Pictures from this day can be found here.

Despite being totally full of high calorie food last night, we were at the hotel breakfast table again trying out some local dairy products. We experimented with two kinds of yogurt made from Gruyeres milk. Kuniko had blueberry and I had chocolate, which turned out to be so-so, but an intriguing experience nonetheless. The coffee was really good, too. They serve a hot pot of coffee at your table, and they also give you a hot pot of milk, so it is up to you to set the ratio that you like. The milk is hot and frothy, and fresh from a cow, so it made for some very good morning drinking.

Our goal on this day was to take a tour of the local dairy, and relax the rest of the day. We managed most of it, with the exception of a little problem that we ran into. The dairy was back at the train station, so we geared up and went down the hill to check it out. Already there were some tours arriving in a bus to look around, and we ended up behind a big tour. It was a very simple tour, with some (excuse me) cheesy audio commentary, but pretty impressive to see the operation. They were making cheese while we were there, although the process was a little too long for us to sit around and see the whole thing. As part of the tour they gave you three samples of cheese – Gruyeres cheese aged for six months, ten months and twelve months. It was interesting, although when we tasted them it seemed like maybe they had made a mistake in packaging – the ten month cheese was very smooth, but the other two were still quite salty.

In the gift shop we bought some cheese as souvenirs, as well as our very own mini-raclette maker to experiment with back in Japan. Afterwards it was back up the hill to tour the Gruyeres castle. There was a huge international group there while we were touring, and they set up a big lunch party that we would have liked to join. The castle turned out to be much bigger than I had previously thought, and we spent a lot of time exploring it. Once we finished touring the castle we walked around town a bit, and then I made a fateful decision to walk five kilometers to the next town, as they also have a dairy that you can tour.

We set off from Gruyeres and walked down the hill to the train station, and then began walking towards the next town, called Moleson Village. At first the walk was very pleasant – along a river and through a small town filled with interesting houses and friendly people. However after half an hour of walking the sidewalk disappeared, and the road suddenly started going up a long steep hill. As we continued up the hill we passed a sign warning of a 12% grade ahead, and cars started passing us at dangerous speeds. It was a warm day, and so I was sweating pretty good, Kuniko was nervous about walking on the shoulder, and we were torn on whether to continue on or go back. We walked another twenty minutes or so, and then finally gave up. There was no end in sight, and the visit to the town was kind of arbitrary anyway, so we turned around and walked all the way back to Gruyeres. There we stopped at the first restaurant we could find and sat down on the patio to drink beers in the shade and rest up. I felt good after the exercise (especially considering last night’s dessert) and the beer was refreshing. We went ahead and ordered a slice of cheese quiche to go along with our beers, and it was excellent – they know how to do cheese around here.

In keeping with our goal to relax we went back to the hotel in the afternoon and took a long nap with the window open and the mountains surrounding the town in the distance – very relaxing. Now and then a horsefly would wander into the room from outside, but soon enough it would buzz right back out again, so a good environment to relax.

We woke up with a tiny bit of an appetite, so dinner was back in town at another restaurant. This time we ordered fondue (again) along with a raclette. The raclette burner they had here was a little different, but the results were the same – delicious melted cheese… yum. We also had a pretty good Swiss Pinot Noir with dinner. While we ate we noticed that the other patrons of the restaurant weren’t being served, and we had gotten our food almost right away. We were the center of attention as a lot of hungry people watched us pig out, but we didn’t mind. I’m used to getting a lot of attention when I go out in public.

We even had room for a cup of ice cream from the local grocery store before heading back and falling asleep. Despite the mountain hike it was a pretty relaxing day, but the calories keep on coming, and we were starting to get worried about our long-term health… two weeks of delicious foods is sure to cause some problems, right?

Pictures from this day can be found here.

Once again we took advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel, and found some yummy items. The bread was not bad but they had a creamy milk honey to spread on it – no need for butter. It was a high-energy start to our day. We checked out of our hotel but stashed our bags in a “kids playroom” while we went to go check out the Klein Matterhorn.

Near the end of the same street our hotel was on we found the bottom of the lift to the “Matterhorn Glacier Paradise”. We went up to buy tickets and noticed that there was no price posted anywhere. Anyway, it was something we really wanted to do, so we bought two tickets, and they turned out to be nearly 8000 yen each. Wow! Still, it’s only money – how many times in your life can you stand on top of the Swiss Alps?

