Strolling through Vevey

With so many cool places to visit, you often forget about the amazing things in your own backyard. I too am guilty to this. Since moving to Switzerland, I’ve done trips to France, Italy, Prague and other places, but I haven’t really explored here.



With the My Switzerland App, I learned that you walk from the town of Vevey to Montreux – all along with the lake. I had been to Montreux for the Christmas Market, but Vevey was uncharted territory. And because they say it’s one of the “pearls of the Swiss Riviera”, I had to check it out.




It turns out Vevey is an unexpectedly interesting place. They weren’t exaggerating when they said it had a beautiful waterfront promenade. Lined with flowers and palm trees, you forget for a moment that you are in the Alps.




Then there is the giant fork. If you’ve been there, then you know what I mean. The fork is…well it’s funny…and unexpected…and for some reason the humor of having it there, along with the chairs set up on in the rocks so you can relax while looking at it, feels very Swiss.





The fork, like many other regular forks, is made of stainless steel. But unlike regular forks, it is 8 meters high and stuck in Lake Geneva. It is in fact, the world’s tallest fork. It was created for the Alimentarium, the world’s first food museum.

The Matterhorn really is impressive

One of the great things of living in Switzerland is that you don’t have to go far to see the Alps.  I can actually see them from my balcony at home. However, you do have to get on a train or rent a car is you want to see the really cool mountains close up.  

This weekend’s conquest was the Matterhorn.

With an elevation of 4,478 meters and a prominence of 1,040 meters, the Matterhorn is one of those mountains that are unmistakable – and they always are covered in snow even in the middle of the summer.  

To get there, you head to Zermatt, and then the fun begins. 

During ski season, naturally, skiing is the thing to do, but in the summer, Zermatt is still pretty busy.  There are numerous hiking trails to pick from.  In fact, there are over 400 km of marked trails around the area. 

I admit some of the trails are a little intense though, as you could be walking straight up a mountain (great glute workout) and down again (not fun for the knees).  Others are more flat and will lead you through the valley, which is amazing in the summer as it’s full of wild flowers. 

What will amaze you though is that even if you are dying while walking up a steep path, some old couple in their 80s will pass you with their little walking sticks and knapsack full of cheese, bread and wine for their picnic at the top.  Swiss genes are truly amazing.

If you are more adventurous, another way to see the area is to hike hut-to-hut.  I haven’t done this yet, but maybe one day.  

All over Switzerland, you’ll see these little huts/houses in the middle of no where.  Some have running water; some don’t.  Basically, you hike all day, spend the night in one of these huts, and then continue hiking in the morning.  I think it’s a pretty civilized way to camp – and you don’t have to lug a tent with you. 

The good news is that it doesn’t matter which trail you pick, you won’t be able to miss the Matterhorn.  Its majestic peak is high above the others.

PHOTO MOMENT: Morning run along the lake

Lake Leman in Switzerland

Getting up early for a Winter run is worth it when you have sunrises like this.

PHOTO MOMENT: Morning run in January

Lake Leman in Switzerland

Most of the time, winter is rainy, foggy and depressing in Switzerland.  And then you have a moment like this.

Volunteering at a vineyard for a day

My fellow volunteers snipping the vines.

I've always wanted to own a little hobby vineyard where I make my own wine and maybe have a little wine cafe that's open only on the weekends.  Yes, I'm a bit of dreamer, but you never know...perhaps one day.

In the meantime, I'm gathering information about winemaking and having tons of fun along the way.  This weekend I had the chance to help out Swiss vine owner and winemaker, Alain Chollet.

His winery and vineyard is located in Grandvaux area about 10 minutes away from Lausanne by train. With the harvest season complete in October, he needed a few volunteers to help him trim the branches off the vines and get them ready for winter.

There were four of us volunteering in total (the other 3 came from Geneva) and the work was hard, but rewarding.  Basically all we had to do is snip off all the branches on each vine stock except for the main one.  It sounds easy, but after 8 hours of snipping, I had blisters on my thumb and fingers, and my back was a little sore from the bending up and down.  But, I would do it again in a second and have already asked to on the volunteer list next time around.

