were allowed to wander through the castle at will, looking at whatever caught our fancy. This most definitely did, although we still aren’t sure if it is a joke or real.

The English translation would be “The authentic helmet of the Count Hippity Hop”.

In the kitchen Sarah decided to bake some Lexibread. 🙂 This was a special day in that everyone seemed to get along really well the entire time.  We just had fun and truly enjoyed being together.  Maybe it was the calming influence of Maddie, who knows?

This is peeking out one of the castle windows down onto the gardens.  Wouldn’t it be fun to have a wedding reception there?

The above room is where the local leaders would meet to discuss the welfare of the area and work out problems without fighting.  It was also a hang out spot for the soldiers, where they played games when not on guard duty.

Sarah and Noah were so inspired by their surroundings, they spontaneously started doing some fancy “castle dancing” together.

Ah, good ole Switzerland.  Super old fountain still providing clean drinking water 100’s of years later.  It was a very long, sweet, fun filled day.  We didn’t get home until pretty late, but it was unanimous that it was worth it.