Gruyère

Updated: Jul 21, 2020

This morning we woke up in the Gruyere region of Switzerland. Peering out the window, we see the Alps and the variety of cows, sheep, and goats. Erica, Jennifer, Tory and I got ready to set out on our adventure. We drove from Bulle to a bus stop. The bus took us to the town of Charmey for the Desalpe Festival. Every summer, the cows go to the mountains to graze. Every fall, the farmers celebrate the return to the pastures. The cows were decorated with large bells and dressed with flower headdresses. The farmers strutted with pride as they walked home with their prized posessions. Starting at 9 am, the townspeople and tourists alike began drinking beer and wine, eating sausage and fries, and eating meringues.

Many tents were also selling Soupe de Chalet. When tasting this, it clearly tasted of onion. Seeing as this is a food blog, I'll venture to guess how to make it. The soup had boiled elbow macaroni, cubed potatoes, shaved cheese, croutons and chives. The broth, however, tasted of creamy leek. It was very strong in taste, but very thin in consistency. I would sautee leeks with butter and cream, but put a lot of water to dilute it. Combine all in a cauldron and sprinkle the croutons and cheese on top. After some meringues and a nice stroll amongst the vendors, it was time to write my postcards and take a well-need nap.

For dinner, we indulged (as we continuously have been for the last week) in a typical Swiss Fondue. The gruyère was melted with white wine and very creamy. We dipped boiled potatoes and bread into the cheese. Per usual, a vegetable would be nice, but carbs are heavily loved in Europe.

We had a blast, but let me tell you the story of making it here. On Thursday evening, Erica and I booked a hotel and searched and searched for a rental car in Agde and all the surrounding areas. We finally (FINALLY!) found one at the Montpellier airport. Jennifer kindly offered to pick up the car while we were at school. The car was set to be ready by noon, but when Jenifer made it there, the car was given away. She waited hours for us to regain internet access at school and make a new plan. Erica kicked butt and got us a new car at the same company. After a 3 hour wait, Jennifer got a car. She lost wifi, btu we texted her that we were on our way to Montpellier, which was on the way. She missed our message and drove back to Agde in rush hour to pick us up. We suddenly had no way to contact her until she arrived in Agde. Finally by 8:30pm, she made it to back to Montpellier. Erica drove us 5 hours straight to Switzerland. We arrived at 2:30am. It was frustrating. The trip was nearly cancelled, but we got lucky and it ended up being well-worth the wait.