[gearhead_mait]

My last outing in Europe and Switzerland was to the scenic villages of Broc and Gruyeres. While the village of Broc is famous for the Cailler chocolate factory, Gruyeres on the other hand is well known for the Cheese factory and the Gruyeres castle. Both these villages are located in close vicinity within the canton of Fribourg and unlike the other places I visited in Switzerland, this region is not surrounded by tall mountains. Instead, vast green meadows with hillocks are the characteristic of the region. And full blown Summer season has painted the landscape in an awesome green color.

Vevey, another beautiful town close to Montreux (covered earlier in the travelogue), lies at a junction between Geneva and the villages of Broc and Gruyeres. We changed our train at Vevey and moved on towards Broc. After exploring the Broc village and the tour of the Chocolate factory we went to Gruyeres to visit the Cheese factory and the Gruyeres castle.My return to India was scheduled two weeks post this tour, so I took this opportunity to buy chocolates for my family and office colleagues from Cailler chocolate factory itself. I ended up buying 14 kilograms of chocolate and how I managed to squeeze all the stuff in a Swiss Air flight with limited allowable weight is a long story

On our return we explored a bit around the beautiful town of Vevey. Located close to Lac Leman just like Montreux and Lavaux vineyards, this town offers and little more with respect to shopping possibilities for tourists unlike the later two.

Our group at Vevey rail station. L-R : Bijit, Uttiya, Satanjib, Sayan, Rajat, Madhurima, myself and Aparup


Vast green meadows welcome us at Broc village


A panoramic view of the Cailler Chocolate Factory


The Broc Village rail station


The Cailler factory, up close!


Welcome to the tour - Chocolate making process and variety of chocolate being displayed


Its just about chocolates, everywhere!








And a few accolades related to chocolate


A group picture after a memorable tour of the Cailler chocolate factory


Next we were headed to Gruyeres


The serene village of Gruyeres


Just like Cailler, how could we miss the Cheese making demonstration


We strolled around Gruyeres before marching on towards Gruyeres Castle


The climb to Gruyeres Castle


Bijit relaxing a bit inside the Gruyeres Castle


The historic Castle - another angle!


Scenic view from the Gruyeres Castle


The landscape garden within the Castle premise


Antique items on display inside the Castle







Sparsely attended but serene Gruyeres - a final shot

[gearhead_mait]

If there is something that would draw the attention of any auto enthusiast in equal proportion, irrespective of age, brand, passion and taste of cars - sedans, suvs, trucks, hatchbacks, EVs etc. would definitely be an Auto Show. Simply because its a singular arena that caters to all enthusiasts. In one word - Events like these 'Unites' the enthusiasts on common platform. I was lucky to witness the Geneva Auto Show 2013. Although this event happened on the month of March 2013, but I deliberately held it off for the concluding post. After all, this post is a showstopper in a prestigious automotive forum like Team-BHP. Also, I will not associate any of the pictures with a tagline for a change, except the showstopper for the Geneva Auto Show - The Lamborghini Veneno.
Enjoy!









The star of the show - Lamborghini Veneno


Veneno - The side view

[gearhead_mait]

It was a roller coaster of ten months in Europe which consisted of traveling and exploring the beautiful continent of Europe. Not only did this trip helped me mature as a traveler but remained witness to a few golden memories of my life as well. As the tenure of my stay in Europe was coming to an end, I was actually happier going back to India. A new episode of my life, rather ours was awaiting. The girl to whom I didn't talk for an year in the office bus, the girl who rejected my first approach of dropping her home but later messaged back on Facebook, actually stayed in close touch all throughout my tenure in Europe, traveling with me virtually everywhere. Our relationship actually matured with distance and it was time to put an end to that long distance and the wait of around 2 years to talk offline. Although 'Sherdil' - My Hyundai EON, has been a trusted steed in all harsh terrains traveling all across Northern India, there was one occasion when Sherdil had let me down - on Our first date! With the rear wheel jammed, may be due to months of standing in the garage, I had no option but to hire a yellow taxi on the special day.
Once Monosree said 'No' to Sherdil, now it was his turn to repay . But later the three of us turned into a formidable team.

I must admit that writing this travelogue was the toughest among all my previous logs in Team-BHP. Primarily the reason being the travel was made eight years back and I don't have my partner and wife, Monosree, to help me recapitulating the events. Monosree has helped me with all the information I tend to forget while writing a travelogue after a journey together, but during that phase of my journey in Europe she was in India and we were not married. Now when this travelogue would be going LIVE, she would be reading this article from Europe itself.

Its not over yet! One more travelogue is on the way next, the part II of this journey - The rest of Europe. Till then, Ciao!

[aah78]

Note from Support: Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

[haisaikat]

Epic TL dada accompanied by Wonderful pictures, rated 5 stars. I wish to visit Khajjar, Switzerland of India at least once since I do not think real Switzerland travel will be possible in near future.

[Batfreak]

Absolutely beautiful thread, thank you for sharing! Rating a well-deserved 5 stars.

Switzerland is certainly one of the most beautiful places on the planet and it has been a bucket list destination for me as well. I was planning to attend the Geneva Motor Show this year but well, we all know how that turned out.

However, the eye-watering prices make it quite a difficult destination for student travellers, like myself, with shoe-string budgets. Could you please provide some more tips or insights for backpackers?

[ChiragM]

gearhead_mait. Stunning.

I visited Switzerland only for the Geneva Motor Show in 2017. Did not get time to see the town itself . Spent a good 2-3 days at the show and didn't go anywhere. On the way back we drove north right through the country so all I got to see are things from the motorway. Stopped by the lake somewhere far north of Geneva cause we did not have time in Geneva.

