Switzerland - Chocolate, Cheese and Castle Day Trip

This is a short guide on how to enjoy the world-renown Swiss milk chocolate, the characteristic Gruyere cheese and a time-travel back to the Medieval age in one day.

Departing from Vevey, my friend and I took the train to Broc, which is the center point between Vevey and Bern, the capital of Switzerland.

Maison Cailler, the factory where Cailler chocolate is currently produced, hosts a chocolate museum where you can learn about the history of the cocoa, milk chocolate production in Switzerland, as well as getting interactive hands-on experience on chocolate and its raw components: cocoa bean and cocoa butter.

Cocoa bean

Cocoa butter

There, you will also see the machinery used in the past and in present to process cocoa into chocolate.

The past

The present

See how fast chocolate sticks are made:

Not interested in technical stuff? What about... tasting chocolate? *nomnom*

How to taste chocolate - taken from a display in Maison Cailler

There are about 15-20 different chocolate products that you can taste as much as you want. No kidding. They don't provide you with water, though, so at some point you will start feeling that you had enough chocolate. I recommend bringing at least a bottle of water to rinse your palate so you can enjoy the tasting better. These two sections were my favorites:

Like the chocolates? You can buy them at the shop right at the exit. The shop sells other products that are not available for tasting in the exhibition, and they are typically the special edition chocolates (i.e. winter special flavors). The chocolates sold here are cheaper than in the supermarket.

After too much chocolate (maybe there is never too much for some of you), it's good to have something salty. We took the train from Broc to Gruyere to see how the delicious Swiss cheese is made in La Maison du Gruyere.

I study food technology, so nothing is really new to me. Nevertheless, I find the use of automation pretty amazing. The tanks on the right are where rennet (the enzyme to curd milk into cheese) is added into milk, stirred and cut. On the left is where they drain water and whey from casein curds and mold them into a cheese wheel. The machines automatically turn the cheese wheel from time to time.

Note that the cheese production is only 3-4 times a day, between 9-11 AM and between 1-2 PM. Make sure to plan your trip well!

After an interactive session upstairs, you can also visit the cellar where the cheeses are aged.

The visit took us around 30-45 minutes because we took things slowly. 

Aside from the cheese factory, you can also visit the restaurant. There are better places out there, but if you are only on a short visit to Switzerland and will have no other chance to try the fondue, you can try it here. It's not that the fondue is bad, but my friend and I had better cheese fondue with richer taste of the cheese and the white wine. Also, for the portion, it is a little bit overpriced. With the three of us, we thought of sharing the set menu: Menu gruérien for 44 Francs, but it was not really enough to fill us. This comes with cheese fondue, dried meat platter and meringue with double creme and raspberries.

Cheese fondue (Gruyère AOP and Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP) Served with bread, potatoes, onions and gherkins

Himbeeren, Meringue und Doppelrahm aus dem Greyerzerland - Raspberries, meringue and double cream of Gruyère

Holzplättli mit Trockenfleisch - Wooden plate with dried beef meat

If you live around Vevey, I'd recommend to visit des Trois Siflettes. Check this link for my fondue experience there.

Close to the train station is Gruyere castle and a small town. If you want to buy souvenirs, buy them at La Maison du Gruyere because it is cheaper; don't buy them at the town center.

The interior of the castle was rustic but well-maintained. You should not expect glamorous and bourgeois decorations like in Palace of Versailles, but this castle is for sure bigger than Chateau de Chillon close to Montreux. 

The view from the top of the castle was also splendid, since it is located up the hill. The climb was not too bad, since we kept stopping on every floor to explore the castle.

Lastly, enjoy the scenic sunset in Gruyere:

I would recommend a full day trip for Broc and Gruyere if you don't live close by. Shops closes early in Switzerland, so start exploring early. The restaurant at La Maison du Gruyere closes at 7 PM in between October and May and 8 PM in summer (Jun - Sep).

For more information, check out their official websites:

La Maison Cailler (Broc)

La Maison du Gruyere Cheese Factory (Gruyere)

La Maison du Gruyere Restaurant (Gruyere)

Gruyere Castle (Gruyere)

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The Netherlands - Kinderdijk

One of the greatest icons of the Netherlands is the windmills (molen in Dutch), although if you ask the locals, they probably have never heard of Kinderdijk. Just like Keukenhoff, Kinderdijk is very popular among the tourists because the windmills are not something that can be commonly found in other countries.

At least, not the traditional ones like in Kinderdijk.

It took me about an hour to travel from Rotterdam to Kinderdijk, mainly because I took the metro to Rotterdam Zuid and then transferred to bus 94. There is a 20 minute wait during the transfer, so technically, it is reachable in about 40 minutes. There are other ways to go there: you can check the Kinderdijk website or go to 9292.nl to plan your entire trip. You can just put "Kinderdijk" as the destination in 9292.nl. Otherwise, Google Maps is also a good optioonn.

Molenkade bus stop

Kinderdijk is indeed a very beautiful place, with classic Dutch windmills surrounding the area. Needless to say, it is a very windy area. I strongly advise to visit Kinderdijk when it is sunny, unless you are used to wind chills. I went there in early May, and the temperature was around 13C. For a person who came from the tropics, I felt that 13C was still somewhat chilly. It's especially chilly when the sun was shrouded by the clouds. Otherwise, it was actually pretty warm.

