So what did I do on Swiss National Day? I got a little treat and had a getaway weekend in Gruyère. On Saturday we played 18 hole at Golf de la Gruyère SA. It is a very nice golf course which is located along the side of Lake Gruyère and offers a spectacular view while playing. The good thing about this place is that you do not need to be a member of the golf course nor a handicap but you do need to have a local qualification known as Platzreife (PR).

We had a quick lunch before tee off and that day they had a set lunch which comprised some traditional regional food to celebrate the Swiss National Day.

Here is a sneak peek of what I had :

Soupe de chalet (Swiss Cottage Soup) which contains mainly Potato, Spinach, Milk, Macaroni, Gruyere cheese, Creme fraiche

Grilled sausages 

Berries & Apple tarts

That day we had 30 ºC, very exhausting after playing but I was very proud of myself that I have been able to achieve HCP 36 for the very first time, well with a few mulligans, I amit but very encouraging to motivate me to play more in the future.

And after golfing, we stayed in Hotel Cailler which is located in a small village called Charmey. Cailler is one of the popular Swiss Chocolatiers but I could not figure out if there is actually any relationship between this Chocolatier and the hotel. Anyway the biggest advantage of this hotel is that it is directly accessed to the spa: Le Bains de la Gruyère. The room rate includes one time use of the spa.

And for dinner, we had a superbe dinner buffet on the hotel terrace. I was most impressed with their terrines appetizers and their desserts. The tiramisu was one of the very best I had, the texture was smooth, but not floppy despite served in bite size. I also love the local specialities: double crème de Gruyère served on top of meringues and berries, really awesome. The next day we bought some home from the fromagerie to enjoy at home.

 That is the tradition wooden spoon and bucket to keep the double cream.

Of course firework is something not to be missed…… The hotel itself had organized a series of firework which the hotel guests and diners could comfortably view from the terrace or balconies.

On Sunday, we had a relaxing spa and sauna. Thereafter we drove to the village Gruyère itself, it was too crowded to visit today and decided to save for next time. We then drove up to the next village, Moléson. The temperature immediately dropped which made us wanting to have a cheese fondue which we initially did not think it’s so suitable in the summer.

We walked up to the  Fromagerie d’Alpage which has a long history of 300 years old (Built in 1686, rebuilt in 1827 and renovated in 1990) It is now protected as historic monument. I prefer to this place more because of the rustic style is conserved. We went inside to the restaurant directly linked to it and immediately ordered a Fondue moitié-moitié* (half & half cheese fondue), a glass of white wine to go with to warm up a bit.

*Fondue moitié-moitié is made of equal amounts of Gruyère AOC cheese and Fribourg Vacherin AOC cheese.

For my whole album please click here.

So that’s all the highlights of this getaway weekend, until next time.

Other links or interesting activities in the region:

• Tourist information about Fribourg region
• Les Fromagers de Suisse, you can find recipes using Swiss cheese (in French)
• Charmey: information about having fondue between the sky and earth, available all Saturday evenings from June to September
• Old Village Landeron, Summer markets selling fresh local produce:  Year 2009, 19 Aug, 0900-1700
• Charmey Adventures SKYWALK
• Tents on the trees