We caught a gondola on a ropeway system that was the most complex I’ve ever seen. It was divided into stages, but you never had to leave the gondola until the last stage. We kept going higher and higher, and people that paid less had to get out earlier. We just kept going – each stage we thought was the last, but it continued up and up. The temperature dropped rapidly outside, the wind picked up, and I was starting to think that a T-shirt with a fleece top over it wasn’t going to be enough protection.

Finally we reached the top (or so we thought) and got out of the gondola. The summit was rocky with some patches of snow, a few small lakes of melted snow a couple of restaurants, and a gift shop inside a cement complex that looked more like a bunker than a tourist destination. But as it turned out, we kept on going through the bunker to the other side, and there was waiting an even larger gondola – something out of a James Bond movie. We packed inside with a bunch of people wearing ski and climbing gear, and then the doors closed and we started up to the very top peak – the Klein Matterhorn.

By now we were well over 10,000 feet, and snow was everywhere. It was bright and I could feel the sun burning my cheeks already. Kuniko was a trouper – she is not big on cold places, but she knew I was into this trip and she stayed with it. As we got closer to the actual summit you could start to see the other gondola station. It was actually built into the side of the mountain, and after docking we walked into a man-made cave the led through the mountain to the other side. Inside the cave it was like a sci-fi movie – supplies lying around everywhere, construction equipment and cold wind blowing through made it seem like we were settling on another planet.

At the end of the tunnel was a gift shop/pizza restaurant. After walking inside a suddenly warm restaurant full of cheesy souvenir gifts it felt even more strange. Beyond the restaurant skiers and hikers could hit the slopes, and back in the hallway was an elevator leading to the very top of the peak where they had built an observation platform. We took a ride to the top, and enjoyed a spectacular 360 panoramic view of the area. The temperature was sub-zero, but we were lucky that the winds had subsided, so it was OK to stick around for a while in our light clothes. We took lots of pictures, looked across the mountain into an Italian town just down the hill, and we could see far back into Switzerland. Across the way you could see the tiny dots of climbers traversing crevasses on the way to climb a distant peak – just incredible views up there. After talking a Japanese guy into taking our picture together we headed back to the elevator, and then caught the gondola back down the hill. It was certainly worth the money after seeing that view.

The trip to the top and back was about two hours, and it was probably the best sightseeing spot of the trip for me. I was still snapping pictures on the way down, too. It’ll take a while to sort through all the images I collected.

Next stop was back to the hotel to collect our bags and then we went over to the station and caught a train out of Zermatt. The next destination was the dairy town of Gruyeres, and there were quite a few transfers and train changes to get there. First was the town of Visp, where we caught another train to Montreaux. Between Visp and Montreaux you could see just how many terraced mountain vineyards there were in the area – thousands of acres – I had no idea that they produced so much wine. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more Swiss wines in the future.

Montreaux turned out to be a nice town on the edge of Lake Geneva, and there we caught an old fashioned three car train that left the station and starting winding up back and forth up a mountain, giving us more impressive views of the region as we went. The tiny towns we traveled past seemed remote but they commanded an incredible view of the lake and surrounding mountains. The small town of Chamby impressed me as well – it looked like a nice place to get away and spend some relaxing time.

We kept on going and we started wondering if we were on the right track (so to speak) but finally we came through a tunnel and emerged in rolling green hills, pastures and farm animals. Then we knew we were headed the right way. Not long after we arrived at our final transfer point, Montbovon. We caught our last train there and went about five stops before arriving at a Gruyeres’ small train station.

The hotel people had told me that it was easy enough to find the hotel. Just walk uphill about 10 minutes and you will see the building. The trouble was that there were several hills. We decided to follow the signs to the town of Gruyeres as there wasn’t much else around, and it turns out that it was the right decision.

As we crested a small hill we could see the town of Gruyeres up ahead. High on a hilltop it had a small castle behind it, and looked kind of like a walled city. The closer we got the more tourists and buses we could see, and I kind of had a sinking feeling, but once we arrived and looked around we started to enjoy it. On the surface the town is like a small tourist trap – with shops selling typical souvenirs and quite a few restaurants on cobblestone streets. But I think the longer I was there the more I enjoyed the slow pace of things there. Despite the tourists you could go just one street down and avoid them, and there was plenty of things to explore in the countryside.

