Last full day in Switzerland. S, M and I headed to Broc via car. After traveling by train, this was a nice alternative way to see the countryside. Our mission on this morning was to head to the Cailler-Nestle chocolate factory. My mission, well one of them anyway, was to pick up chocolate for the chocoholics back home. When we arrived at the factory it looked like it was closed for the weekend; no cars were in the parking lot. We decided to give it a try anyway. As soon as you got out of the car you were hit with the smell of chocolate in the air. A pleasant aroma if I do say so myself. We headed in and was greeted by one of the tour guides. Prior to taking the tour, we watched about 20 minutes of old film footage about the factory along with advertisements. Once leaving the theater, we walked past old mold used for making speciality candy shapes and old posters used to advertise the candy.
We eventually made our way into the raw materials room. Here we were given information on the material used by the factory. The sugar, milk and butter all come from Switzerland. On the factory's property are 1,500 cows. These cows produce the milk used by the factory. The Cocoa nuts come from several places. These nuts are roasted then ground into a powder. We were able to try the roasted nuts. Very bitter in taste hence why the sugar is added.
After the raw materials room, we were able to look at real time footage from several areas within the factory. Another room showcased the the old equipment used by the factory. The factory was built prior to the 1900s so there was a lot of old records, photos, ledgers housed in this room. At one time, the company used to put stamps in the bars and kids collected them. There was a club for the kids called the FipFop Club. After leaving this room, we walked into the sample room.
Here laid out for your tasting pleasures were several samples of the product produced by the factory. I'm not a chocolate person but I did sample several of the pieces. S and M also enjoyed the samples. We laughed because prior to us entering this room a family, who came after us, quickly by-passed us and headed straight to the sample room without stopping to see the actual parts of the tour. We joked about getting to the sample room and having nothing to sample.
Once you had your fill of delicious chocolate, you entered the store. Here you could buy speciality chocolates (the Ambassadors) to chocolate bars. Though the Ambassadors were delicious I figured I would stretch my money further by buying chocolate bars instead of a box of chocolate. I picked up bars for the nephews and their parents, my sister and her family, my husband, my mother-in-law, friends and my parents. When I got to the counter, the cashier just looked at me. I told him that the huge stack of chocolate bars wasn't for me. To which he replied "Yeah, right!" M and S joined in the laughter. I told him to count how many white chocolate bars were in that enormous stack and that those 4 bars were for me ( I like white chocolate over milk/dark chcolate). Everything else was for the chocoholics back home. I did pick up some shaved chocolate for homemade hot chocolate. After leaving the factory, we headed back the way we came and ended up stopping in Gruyere.
We didn't originally plan on stopping in Gruyere. We were directed to an empty field by a policeman. We decided to go with the flow. We parked the car and headed up the incline into the Gruyere. Here we were treated with a street festival.
Not sure what the special occasion was but it was a nice cap to a wonderful time in Switzerland. Vendors had out several types of cheeses and wines for taste testing. Several fondue stations were set up. At one end of the street, traditional alphorns were being played while at the other end of the street, traditional garbed dancers circled around.
Enjoyed the views from the castle before doing a little shopping for the nieces. We left Gruyere and headed back to Geneve. S dropped us off in Lausanne so we could catch trains to Zurich or Paris. Since I had an early flight out the next morning, it was better for me to go back into Zurich the night before.
M was heading to Paris to meet up with her friends and continue her European vacation. It was good to see S and to visit her adopted country. Who knows, S and A might be staying in Switzerland for good. I definitely miss S and our movie time, tea time, shopping, gardening, or just fellowshipping. Maybe I'll make it back to Europe in the future and see other countries.
While traveling to Zurich, I was entertained by the individuals heading to Zurich for the street parade. The street parade is kind of like Mardi Gras just European style. It was being held in Old Towne Zurich and was in a way a huge bash before the fall began. I must say teenagers will be teenagers where ever you go. It was sad to see how many young individuals were drunk or on their way to being drunk before 5 pm. To them, this was what life was all about. It's sad to see that this is all the good their life is going to get since they are missing the big picture. This, along with other topics, I spent time dwelling on while I spent my last night in Switzerland. My next adventure to come...Belize and Guatemala 2009.
