Gruyères

We ventured out to the little town of Gruyères, Switzerland this past weekend. It’s a 45 minute drive from Morges. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn the digital camera off the last time I used it, so there are no pictures to show of the cobblestone roads and chateau at the top of the hill. You’ll have to visualize it in your head. (Or here is a Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruyères). We enjoyed a lunch of fondue, meats, local cheeses and wine. The town is known for their meringue and Gruyère cream. It was so good! The meringue tasted just like Grandma Thoma’s homemade schaum tortes. Then we saw how they make Gruyère cheese at a local factory. It was a nice, little tour and it was in English! Maybe I should start a cheese log if Matt’s going to keep up these beer reports.

The Beer Report, Vol. 1

Now that this whole election thing is over it’s time to start discussing some more important issues – like beer. I plan to run an occasional update of the various brews I try over here. Here are a few of them, in order of taste:

Leffe – a Belgian abbey beer. The abbey was founded in 1152, so they know how to make a good beer. This is one of my favorites. I finally know why someone would want to become a monk – in fact, I’m considering it myself. I’d suggest trying the Blonde, Brune and Triple of their most popular brews. If you really want something with a kick, give Leffe 9 a try.

Duvel

– brewery founded in 1871. It’s a strong, golden Belgian pale ale. Duvel

means “devil” – it’s a long story, but my take on it is that it was named by a guy with a bad hangover sometime in the 1920’s. At 8.5% alcohol, believe it.

Budweiser Budvar – the “real” Budweiser (i.e., not made with rice). This Budweiser was established in 1895 in the Czech Republic. I buy it in a nice big red and white can and believe it was made specifically for real football (NFL) on Sunday evenings in Morges (they had a lot of foresight in 1895…and, yes, our cable gets live NFL games....Go Pack!) That being said, we keep well-stocked on this and it is best when served chilled.

Cardinal – this brewery was founded in 1788 in Fribourg, Switzerland. This seems to be the “national” beer, since it’s been served in every bar and restaurant we’ve been in. If you just ask for a beer, this is what you get. In my view, its Switzerland’s version of Pabst, Schmidt, and Hamm’s all rolled into one fine brew. I believe it is only to be "drunk" at the White Horse Pub. One side-effect is a strong urge to walk to the McDonald’s at the train station after leaving the pub between the hours of 11 p.m. – 1 a.m. On a side-note, I’d suggest trying the Royale with Cheese (no Pulp Fiction “big brain on Brett” jokes please) or the McGruyere.

Trips to IKEA

I think our trips to IKEA will be slowing down now. We have all the lights and closets that we need for the apartment. The Swiss tend to take their light fixtures with them when they move, which meant we were literally in the dark for a while. Matt knew just how to install the lights but wasn’t expecting the concrete ceilings. That slowed him down a bit. We also had limited closet space with only one built-in closet in the apartment, which I’ve heard is very typical here. We’ve purchased a few armoires, so we finally have some storage space.

We have not been to the IKEA back home as much as we’ve been to the one in the neighboring town! The first time we made the trip we were surprised to find traffic completely stopped on the freeway because the cars were all going there. They also have traffic controllers in the parking ramp on Saturdays because there are so many cars.

I’ve found that a visit to IKEA is a sure way for Matt to get a headache. It’s a given that he’ll complain of one before we leave the parking lot. Now that we have lights and closets, we’re planning to spend our Saturdays taking day trips around Switzerland.