Need to visit Switzerland once to take in the natural beauty. The urge has increased after seeing your pics. Looking forward to part 2.

[amods]

You're lucky to get a chance to work there. Great log.

Made me recall my trip in July'19 to this wonderland. There's something else about Switzerland which can't be compared to any other place.

I would take every opportunity to go again, if it was not for COVID, who knows I would be preparing for it again in early 21.

Thanks for sharing.

[amods]

Originally Posted by Batfreak

Absolutely beautiful thread, thank you for sharing! Rating a well-deserved 5 stars.

Switzerland is certainly one of the most beautiful places on the planet and it has been a bucket list destination for me as well. I was planning to attend the Geneva Motor Show this year but well, we all know how that turned out.

However, the eye-watering prices make it quite a difficult destination for student travellers, like myself, with shoe-string budgets. Could you please provide some more tips or insights for backpackers?

There are plenty of Youtube videos on how to do it.

Major expenses in Switzerland are the travel to and fro the country, and public transport. E.g. travel to Jungfrau top from interlaken will cost you around CHF 235 per head(to and fro) which is equivalent to roughly USD 235. A 2km bus ride costs around CHF 3.5. Solution: research and invest in swiss pass or half fare pass based on your requirements.

DON'T, EVER get in a cab/taxi. You'll regret the pricing, trust me. Walk a lot, use public transport which is excellent. The hostel you stay in, will in most probability provide you a complementary city travel pass which is valid for your stay duration in that city. It works in buses, trams and in some cases, boats.

If on a budget, stay in hostels with shared bunk beds, which are very popular and incredibly safe if you don't care for privacy. Choose for complementary breakfast wherever possible and eat like there's no tomorrow .

Food in restaurants is very expensive. A restaurant meal would cost you an average CHF 60(e.g a good dish costs 25-40) which is roughly INR 5000 per meal. Make it 2 meals and a breakfast a day and you're staring at 15k per day on restaurant food. So, DON't eat in restaurants as much as possible.

COOP stores, supermarkets have ready to eat sandwiches, pizzas and other stuff which is quite affordable and filling. Eat there. That being said, real travel experience includes exploring local food, so make sure to try swiss cheese, wine and chocolates - don't miss them. Liquor is available and cheap in supermarkets. DON'T drink in bars and restaurants if you're on budget.

Overall, it takes a lot of research to save money. I researched for a solid 3-4 months before applying for visa.

Good luck.

[Annibaddh]

Absolutely lovely. And some of the places that I love too. St. Moritz is truly amazing and rather ignored. And if you ever get to drive down from St. Moritz down to Milan, you'll be a blessed man! Imposing dam walls visible high in the snow-clad hills. A sharp decline into quaint Italian villages. Lakes after lakes after lakes. Uff. And Grindelwald! Oh the sight of Jungfraujoch vertical. The snow-dome in the town-square. And cold beer served off the tap! This really stirs the memory a bit!

[Amyth Prabhakar]

Excellent Travelogue.

I have never been to Switzerland. Thanks a lot for sharing, this will serve as a reference for my itinerary.

[aneezan]

Superb pictures and story-line Switzerland: to add to my to do list with family.
Visited Switzerland in November 2018 while I was on a short business trip to Stuttgart. 3 hour ride from there to Zurich by bus. Managed to cover only a few places over the 2 days we had - Lucerne, Rigi, Engelberg, Mt.Titlis. Amazing country.

[#ABTorquey]

Oh Boy! Thanks a million for the travelogue. Very crisp writing and awesome detailed pictures. This made my day, surely a dream destination for everyone.

Maybe one day I get to experience the beauty in person as well.

[CountMe91]

Amazing Travelogue. Brings back so many memories. I have seen the Alps both during summer (in Austria) and during peak winter (in Switzerland). Interlaken and surrounding areas are truly beautiful although I prefer non-touristy areas. One of the best places I visited in Switzerland was Murren. Next time I visit Switzerland, I plan to stay there for a night or two. Sharing a picture from our Swiss trip.

[sidm]

It is truly a paradise of a country!
I first got a view of the Swiss Alps when flying over them on the way to UK. Decided sitting on the place that have to plan a trip there soon, and finally landed there for a 2 week trip in June 2019.
My itinerary :
4 nights in Wengen with day trips to Jungfrau, Murren/Piz Gloria, Interlaken, Trummelbach falls, Zermatt/Matterhorn (much more scenic option to stay than Interlaken)
3 nights in Montreux with day trips to Lausanne, Geneva/CERN
4 nights in Luzern with day trips to Rhine falls, Appenzell, St Gallen, Titlis
3 nights in Bellagio in Lake Como region in Italy (much cheaper option than Lake Lugano region in Switzerland - 10 EUR vs 30 CHF for pizza), with some fabulous villas around, including one where Anakin shares his first kiss with Padme (hello Star Wars fans!)

For any trip between 9-14 nights, highly advisable to buy the 15 day swiss pass. Free journey on all inter city trains, lake ferries, most funiculars (ie cog wheel trains as above) and gondolas and some mountain trains, with about 50% discount on those which are not free. You also get free entry to most of the museums. We got ours from the local branch of swisstours for about 35k INR.

The train system is so damn efficient! I see the OP posted about travelling long distance with multiple connections with some connections only 5 mins between departure/arrival. I did the same with luggage. As long as you're in reasonable fitness it will be no problem, otherwise can always catch the next connection which would be available in 15mins-1 hour. And there are constant postcard worthy views from the large train windows.