I would say the theme of today was food. Dairy to be exact. And for someone who is lactose intollerant, I was a bit scared. But I came prepared with a box of lactaid and was ready to go! There was no way I was coming to Switzerland and not trying the cheese and chocolate! After a delicious breakfast of lox, fruit and Swiss cereal and breads at the hotel, we took about a forty minute ride from Fribourg to Gruyere and went to visit La Maison du Gruyeres, where the authentic Gruyere cheese is made and aged. Did you know that it takes 121 pounds of milk to make 1kg of Gruyere cheese? Depending on the season, between 4,000 and 7,000 rounds mature in the cellers at a temperature of 18 degrees celcius at 92% humidity. If you buy Gruyere cheese in the states, you’ll know its authentic if it has an AOC on the label. You can be guaranteed that is an all natural product and the quality of milk is the highest.
After the cheese tour, we took a short ride up to the Gruyere Castle, which was situated in the beautifully quaint 
village of Gruyere which only has around 100 inhabitants and consists of one beautifully lined street with two museums, the HR Griger and the Tibet, the restaurant where we ate for lunch, and souvenir type shops. Lunch was at the well-known Restaurant Le Chalet and I know why it is so well known…its cheese fondue is to die for! 
The smell was kind of funky as I was warned, but it was so delicious! They make their fondue from a mixture of gruyere and raclett and serve it with potatos and bread for dipping. If you’d like to try making this on your own, here are the ingredients for the authentic recipe for Friboug which serves four people: 400 grams Gruyere cheese, 400 grams Fribourg Vacherin cheese, 1 clove or garlic, 3 decilitres white wine, 15 grams of potato starch and Kirsch and pepper. Drop me a comment if you’d like the instructions! For dessert, we had rasberries in double cream, all made locally.
Following our cheesefest, we took a short drive to Broc and to the Cailler-Nestle Chocolate Factory. You know what they say, no matter how full you are, there is always room for chocolate…or maybe that’s just what I say. Not only was admission free, but after a brief tour that included tasting the cocoa beans that are used for the chocolate and watching how it is made, there was a long counter full of samples. 
There was a huge variety of plain milk and dark chocolate, chocolate with hazlenuts, almonds, crushed cocoa beans, truffles, etc. Of course I had to try almost one of everything, but I did it as though I was at a wine tasting. Just one bite of each! Well, two of some of them…ok I finished a few. After the tour, we went into the store which had a huge variety and of course I stood for a half an hour trying to decide what to bring home.
Comotose from all of the food, I slept on the 40 minute ride back to Fribourg and got my second wind just in time to catch some of the shops which stay open late. We toured the beautiful medieval city for a few hours before it was time for dinner. I was sure I could not eat again so soon, but somehow I made it happen. Dinner was at the Restaurant Hotel de Ville which served a phenomenal four course meal with ingredients that tasted so fresh. 
I opted out of the merenge with ice cream and double cream. I had to stop somewhere!
It’s off to bed for five hours before waking up to hike up to the cathedral which is supposed to have the best view of the whole city of Fribourg. Then it’s on to Murten and to one of Switzerland’s vineyards, Mount Vully…and I’m sure more chocolate!