Despite assurances, however, the location of our hotel eluded us, and after consulting with the tourist office we found it fifty steps out of town. That turned out to be a good thing, as we were away from the hustle and bustle during the tourist rush, and we could spend plenty of quiet time relaxing. That was the original purpose of stopping in Gruyeres for a couple nights – food and rest after our Alps adventure.

The hotel was nice enough. Although a little dark, the rooms were spacious and very comfortable. As usual, we settled into the hotel and then went out in search of sights and food. We chose the Chalet de Gruyeres in the center of town and ordered up a pot of fondue along with a cheese platter – because we like cheese a lot. Fondue was great, and the big surprise was how good dried meats are when dipped in cheese. Pickles and pickled onions were also a big hit – somehow you can always eat more pickled things. We drank Cardinal beer and tried lots of new cheeses, and finally Kuniko ordered dessert. The most diabolically unhealthy dessert I have ever eaten. It was hard sweet meringue, with two scoops of ice cream on top and a big cup of thick heavy cream to pour over the top. By the time we managed to finish it off I was sure I could hear my heart starting to slow down.

We walked around town a little more afterwards to burn a calorie or two before heading back to the hotel and bed. I wasn’t sure if I would survive the night, actually. Figured I’d have a heart attack at some point, but apparently my body is more resilient than I thought.

Pictures from this day can be found here.

After a no-frills breakfast at the hotel we checked out and then headed back to the station, walking around the lake in the sun to find the Glacier Express train lined up and ready to go. People were posing outside for pictures, and it was officially a big deal with the passengers. We were no exception, and once onboard in our seats we took quite a few photos ourselves. The train itself was much more modern than I had envisioned. With huge windows on the side and above it was easy to take in all the scenery. Once the train left the station we went back down the same track we came in the day before. People around us jumped up to take pictures at every turn, but they soon discovered what I had found yesterday on the way in – the windows and sunlight made lots of reflections, and these pretty much screwed up the pictures taken from inside the train.

Still, it was good for Kuniko to see all the scenery that she slept through the day before, and with much better weather to boot. In keeping with the spirit of the affair I ordered a half bottle of champagne that we shared while taking in the sights from our seats. As we changed to a new train line and started the trip up the mountains the scenery grew more and more majestic, and by lunchtime we could see vast meadows between mountains, rivers and green grass everywhere. In the distance snow was covering the tops of the Alps, and I just put the camera away and let it all soak in. Lunch was a three course affair that was better than expected – a swiss chicken dish with vegetables, and pasta. Pretty tasty for being served on a train. With lunch we had a bottle of red wine, and so life was pretty good for us.

The downside of huge windows all over the train was that there were no shades, so with the sunlight pouring in and lots of wine in our bodies it was tough to stay awake. After a while dramatic mountains became a little more familiar, and I thought maybe it was time to doze off. Most of the other passengers had already nodded off, but Kuniko and I fought it to the bitter end. We managed to stay conscious all the way up the hill to Zermatt, and pulled into the Zermatt station at 5 p.m. pretty tired but alert.

Zermatt was touristy, packed with people, and a little ritzy, but had a quaint feeling that I ended up liking – more personality and homey than St. Moritz. The town has no cars, but instead is full of little electric mini-cars that act as taxis, delivery trucks, and what-not. All the Japanese tourists were a bit of a turn-off for Kuniko, but I enjoyed walking through town. We had no problem finding our hotel (Hotel Bristol). Our room had a very nice view of the Matterhorn, and I was very happy with the view while Kuniko was not so impressed. The room was very comfortable, and after we unpacked a bit we went back out into town to sightsee and catch dinner.

We had our first raclette at the Stockhorn – a restaurant/grill right down the street from our hotel. It turns out a raclette is just a pile of melted cheese eaten with pickled onions, pickles, and sliced mini-potatoes. It was really good, and at 7 francs per plate it was a great deal. Kuniko had a plate of veal sausage grilled inside the restaurant, and we sat right next to a couple of Japanese guys trying to figure out how fondue worked. The waitress at the place was really friendly, and she introduced us to Swiss beer – called Cardinal. Good stuff, and headed back to our hotel and bed after the delicious meal.