In co-operation with Switzerland Tourism
Gruyère in Switzerland is a mecca for cheese lovers. We drove the motorhome to Broc, where we tried chocolate in Maison Cailler. Then we continued to Gruyère, where we of course bought Swiss cheese and had a cheese fondue. Finally, we ended the day with some horror with the Alien Monsters at the Giger Museum ...
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To Broc and Gruyère
After visiting in Lavaux wine regions we drove, starting at camping de la Pichette, towards Broc and Gruyère. Time for tasting both chocolate and cheese in Switzerland!
Chocolate in Maison Cailler
Who doesn't dream of visiting a chocolate factory? The popular Swiss chocolate brand Cailler was created by Swiss François-Louis Cailler in 1820. Today you can visit Maison Cailler, a visitor centre that tells you everything you want to know about Swiss chocolate in general, and the Cailler brand in particular.
Above all, a visit here is an experience! It all starts with entering a lift... and then a world of chocolate opens up. The experiential tour takes you to the rainforest where the cocoa grows and aboard rocking (real!) boats as the new luxury product is transported to Europe. Finally, you arrive at a room where you can feel and smell the cocoa beans, nuts, coconut oil and other ingredients.
At the end of the tour, you are invited to try different Cailler chocolates. You can't eat as many as you want, but at the same time it's hard to stop!
If you want, you can also book a workshop where you can make your own chocolate pralines. Must be really fun for families! We didn't try it, but just peeked through the glass window, but it looked like fun! Information about different workshops can be found at Maison Cailler website.
Gruyère in Switzerland
After visiting the chocolate factory, we continued to the nearby village of Gruyère. We love Gruyère cheese and were really looking forward to this visit for the sake of the cheese. However, we had no idea that the village would be so incredibly charming. It felt like stepping into a medieval film!
Swiss cheese
In Gruyère you can of course buy Swiss cheese, which we did. If you also want to eat cheese fondue or raclette in Gruyère is available lots of places to choose from. We ate at a restaurant called Le Chalet, which may be a bit touristy, but has a nice outdoor terrace and all the "right" dishes.
Cheese fondue in Gruyère
We have tested raclette twice beforeHowever, we had never tried Swiss cheese fondue. Time for cheese fondue then! We had bread, pickled cucumbers, pickled onions, boiled potatoes and hot melted cheese in a large fondue pot.
Our first reaction was that the dish is extremely similar to raclette. The accessories are exactly the same, only that you dip them in the cheese instead of putting melted cheese on top. It was delicious, of course! You just have to get up and move immediately afterwards, so you don't collapse from all the food ...!
Horror at the Giger Museum
To shake down all the melted cheese, we walked over to the centre. The Giger Museumwhich is also located in Gruyère. H.R. Giger was a Swiss artist best known for creating the monsters in the science fiction film Alien. The museum displays both the Alien monsters and other works of art by Giger, usually on themes such as horror, biomechanics and nudity.
Right next to the museum is an Alien-style café. Perfect if you want to have a coffee in a horror environment! We moved on to the next campsite, in another part of Switzerland. We will tell you more soon!
Video from Gruyère in Switzerland
Peter put together a film from Gruyère in Switzerland. Please check it out!
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Ditte says:
What nice visits. I have visited the Callier factory and it is memorable and so is Gryere in many ways. But both cheese fondue and racklette are good and so powerful. So fun to follow through Switzerland where the recognition factor is great. Nice. and tempting pictures that evoke fun memories with me. Keep up the good work!
14 August 2018 - 8:00
Helena says:
Glad you've been to Caillerfabriken! It is not easy to find a place to visit where you have not been! 😉 Nice if our pictures can bring back memories!
14 August 2018 - 15:32
Ditte says:
It's great to come back here through you. I have visited both the Cailller chocolate factory and Gruyere. Nice and good memories. Understand that you have a great time and are surrounded by beautiful nature and goodies. Lovely pictures!
