Across northern Switzerland, from St. Gallen through the towns of Lenzberg, Solothurn, and to Bern, capital of Switzerland. Incredibly, picture postcard scenery all the way. Switzerland must be the only place in the world where the beauty of the actual scenery exceeds the pictures - have to see it to believe it. After a couple hours wandering the busy streets of Bern on a Saturday afternoon, we board the bus to the hotel in Aarberg, a small, picturesque city on the Aare River that eventually empties into the Rhine.
Although Switzerland is a small country, it is very diverse with its four official languages and multiple dialects that vary from canton to canton - even valley to valley. Around our area of southern Wisconsin, virtually all the Swiss immigrants and their descendants are of the German-speaking cantons. As it is not prominent in our local culture, I never give much thought to the French-speaking part.
This tour, sponsored by Turner Hall and organized by Greg and Deborah Krauss Smith and Hans and Bobbie Bernet, would take us to that "other Switzerland" that doesn't get much play around here.
After a fine breakfast at the hotel in Aarberg, we board the bus and head west, into the French speaking part of Switzerland. In the misty morning there are still cattle grazing on the plateaus and hillsides, but the flat valley lands and lower hills give way to a variety of crops, and to vineyards. Northwestern Switzerland is home to the "other mountains," not the Alps, but the Juras, a wooded range extending for some 225 miles in an arc on both sides of the French and Swiss borders.
The climate and soils of this part of Switzerland are ideal for viniculture. Our first stop is the Mauler winery in Motiers. Leaving the winery, Urs, our bus driver, takes us through town to give us a view of a typical French Swiss village. We are surprised to see a metallic sign along the street reading "Schneeberger." That's French?
Doesn't matter - Urs stops the bus to give our five touring Schneebergers a chance to take pictures of that sign.
Then it's off to a hilltop restaurant, Chapeaux de Napoleon, for lunch. When viewed from a distance, the wooded hillside does indeed resemble Napoleon's hat.
Urs takes us on less traveled roads within a couple miles of France, roads that most tourists never travel. Then it is down to the city of Neuchatel on the banks of the lake of the same name. French speaking Switzerland is where the most Swiss wine is produced, and is home to the Swiss watch making industry.
As we head back to Aarberg, we are informed that Sherry Anderegg missed her high school reunion in order to take this tour. We should honor her for that sacrifice. As we unload the bus, we place Sherry front and center. In her honor, we sing the Monroe High School fight song - doubtlessly the only time that musical masterpiece has been sung on the streets of Aarberg, or any place else in Switzerland for that matter.
The next day, we again head for French speaking Switzerland, to the tony city of Montreux, on the banks of Lac Leman, more commonly known as Lake Geneva. On the way, we pass a Studer implement dealer, featuring New Holland farm equipment. It must run in the family. Later on, we pass a "Waelti Machines" sign. When traveling in Switzerland, one encounters practically every Swiss family name familiar to us in Green County.
On the northwest shore of Lac Lemans (Lake Geneva) stands the Chillon Castle, dating from the 10th century, the most visited monument in Switzerland. It is strategically located between the east end of the lake and the steep mountains to the east, guarding the passage from the north to the Rhone Valley to the south.
The castle was a cold, humid residence in which many prisoners were held. The most famous was a monk from Geneva, Francois de Bonivard, the subject of Lord Byron's poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon."
But it was the next stop that had the female portion of our tour group really excited - to the town of Broc and the Cailler Chocolate factory. Like most guys, I can get more excited over cheese, beer, and landjaegers. But okay, the women will be pleased.
Chocolate is native to the New World, having been cultivated in Mexico, Central America, and northern South America for more than 3,000 years. It was used by the Aztecs in sacred offerings and fertility rites. With the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, chocolate was introduced to Europeans. It was used as a drink that only royalty could afford.
As chocolate became more abundant, and with advances in manufacturing processes, it became more available to a broader public. In 1819, F.L. Cailler opened the first Swiss chocolate factory. But it wasn't until later that processes were invented to remove the bitter taste of chocolate, and to extract the fat from cocoa beans and make powdered cocoa and cocoa butter. This made possible the modern chocolate bar.
A Swiss candle maker, Daniel Peter, joined his father-in-law's chocolate business and began experimenting with milk as an ingredient. He brought his new product, milk chocolate, to market in 1875. He was assisted in improving the process by a neighbor, Henri Nestle.
The Cailler Chocolate factory is now a part of the giant Nestle Corporation, but Nestle, wisely most think, retains the Cailler name front and center. Visitors to the factory are treated to an interesting tour - and the opportunity to sample the many varieties of chocolates produced there.
