Wednesday was a day of traveling, but not without some spectacular scenery. After we left beautiful Grindelwald in the morning, we headed west along Lake Thun. We continued further west into the Fribourg Canton of Switzerland, the beginning of the French region of the country.
Our destination was the enchanting village and chateau of Gruyeres, an early 12th century walled community and castle in the Fribourg Canton.
The community was a beautiful stop, and we loved wandering the plaza and old walls, and enjoying the views from the hillside.
Our lunch was, in a town with the name of Gruyeres, cheese! We had fondue and raclette, and dish where the cheese is melted under heat and scrapped off with a knife. A tasty and quite filling meal. Dessert was the local meringue on a bed of raspberries covered in a heavy cream.
As we headed toward Zermatt, our route took us along the edge of Lake Geneva (we could see France) then we followed the Rhone River valley back into the middle of Southern Switzerland. The Rhone is one of the most agriculturally productive in Switzerland, and either side of the highway was lined with fields and orchards. Apricots were in season, and peaches soon to follow.
Soon we reached the valley leading to Zermatt. Vehicles are not allowed there, so we transferred to a train for the last 20 minutes of the journey.
Our hotel room overlooks the Matterhorn (wow), and was very near the Zermatt church. In the cemetery behind the church are buried victims of climbs of the nearby mountains, and two heros, a father/son team that guided the first successful climb of the Matterhorn. It was a sobering place.
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