Alain was the best boss and the best teacher of what to do with the vines. When I started, I was worried I was going to snip the wrong bits off and kill his plants, but he showed me exactly what to do and gave us hints on which way to work the vines to reduce the amount of work on our backs.

Here's a hint: The vines are planted on steep hills so working your way up hill is definitely easier.

During the lunch break, he gave us a tour of his cellar where we tasted three of the wines that were currently being fermented.  It was my first time trying something that was still in between the juice and wine stage, but you could already get a sense of how the wine would progress when mature.

He told us the vineyard had been with his family for generations and he said that in Switzerland, they are very strict with what you can grow.  Chasselas is the most common grape of the area and a certain percentage of your vineyard has to be that (if the vines are already there).  Alain's vineyard also had a little bit of Chardonnay (which his grandfather planted) and some red varieties like Pinot Noir. He was experimenting with a red blend that was pretty good.

We worked from 9:00 am until 4:30 pm when the sun was starting to set.  It was a hard day, but a nice way to get to know the wine and the wine maker. We also got paid in wine, which was fantastic.

Alain does have volunteer weekends three times a year: Spring, harvest and winter prep. He also holds special wine events in the cellar throughout the year so those of you who would rather drink the wine rather than work for it.

You can find out more information about these and how to volunteer on his website: http://www.alainchollet.ch/new/

Did someone say Gruyere?

The mountains were hidden by the clouds that day in Gruyere

The longer I'm in Switzerland, the better I'm getting at being a tour guide for guests. Sorry my peeps who visited me in June and July -- I knew nothing and you got a lame vacation.  Now I'm ready to entertain.

So when Taylor Timmins, one of my co-workers from my KHOU days in Houston, called and said she was in Lausanne for just an afternoon, I knew exactly where to take her to see all things "Swiss" in a day and that magical place was Gruyère.

Swiss cows...they are everywhere. Not just in Gruyere - although this one was.

In Gruyère  you can see the place where they make Gruyere cheese and you can visit the Maison Cailler chocolate factory (see the Gruyère website). Seeing both in one afternoon is too much for a stomach to handle, so we opted for the cheese.

Why the cows in Gruyere have to wear flowers, we don't know.

When going to Gruyère  there are a number of trains to choose from -- depending on when you are leaving. There is the chocolate train, the panoramic train and the "La Gruyère" Retro Train, which is also known as the Fondue Train. We took that one.

Taylor and Jennifer being tourists on the Retro Train.

The train is done up in retro from days gone by, but we didn't get fondue as we were saving that for the cheese factory. We did order some wine though to celebrate seeing each other as it had been 8 years since I had been in Houston (can't believe it has been that long).  It's amazing how time flies, but seem like nothing when you meet up with friends again.

The entrance to the village.

We arrived at the factory at 2 pm (Taylor and her co-worker Jennifer - who was an instant long lost friend - had to work in the morning so we had a noon start) and the cheese factory was just closing for the day.

What I like about Swiss people is that they don't try to sell you crap.  We asked if the museum was worth it without the Gruyere factory tour, and she told us no, not really. Really love the honesty. Why pay money for something not worth seeing?

Stack of cheese.

But the good new was that the restaurant was open and we could enjoy fondue if we wanted. Yay!! Mission accomplished.

Fondue with potatoes and bread. The potatoes with fondue are the best idea ever. Only the Swiss would think of this.

When in Gruyère, in addition to the cheese and chocolate, there are a few things to do.

First of all, you need to visit the town.  It's very old-style Swiss with the Medieval stone wall still surrounding it and everything.  You have to walk up a big hill to get to the town (I've learned big hills are normal in Switzerland and my butt and legs have learned to accommodate these over the months I've been here), but once you are in, it's flat and enjoyable.

Can't believe this is an entrance to a public toilet. So nice with the leaves!

Inside the walls, you'll find a bunch of little tourist shops, a few nice chocolate place, the palace and my personal favorite -- the Alien Bar.

This place is bizarre (and really crowded so go early if you want to get a seat).  It's tiny inside and not Medieval like the rest of the village at all (go to his website - hrgiger.com -- and be amazed as I didn't take photos.).