I sampled my share and must confess to a new appreciation of milk chocolate - the good stuff, that is, as produced in Switzerland. The anticipation of the women in our group was justified after all.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
Although Switzerland is a small country, it is very diverse with its four official languages and multiple dialects that vary from canton to canton - even valley to valley. Around our area of southern Wisconsin, virtually all the Swiss immigrants and their descendants are of the German-speaking cantons. As it is not prominent in our local culture, I never give much thought to the French-speaking part.
This tour, sponsored by Turner Hall and organized by Greg and Deborah Krauss Smith and Hans and Bobbie Bernet, would take us to that "other Switzerland" that doesn't get much play around here.
After a fine breakfast at the hotel in Aarberg, we board the bus and head west, into the French speaking part of Switzerland. In the misty morning there are still cattle grazing on the plateaus and hillsides, but the flat valley lands and lower hills give way to a variety of crops, and to vineyards. Northwestern Switzerland is home to the "other mountains," not the Alps, but the Juras, a wooded range extending for some 225 miles in an arc on both sides of the French and Swiss borders.
The climate and soils of this part of Switzerland are ideal for viniculture. Our first stop is the Mauler winery in Motiers. Leaving the winery, Urs, our bus driver, takes us through town to give us a view of a typical French Swiss village. We are surprised to see a metallic sign along the street reading "Schneeberger." That's French?
Doesn't matter - Urs stops the bus to give our five touring Schneebergers a chance to take pictures of that sign.
Then it's off to a hilltop restaurant, Chapeaux de Napoleon, for lunch. When viewed from a distance, the wooded hillside does indeed resemble Napoleon's hat.
Urs takes us on less traveled roads within a couple miles of France, roads that most tourists never travel. Then it is down to the city of Neuchatel on the banks of the lake of the same name. French speaking Switzerland is where the most Swiss wine is produced, and is home to the Swiss watch making industry.
As we head back to Aarberg, we are informed that Sherry Anderegg missed her high school reunion in order to take this tour. We should honor her for that sacrifice. As we unload the bus, we place Sherry front and center. In her honor, we sing the Monroe High School fight song - doubtlessly the only time that musical masterpiece has been sung on the streets of Aarberg, or any place else in Switzerland for that matter.
The next day, we again head for French speaking Switzerland, to the tony city of Montreux, on the banks of Lac Leman, more commonly known as Lake Geneva. On the way, we pass a Studer implement dealer, featuring New Holland farm equipment. It must run in the family. Later on, we pass a "Waelti Machines" sign. When traveling in Switzerland, one encounters practically every Swiss family name familiar to us in Green County.
On the northwest shore of Lac Lemans (Lake Geneva) stands the Chillon Castle, dating from the 10th century, the most visited monument in Switzerland. It is strategically located between the east end of the lake and the steep mountains to the east, guarding the passage from the north to the Rhone Valley to the south.
The castle was a cold, humid residence in which many prisoners were held. The most famous was a monk from Geneva, Francois de Bonivard, the subject of Lord Byron's poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon."
But it was the next stop that had the female portion of our tour group really excited - to the town of Broc and the Cailler Chocolate factory. Like most guys, I can get more excited over cheese, beer, and landjaegers. But okay, the women will be pleased.
Chocolate is native to the New World, having been cultivated in Mexico, Central America, and northern South America for more than 3,000 years. It was used by the Aztecs in sacred offerings and fertility rites. With the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, chocolate was introduced to Europeans. It was used as a drink that only royalty could afford.
As chocolate became more abundant, and with advances in manufacturing processes, it became more available to a broader public. In 1819, F.L. Cailler opened the first Swiss chocolate factory. But it wasn't until later that processes were invented to remove the bitter taste of chocolate, and to extract the fat from cocoa beans and make powdered cocoa and cocoa butter. This made possible the modern chocolate bar.
A Swiss candle maker, Daniel Peter, joined his father-in-law's chocolate business and began experimenting with milk as an ingredient. He brought his new product, milk chocolate, to market in 1875. He was assisted in improving the process by a neighbor, Henri Nestle.
The Cailler Chocolate factory is now a part of the giant Nestle Corporation, but Nestle, wisely most think, retains the Cailler name front and center. Visitors to the factory are treated to an interesting tour - and the opportunity to sample the many varieties of chocolates produced there.
I sampled my share and must confess to a new appreciation of milk chocolate - the good stuff, that is, as produced in Switzerland. The anticipation of the women in our group was justified after all.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