Last full day in Switzerland. S, M and I headed to Broc via car. After traveling by train, this was a nice alternative way to see the countryside. Our mission on this morning was to head to the Cailler-Nestle chocolate factory. My mission, well one of them anyway, was to pick up chocolate for the chocoholics back home. When we arrived at the factory it looked like it was closed for the weekend; no cars were in the parking lot. We decided to give it a try anyway. As soon as you got out of the car you were hit with the smell of chocolate in the air. A pleasant aroma if I do say so myself. We headed in and was greeted by one of the tour guides. Prior to taking the tour, we watched about 20 minutes of old film footage about the factory along with advertisements. Once leaving the theater, we walked past old mold used for making speciality candy shapes and old posters used to advertise the candy. 
We eventually made our way into the raw materials room. Here we were given information on the material used by the factory. The sugar, milk and butter all come from Switzerland. On the factory's property are 1,500 cows. These cows produce the milk used by the factory. The Cocoa nuts come from several places. These nuts are roasted then ground into a powder. We were able to try the roasted nuts. Very bitter in taste hence why the sugar is added. 
After the raw materials room, we were able to look at real time footage from several areas within the factory. Another room showcased the the old equipment used by the factory. The factory was built prior to the 1900s so there was a lot of old records, photos, ledgers housed in this room. At one time, the company used to put stamps in the bars and kids collected them. There was a club for the kids called the FipFop Club. After leaving this room, we walked into the sample room. 
Here laid out for your tasting pleasures were several samples of the product produced by the factory. I'm not a chocolate person but I did sample several of the pieces. S and M also enjoyed the samples. We laughed because prior to us entering this room a family, who came after us, quickly by-passed us and headed straight to the sample room without stopping to see the actual parts of the tour. We joked about getting to the sample room and having nothing to sample.
Once you had your fill of delicious chocolate, you entered the store. Here you could buy speciality chocolates (the Ambassadors) to chocolate bars. Though the Ambassadors were delicious I figured I would stretch my money further by buying chocolate bars instead of a box of chocolate. I picked up bars for the nephews and their parents, my sister and her family, my husband, my mother-in-law, friends and my parents. When I got to the counter, the cashier just looked at me. I told him that the huge stack of chocolate bars wasn't for me. To which he replied "Yeah, right!" M and S joined in the laughter. I told him to count how many white chocolate bars were in that enormous stack and that those 4 bars were for me ( I like white chocolate over milk/dark chcolate). Everything else was for the chocoholics back home. I did pick up some shaved chocolate for homemade hot chocolate. After leaving the factory, we headed back the way we came and ended up stopping in Gruyere. 
We didn't originally plan on stopping in Gruyere. We were directed to an empty field by a policeman. We decided to go with the flow. We parked the car and headed up the incline into the Gruyere. Here we were treated with a street festival. 
Not sure what the special occasion was but it was a nice cap to a wonderful time in Switzerland. Vendors had out several types of cheeses and wines for taste testing. Several fondue stations were set up. At one end of the street, traditional alphorns were being played while at the other end of the street, traditional garbed dancers circled around. 
Enjoyed the views from the castle before doing a little shopping for the nieces. We left Gruyere and headed back to Geneve. S dropped us off in Lausanne so we could catch trains to Zurich or Paris. Since I had an early flight out the next morning, it was better for me to go back into Zurich the night before.
M was heading to Paris to meet up with her friends and continue her European vacation. It was good to see S and to visit her adopted country. Who knows, S and A might be staying in Switzerland for good. I definitely miss S and our movie time, tea time, shopping, gardening, or just fellowshipping. Maybe I'll make it back to Europe in the future and see other countries. 
While traveling to Zurich, I was entertained by the individuals heading to Zurich for the street parade. The street parade is kind of like Mardi Gras just European style. It was being held in Old Towne Zurich and was in a way a huge bash before the fall began. I must say teenagers will be teenagers where ever you go. It was sad to see how many young individuals were drunk or on their way to being drunk before 5 pm. To them, this was what life was all about. It's sad to see that this is all the good their life is going to get since they are missing the big picture. This, along with other topics, I spent time dwelling on while I spent my last night in Switzerland. My next adventure to come...Belize and Guatemala 2009.
well done, I was one of those "fip fop club" members in the early fifeties, and your site brought up many memories from that time....
ReplyDeleteremeber, there was no TV, and the films they showed, were the only ones, we kids could ever enjoy! (once a year)- george S. new zealand