It's actually called the H.R. Giger Museum Bar but everyone calls it the Alien Bar as H.R. Giger was the artist who designed the set for the Alien movies.  So the entire interior is based on this theme. It's very cool and worth visiting. It's like entering a different world.

Celebrating new and old friendships.

The day was quick, but wonderful. Thanks Taylor and Jennifer for letting me show you around!

The underground lake of St. Leonard

There are some interesting things in Switzerland that I had no idea existed -- such as the underground lake of St. Leonard.

The lake is located between Sion and Sierre in the heart of the Swiss Alps.  It's about 300 meters long -- which doesn't sound very big, but it is the largest natural underground lake in Europe so I guess it's big enough.

If you visit it, you can take a little boat ride across the lake and back.  It's surprisingly clean smelling. Considering you are underground and surrounded by water, it doesn't smell like a musty cave. The air actually smells fresh.

There is also trout in the lake.  My French is not excellent (it sucks), so I'm not sure if they put the trout in there to monitor the acid in the water to make sure it's still healthy or if the trout are naturally there. Whatever the case, they are there and they look happy swimming around -- so the water must be clean.

And to make this cave even more interesting, there is this -- because the acoustics are so fantastic in the cave, they sometimes have concerts in there.

The entire boat ride only takes about 30 minutes, but if you are already in Sion for other reasons, it's worth dropping in to check it out.

Photo Moment: Vineyards outside of Sion

If you go to Sion, you need to through the vineyards.  This photo was taken while I walking the Bisse of Clavau.  The trail overlooks the Rhône Valley between Sion and St-Léonard.

A trip to Champéry

I got into hiking when I moved to Arizona in 2012.  I couldn't resist the desert mountains with their amazing views from the top and the pink-tinted soil of the area (more about desert hikes in Arizona).  I admit I still love the desert and hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim was one of my favorite hiking experiences to date. There's a feeling of accomplishment when you do something like that. You've conquered the heat and the trail at the same time. There's a rugged danger to it all that makes it an adventure more than a family stroll.

But Switzerland has some incredible trails and I'm trying to get into them.  Don't laugh.  I know it's gorgeous here, but I think there are forest hikers and desert rock hikers.  I'm definitely more of the desert rock hiker type, but I'm trying to adapt. And who knows? Maybe I'll become a forest hiker while here.  I know I do love the views and all the fauna.

So my quest is to seek out forest hikes that challenge me with that bit of adventure.  Today it's Champéry.

Located about 45 minutes from Lausanne in Switzerland, Champéry is a little ski village filled with all those cute Swiss chalets you see in photos.

I haven't seen it when it's packed full of skiers, but I did see it in the summer and it's gorgeous even then.  It's much less crowded, of course - but the hiking and the mountain biking is worth the trip there for you forest hikers out there. The mountains (Dents du Midi and Dents Blanches) are amazing and there are 24 chairlifts open in the summer to take you up the mountain to access the nearly 400 miles of paths to hike or ride. There is also a cable car if you don't want to walk up to the top and just want to stroll or ride down.

The village is tiny with less than 1,300 residents.  It's mostly there for the skiing and the tourists, but a lot of architecture from the pioneers is still there and there are numerous bars, little shops and restaurants to keep visitors happy.

Most locals drive back to their hometown after the day there, but there are hotels for those of you who want a romantic escape.  It is very adorable there...and very Swiss.

New word of the day: Persil

Here's what I love about my little village in Switzerland.  They know me.  They may not understand me and I may not understand them as we speak different languages, but they know me.  And what they know me as is: "the girl who speaks English."

This is very reminiscent of when I lived in Germany and my town called me the "das Canadian Madchen." But I'm trying to learn French and I test it out whenever I can with the shop owners in my area.

There are only four shops in my village which could also explain why they know me.  I have a bakery, grocery store, butcher and a little farther away is my favorite Italian Deli - Mauro Traiteur -- which sells cheese, olives, fresh pasta, wine and other delicious things.

As you can imagine, I go there a lot. It's like Whole Foods but better - as they don't judge me when I ask them to recommend a wine that is "not too expensive" and have saved me a couple times when I choose one that would not go with my meal. (thank goodness!)