There is a place to rent bikes around the area, and you could also take a boat tour. I simply walked because I had plenty of time and I felt like having a relaxing moments. It is possible to see all the windmills on foot. I spent roughly 3 hours to walk around the area, and I covered most of them.

I visited only one windmill museum called Volwassene Museum, and to be honest, I regretted paying 3 euros for it because there was practically nothing to see but a small, wooden room with two monitors to display how a windmill works.

Nevertheless, it's also a nice place to have a nice picnic. There are benches every 50 meters or so on the path.

You can bring your own food (a sandwich would be ideal), but if not, there are also food vendors that sell ice cream, hot dogs, gehaktballen with broodjes, etc.

Enjoying my gehaktballen met broodjes (meatballs with buns) and the windmills

If you are the type to buy souvenirs, there is a souvenir shop at the entrance. You can also get food here, and the view from the cafeteria is quite pretty.

As a UNESCO World Heritage site, Kinderdijk is a must-go place if you are in the Netherlands, but make sure to check the weather before you go. I can't imagine how nasty this place could be when it's raining hard!

Kinderdijk

Nederwaard 1, 2961 AS

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The Netherlands - Keukenhoff Tulip Garden, Lisse

*WARNING: Heavily loaded with pictures*

I had been waiting since last year to visit Keukenhoff, but I was in Paris and Lund in April and May. I saw pictures of my friends in the Netherlands, and I told myself I have to go there no matter what. I wish my mom were there, too - she really loves flowers.

If you'd like to see the rows of colored tulips, you can visit the farms just outside Keukenhoff (around 10-20 minutes walk). Nevertheless, Keukenhoff is also beautiful. The temperature was around 15C when we went there in mid April. It kind of fluctuated, but it's never too cold. But since most things are outdoors, it's better to dress warmly enough.

If you take the train to Leiden or Amsterdam Centraal, you can buy the combi ticket from the tourist centres for 23 Euros. It includes the ticket to visit the park and a return ticket for an express bus to and from Keukenhoff. The entrance ticket itself is 15 Euros, and the bus ticket would cost you 4 Euros per trip. There is no discount if you buy the combi ticket, but at least it saves you from queuing at the Keukenhoff entrance for the entrance ticket. 

We went on a Saturday in mid April, and it was crowded at the entrance. It wasn't that bad inside, though. The park was big enough to give everyone some space :)

There were many tulip variants you can ever imagine, all arranged neatly and beautifully.

This is also a tulip!

This is also a tulip! It reminds me of a lettuce :)

This is also... a tulip?

I think this is by far the most classy tulips I've ever seen!!

The colour reminded me of glow-in-the-dark ornaments. I love the shades!

Shades of red

Some of the tulips are pretty large!

Red and white!

This is also a tulip!!

The special themed-arrangement this year. Supposed to look like traditional Dutch houses :)

We stopped by to play a chess game next to the Oranje Nassau.
 

And saw a bridal photo shoot! How nice!

 There is also a French-styled garden close to where we played the chess.

At the back of this French garden, you could also see tulips from different continents. And if you notice, the ground was not covered by pebbles, but by sea shells!

You can also buy Amsterdam cheese at this garden. Many tourists come to this place. Cheese is definitely a good souvenir to bring home, if you like cheese.

Say cheese! :)

There are some small exhibits around the garden. I suggest taking a look at them as well; sometimes you'll find interesting flowers or plants, like this Bleeding Heart.

The bleeding heart

I've been in the Netherlands for 7 consecutive months, but I still feel like a tourist :)

There was also a talk about flowers, but in Dutch. I could only understand a little part of it. I think it was about selecting the right varieties for breeding.

After walking around for 2 hours, we finally felt hungry. There were food stalls close to Willem-Alexander, but don't expect anything too fancy. I remember seeing hotdogs, waffles and poffertjes (mini Dutch pancakes drizzled in powdered sugar), but my favourite is this warme beenham (warm ham in bread). It just smelled so good from meters away!

We sat on the grass while enjoying the flowers right above our heads. The experience reminded me of hanami (flower viewing) experience in Tokyo, Japan, 2 years ago.

Speaking of a Japanese experience... hey, there's actually a Japanese garden just next to where we had our lunch!

The maple leaves were very beautiful!

If you visit the Beatrix on the north-east side of the garden, you'd be greeted in various orchids. It's really pretty inside. Although Singapore's national flower is orchid and I've been in Singapore for 6 years, there are still some orchids I have not seen before. Or maybe I just didn't spend that much time to observe flowers when I was in Singapore.

I highly recommend visiting Willem-Alexander and Oranje Nassau. Aside from tulips, you will be greeted with various gorgeous flowers.

You can also find a small market selling flower bulbs and crafts. There is a Bulb Information centre very close to the main entrance of the garden.

I also love the special flower arrangements in Oranje Nassau. Some of them are extravagantly beautiful!

We also visited the maze, close to the border between the garden and the tulip farms.

As I mentioned before, you can visit the tulip farms outside the garden, but you can't access them from inside the garden. Make sure to have some energy left to visit the farm after checking out the garden!

Such a wonderful experience. Very relaxing and pleasant. I love Keukenhoff!

P.S. Don't forget to smell the flowers; some of them smell really good!

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