14 August 2018 - 8:05
Ama de casa says:
I must say that I prefer raclette to cheese fondue. Had a raclette iron that we used extensively until it broke after many years. I liked that you got a little gratinated surface on the cheese (if you had "time" to wait, that is 😉 ).
Ohhhh... Could you eat as many chocolates as you wanted there? I will probably NOT go there in that case. Would probably not feel so good after that visit. Haha! God how hungry I became for chocolate now... It is "dangerous" to read blogs sometimes 😀.
14 August 2018 - 9:55
Helena says:
I was asked by the waitress what we like best, and it will probably be raclette for us too! Although the difference is not very big 😉 And haha, yes, it was kind of free to try pralines! 😉
14 August 2018 - 15:34
Biggeros says:
What an interesting trip with everything that I find a great interest in Godsaker÷) Gruyère looks like a village that would suit me in medieval piece. A good end to the trip by enjoying coffee at the Alien museum/ hugs.
14 August 2018 - 13:19
Helena says:
Yes, there are plenty of goodies around here! 🙂 And the village is so charming and cosy!
14 August 2018 - 15:35
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
Gruyere cheese is just so good. In Falköping we have the cheese shop "Falbygdens Ost" and every time we visit there we probably eat a little bit. What a cosy place it was too.
We have been to a chocolate museum with tasting, but then we were thankfully given a small tasting plate, whole chocolates are just too much.
14 August 2018 - 13:31
Helena says:
Taste plate with smaller pieces sounds smart! I didn't even try all the varieties here... but the ones I tried were very tasty! 🙂
14 August 2018 - 15:36
Mr Steve says:
Seductive pictures of these delights. I was about to reach out my hand to take a taste.
14 August 2018 - 14:02
Helena says:
It would be nice if we could offer a chocolate gift through the blog 😉.
14 August 2018 - 15:36
Husis blog says:
My chocolate-loving owners would definitely have enjoyed a visit to the chocolate factory. It would also be exciting to make their own chocolates.
Part two with cheese etc is a matter of opinion. My female owner would definitely have liked it, but my male owner who doesn't eat cheese, well, he probably wouldn't have been as keen.
14 August 2018 - 18:32
Helena says:
In Switzerland they really like cheese ... but of course there are other dishes to order as well for those who wish! 🙂
14 August 2018 - 20:41
Reiselinda says:
We have visited a chocolate museum in Hamburg with a similar arrangement where you could follow the bean from the rainforest to chocolate. Would probably appreciate more to taste pralines at the end than to decorate your own chocolate cake though! Cheese (and chocolate) can never be wrong! Must probably look more closely at Switzerland for our next European trip!
14 August 2018 - 20:01
Helena says:
Yes, it sounds like a similar arrangement! In Switzerland, they are very good at "experience-based" museums, which are also very stylish and modern! 🙂
14 August 2018 - 20:42
Johnny Friskilä says:
Oh, so they dip boiled new potatoes in melted cheese?! Have I always dipped pieces of sourdough bread in the fondue, I have a Swiss fondue pot at home and make fondue maybe once a year. 🙂
14 August 2018 - 20:12
Helena says:
We got to dip both bread and boiled potatoes! 🙂
14 August 2018 - 20:44
BP says:
I have never heard of that chocolate factory! Gruyère, which costs a fortune here at home, is incredibly good. If I have to choose between cheese fondue and raclette, I choose the latter every day. Just as Ama writes, you just have to "wait out" the gratin. Divinely delicious. Funny that the accessories for your fondue were the same as for raclette. Must be the Swiss way of eating fondue.
14 August 2018 - 20:19
Helena says:
Yes, we probably choose raclette over fondue! Even though the accessories and flavours were pretty much the same 😉.
14 August 2018 - 20:44
Lena - good for the soul says:
My goodness! Chocolate factory!! Can imagine that you get pretty wild in there!
Hug Lena
15 August 2018 - 11:50
Helena says:
Hehe, it was a delicious visit, in every way 🙂 .
31 August 2018 - 14:43