Anyway, that's where I was today, and they happened to have something new.  Some sort of pie thing.

You know I have to have the "something new." So I ask in my horrible French: What is that?  They reply with some words I don't understand, so I kick into reporter mode, and still using my limited French, I start questioning the poor shop girl who has gotten stuck serving me.

Me:  What is inside?

Poor Shop Girl:  Chicken, cream, mushrooms, onions...

I'm thinking "good…those I eat."

And then she says, "...and persil."

Persil?  This word I do not know. Do I like persil?  Do I eat persil?  Because I don't eat red meat or pork, I'm highly suspicious of Swiss food as they have a million names for pork products and they love to put them in everything.  Everything. They also like to put dried meat in stuff. They are sneaky that way.

Me:  What is this persil?

She looks at me strange as if everyone should know persil.

So I continue...

Me: Is it a fromage? Viande? Legume? [cheese, meat, vegetable]

Poor Shop Girl: Percil…Percil is percil.

She shrugs and is still looking at me strange.  I'm running out of questions. If it's not cheese, vegetable or meat…what could it be?

Me: Is it a type of mushroom?

Poor Shop Girl: No…percil is percil.

She has given up on me and I've run out of questions.  Just as I'm thinking maybe I should just order the spinach ravioli, the owner of the shop rescues me. He tells her in French that I only speak English.  I try to look pathetic and smile. Her expression changes as she realizes I'm not crazy or stupid; I'm just not Swiss.

The owner also doesn't know how to describe "percil" so asks her to grab some from the kitchen.

She comes back with a handful of parsley.

Ohhhhh….percil is a herb. I will now add that to my list of questions to ask when baffled by the food.

Of course, I will never forget percil again. And I'm sure that shop girl hopes she never gets stuck serving me again (joke's on her as I'm there weekly.)

In case you are wondering, I did get a slice of the pie after all that  - and it was wonderful. You could actually taste the percil as it helped bring out the mushrooms.

So yes, I love my village and their patience with me. I promise to get better with my French.

PS I'm thinking my accent must be getting a little better as she didn't suspect I was foreign until I didn't know what percil was. Small gains.

Photo Moment: Sailboat on Lake Geneva

When this is what you see during your morning run along Lake Geneva, you really can't complain.

Côtes de l’Orbe - the Swiss wine half marathon

The Côtes de l'orbes half marathon takes you along roads, villages and even forest trails.

For years, I've been trying to do the Marathon Du Médoc in France.  This is a marathon where you run in fancy dress through the French vineyards, sipping wine along the way.  Doesn't it sound fantastic?

I've been dying to try it -- and every year, it sells out and I can never get in.

Lots of vineyards along the way

But...then I learned that Switzerland has their own version of this marathon. It's the Côtes de l’orbs half marathon.  It's based on the same concept of the Marathon du Médoc in that it's both sporty and festive. You are encouraged to dress in fancy dress, and that every few kilometers you have the choice of wine or water as you run. It's the only one of its kind in Switzerland -- which is kind of cool and a reason to sign up.

For some reason, I think the idea of running it in France would still be fun and will try again for the Médoc Marathon, but I figured this one would be a perfect practice run-through.

And don't forget the scenery. Awesome.

SIGNED UP BUT THEN THIS HAPPENED...

I signed up in July for the September 12, 2015 Côtes de l’orbs race and I was determined to run this thing in my fancy dress.

Well, actually I didn't go all fancy. I'm still a purest when I run and am always working towards improving my time -- so generally want to wear clothes that are made for running rather than a prom dress.

But in the spirit of the run I decided to go a little fun. I bought a cheap running skirt and glued sparkly dragon flies and flowers on it.  I know. I'm lame.  I figured I would go comfortable this year and then next year, go all out. Also, I was worried about the hills. After the Urban Trail des Singles totally kicked my butt (see blog post about the Urban Trail des Singles here), I knew running in Switzerland were not for the average marathoner. Those mountains are killer and this time I wanted to be prepared.

Have I mentioned that the scenery is awesome?

Btw... on race day, I did see a number of really fast runners decked out in dresses and wigs (see photo below) -- so it is possible to run in fancy dress and still do well. They must have been melting, but they looked great!

