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The second day we were off for lunch to Grüyere.
If the name sounds familiar, it's because of the cheese. Grüyere
is actually a village within the walls of a castle, high on a hill overlooking
the valley. We had been told this but with a lot of things that we
have been told, we forgot. As we were approaching Gruyere we saw
the castle from thirty klicks away and marveled at the size of it, wondering
if possibly we would have time to visit it. Did we get a surprise,
we drove right up to the entrance and then walked right in, up hill I might
add, both ways. It was a little warm by the time we left.
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Our sole purpose for visiting Gruyere was to sample
the finest fondue in Suisse, made from the cheese which made this place
famous. After having only experienced the fondue at Barley Brothers
from time to time we really had nothing to compare this to. It was
nothing like American fondue, but after a few bites it became very tasty.
You see Swiss fondue contains a very high percentage of alcohol.
That and Fessi likes to dip his bread in schnapps before he dips it in
the fondue. One of the little trivia items that we found out about
is that schnapps is just about any liquor that contains more than forty
percent (80 proof) alcohol. Therefor, Jack Daniels is schnapps!!
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After lunch Teri and I toured the castle of the Baron
of Güyere for about an hour. This castle is privately owned
and is filled with furniture from the Louis XVI period as well as a lot
of modern art. The modern art didn't impress us much but the castle
itself was something to see. It has been standing there for over
a thousand years!!!
The second evening we spent in a little town called Susten
(Shuushton). Just an average little Alpine village with another eighty
franc per nite motel. This one not so nice as the one in Grindelwald
but the shower was in the room. Although the toilet was down the
hall and down one flight of stairs. I will add at this
time that the Swiss do like thier stairs. Land is so expensive here
that they build something on a small plot of land and then go up.
We've climbed more stairs in three weeks than in the last ten years.
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On the morning of the third day we hit the road around
0830 for Taasch about forty klicks away where we would catch a train for
Zermatt. The train ride from Taasch to Zermatt was only about fifteen
minutes but it is the only way for people to arrive in this little Swiss
Alpine village. There is no passenger motor vehicle traffic allowed
to Zermatt as there is no place to park a car, period. The only thing
that arrives by motor vehicle is commodities, food, freight etc.
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Zermatt is the jumping off point to the Matterhorn
via another electric cog train. This train we did not take this time
but we will on our next trip. Yes, we will be coming back!!!!
From the town square you can see the top of the Matterhorn, what a sight,
it kind of gave Joe an idea for a new tattoo.
We spent a couple of hours touring the shops and buying
things that we don't need but we can't live without. Patches, T-shirts
and charms, etc. The weather couldn't have been better and we all
too soon had to find our way down the hill and on to Clausen pass, our
last pass of the trip.
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Clausen pass is crossed on a road (swiss term not
mine) that as Fessi puts it, is slightly wider than an Electra-Glide.
Teri's job was to look down range and alert me if she saw a tour bus coming
our way.
There are signs all along the way warning motorcyclists
not to race. From what we saw, most of the people on bikes take this
only as a suggestion. This is evidenced by the amount of flowers
alongside the road marking the last moments of some idiot before he plunged
2,000 feet on his last ride.
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Oh yeah, the Swiss have not at this time perfected
the guardrail. Most of them are simply concrete pylons with maybe
a wire strung between. I haven't tested one, but I can imagine that
the concrete pylons are NOT meant to break away in a crash.
Pylon 1, Bike 0.
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From Clausen pass we found our way eventually to
the autobahn for the last sixty or so klicks home. We set an all
time record for distance on our last day as we traveled almost 350 kilometers
in one day.
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So, that was our trip to the Alps. What you
have read here can in no way even begin to describe the beauty of this
country or what we have seen. From a church built in 742AD to mountains
that have stood since the birth of the planet and every thing in between.
A couple of comments now. For us Americans visiting
this foreign country we have had to learn a few things, starting with.
People here are extremely friendly, there are no attitudes, period.
If you buy something in someones store or shop, it is
customary for them to give you a gift.
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Even though driving over here takes some getting
used to, the other drivers are very aware of motorcycles and are friendly
towards them at all times. Bikes make up a huge percentage of vehicles
over here. When the light is red, it is proper for motorcycles to
go to the front, what a country!!!! Motorcycles can also park anywhere
they damn well please, as long as you leave one and half meters on the
sidewalk for pedestrians to get by.
One of the other things which we have learned is that
the Swiss love to dig holes. As Fessi puts it, if something gets
in our way, we dig a hole. There are tunnels everywhere, and I mean
long tunnels ranging from a few hundred meters to 17 kilometers (10+ miles!!)
This not to say that the tunnels can't be useful, at least when it's raining
and you're in a tunnel, you aren't getting wet!!!
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