Tried the Fondue

On the last day that Mike's parents were here, we went to a small restaurant called Cafe Midi. They specialized in Fondue and that's just what we had in mind for that meal. Luckily, the waitress was able to understand and speak English fairly well, so we asked her what she recommended as our first ever fondue experience!

She suggested a half/ half fondue, it had 2 different types of cheeses blended together with a white wine. It was supposed to be the mildest flavor.

They brought the fondue in a small pot on top of it's own flame to keep the cheese melted and hot. It was also served with bread and small potatoes to dip in the fondue using our skewers. It was a unique flavor and very filling! I didn't need to eat a lot to get filled up.

I don't think we will ever have fondue again (it wasn't that amazing), but I am so glad that we tried it while here in Switzerland-where it was invented and a big part of their lifestyle.

We rode the Funicular

At the entrance.

Looking up at the track.

The Fribourg funicular is a listed historical monument and unique in Europe... it is actually the only one to run on waste water from the town, which it uses thanks to a system of counterweights. The funicular links the upper part of the town to the lower part. It was constructed in 1899 and is still running today! We rode it for ~2 francs each…

The car we ride in.

In the car.

To Gstaad

Our next adventure continued south towards the alps, to the town of Gstaad.  Again, the scenery was fascinating. We traveled through many little mountain towns home to several chalets and modest farms.  The road curved and swerved hugging the alps we traveled through. Upon reaching our destination, we had to, again, park slightly outside of the city and then walk through the majestic downtown.

Gstaad is known as a "ski-town", so at this time of year many of the shops were bare or closed.  But the window shopping sufficed, as there were numerous luxuries to see in this wealthy mountain town.

The streets of Gstaad

One site of significance was the Gstaad Palace. It is actually a running hotel that is a dwelling for the rich and famous. One night in a single classic room costs 720 francs (or ~$735). And ONE night in the penthouse suite would cost you 13,900 francs (or ~$14,200). WOW!

Gstaad Palace

At the end of the road we met some friendly cows…which all seem to where bells! It's pretty cute to see.

Friendly cow with bell.

After we had enough of the sights here, we ventured back to Fribourg!

Trip to Gruyeres

Mike's wonderful parents are visiting us in Fribourg! Earlier this week, they rented a car and we traveled approximately 40 minutes to the nearby city of Gruyeres- which is actually known as one of the most prestigious sites of Switzerland. And it is also a car-free town, so we had to park just outside and walk up to it. We ended up parking at the Maison du Gruyeres (translated to "House of Gruyeres"), which houses cheese and a lot of it!

CHEESE!

After having a delicious lunch at the Maison du Gruyeres, we started the hike to the city, with the Chateau de Gruyeres (castle) as our destination in mind.  The scenery surrounding the area was "storybook-like". We were in the foothills of the snow capped Swiss Alps, with dark green pastures in all directions. Once reaching the city, it was all very historic and preserved in such that way.

Just within the town

 

View from Chateau

The castle was monumental. It was constructed in 1270 at the very top of hill we stood on. It's currently a museum preserving the great history that consumes it.

Chateau de Gruyeres

We looked around for a bit greatly enjoying our surroundings, then headed back to the car for our next adventure…

Mike & I

The Amazing Toilet

Today while visiting a WC at Gruyere, when I flushed the toilet, this happened….

This past weekend...

…(on Saturday) Mike's parents arrived in Fribourg! We met them at the train station here around noon, then walked them to the hotel they will be staying called the Hine Adon. Another man staying there gave us a little history on the place: Supposedly "hine adon" means 12 rooms, therefore only 12 rooms are at the hotel, each with a name. They are actual names also. For example the Nelsons' room is called, "Josef".

After getting somewhat settled in, we showed them to our cozy apartment. Unfortunately, it was raining when they arrived and continued to rain into the evening so not much sight seeing was possibly. We just visited the grocery store, then had a relaxing evening at the Josef Room.

Sunday was Mike's first home game! We all got to go and watch. They ending up winning by quite a bit, and it was so fun to watch. After the game we went to eat at the Asian restaurant below our apartment. It was nice to finally put a taste to the smell. We each ordered a different chicken dish and was very pleased with the meal.

The evening ending with football, first the Packers ( I was outnumbered by the fans) and then the Vikings!!   It's so nice to still get to watch some sports that remind me of home while overseas.

Cafe Glacee

This is the name of the most recent place Mike and I visited. It's a coffee AND ice cream place, two of my favorite things!  We ordered a coffee and a chocolate banana milkshake. It was very delicious. We lounged for a bit in the quaint area, even looked at the paper (only looked at the pictures, because we still don't do French).

This is what you get when you simply order, "Coffee." (yum!)

The chocolate banana milkshake!