Quêlle fromage!

Gruyere cheese is my honey's favorite cheese, so while we are in Switzerland we decided to visit the town of Gruyères in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. We moved from the German speaking part of Switzerland to where they speak French.

We also travelled from a lakeside to halfway up a mountain. Switzerland has many mountain ranges, so I'm not exactly sure which group we are currently in. For all I know, they are all part of the Alps.

Gruyères in the mist

In any case, Gruyères is a charming medieval town which is probably usually crawling with tourists. The persistent rain seemed to keep their number somewhat in check. And it was cold enough to enjoy fondue, a dish rarely eaten in summer.

Yesterday we toured a demonstration dairy and today (still raining) we will take a "dairy hike". The demonstration dairy was a little hokey, but they process more than 12,000 liters of milk a day, sending it on its way to make excellent Gruyere cheese.

One of the coolest things about the tour were the vials of scents of the many different kinds of plants that the cows eat. I never knew I liked smells that much. We're looking forward to tasting Gruyere d'Alpage, which is cheese made from milk from cows that are eating the summer grasses and wildflowers of the high Alps.

PS Today's title is courtesy of a dear friend, who often used that mangled Franglish phrase!