Anyone else instantly have Aerosmith's "Dude that looked like lady" in their head?

So I had the outfit and I had been doing some hill training in preparation. There was just one problem. The weekend before the race, I attempted mountain biking in Nendaz.  This was my first time and we I think we did the Mount Fort Tour (see more details of the Mount Fort Tour on the Secret Alps website). It's the easiest of the routes in the area. It's about 50 km and mostly downhill.

Unfortunately, I'm not good at downhill as I have trouble controlling my speed and had a bad wipeout (still enjoyed the day and would do it again).  I didn't break anything, but I was bleeding and bruised up a lot. But what really sucked was that my right knee had swelling under that patella, making it impossible to run without a lot of pain.

This is one of the many water/wine stops along the route. Not like any other race I've ever been in.

Regardless of the pain, I'm stubborn and refused to call it quits.  But I decided that because this was not the Olympics, I should compromise and be a little safe. Yup, that's right. I decided I would put on my little sparkly dragonfly outfit and walk half marathon anyway.


BEST DECISION EVER

The Côtes de l’orbs has you running through vineyard and a number of small winery towns along the course.  You start out in Arnex-sur-Orbe and then you run from there.

Cute Swiss town along the route.

I began my walk and after about 3km, the first offering of wine was available.  I don't know what I expected, but I didn't expect real glasses poured full and numerous choices to pick from. It was more like visiting a vineyard than participating in a race.  It was strangely wonderful.

The wine/water stops continued every 2 or 3 km along the entire 21 km route.  I resisted until kilometer 9 and then thought I should partake as the vine owners looked a little sad every time I just passed them by.

I picked a chilled white wine from the stand, and it was then I learned that I would never be able to run the Marathon du Médoc in France and drink wine at the same time.  It might be that I'm not Swiss enough, but after one glass, walking was the only option. My drive to run was completely gone.  I was in mellow, relax mode.

The Swiss amaze me on how they can smoke and run. 

Thankfully, I wasn't the only walker. There were numerous walkers and even those who were sort of running the race, were not there to get a good PR (although there were a handful that were running like the wind though and passing by all the wine like the "dude that looked like a lady" in the photo earlier in this post).

Those that stopped tended to hang out for 15 to 20 minutes drinking the wine and eating the bread and cheese that was provided.  Yeah...no boring bananas and gatorade here.  It was good food and good wine.

This really was a bizarre race.  Check out the runners standing by the wine barrel above.  They look like serious runners, but there they are chatting, drinking and smoking at what was kilometer 16.

It took me about 5 hours to walk the entire half marathon - including all the wine sipping stops along the way.  And instead of a medal at the end, you got a bottle of wine to take home. Pretty cool I must say.

So next year, will I do it? Definitely...and I now that I know I can't "run and wine", I will be walking it with friends. Want to join me?

Strolling through the Lavaux vineyards

I had no idea there was so much wine in Switzerland until I moved to Lausanne.  And I had no idea that Lausanne was just 10 minutes away by train to the best wine area in the country -- the Lavaux vineyards.

To get there, you take the train to Grandvaux and then you start walking through the vines and end at Lutry station.  It will take you about 90 minutes to walk there...and it's mostly downhill.

Or you could do it the way I did, which turned out to be the hard way.  I arrived in Lutry, which is located at lake level and then had to walk up the challenging hills to get to Grandvaux. That was not the best idea in the world, but I did get a fantastic glute workout along the way.

The traditional grape in this region is Chasselas.  If you've never heard of it, you are not alone.  I had never heard of it until I moved here. It's a white grape and about 75 percent of the vineyards in the area grow it. It makes a full-bodied white wine that goes well with most Swiss foods such as fondue and perch.  It's also a nice afternoon sipping wine, especially on hot summer days.

The do grow some red grapes in the area.  These are Pinot Noir and Gamay.  I'm going to be honest here and tell you that while the Swiss white wines are generally excellent, the red wines are hit and miss. They are worth trying, but not all are amazing.

The site is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.  One of the reasons is the countless terraces overlooking Lake Geneva. It's worth the hike.  Just bring your walking shoes as even going downhill can be challenging.