“WE ARE GOING TO THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY! WE ARE GOING TO THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.”
The sun was beaming down on us as we packed into the car excited for a promising day of authentic Swiss chocolate and mediaeval castles. I was excited to finally have my first taste of the Swiss culture.
With so many green pastures and the bright sun shining on the Swiss Alps, I forgot that I was squished in the backseat with two full grown adults.
When we arrived at the chocolate factory we darted straight for the Nestle chocolate demonstration line. The only problem was that it was 2 o’clock and all of the student tour groups beat us there. The wait to see the demonstration was 1.5 hours. Instead of waiting, we decided that we would use the money we were going to spend on the demonstration to buy more chocolate.
I grabbed two yellow boxes of chocolate, which seemed like the perfect gift for my Grandma and Mom. I felt good about getting them a gift early in my trip but later I figured out that it probably wasn’t the best idea.
My eyes fixated on the chocolate bar wall, where there were dozens of different candy bars in all sorts of sizes and colors. There was milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, honey nougat, milk almonds and any other type of cholate a kid’s heart could desire.
Soon we had so much chocolate that we had to get a little cart to wheel it around the store. We struck up a conversation with the young chocolate lady behind the glass, who informed us that we could make a custom box of chocolate and told us she could speak five different languages. Cole and I started filling up the box but briefly stopped to inquire about the chocolate in the corner. The nice lady said ‘Oh that is a traditional Swiss chocolate filling. Would you like to try it?’ Cole took the first bite and gave the rest to me. The chocolate flirted with every taste bud on my tongue. It was rich and the flavor lingered longer than any other chocolate I had before. ‘Put two more of those in the box please,’ I said.
Right before we checked out, Cole noticed that next to the register were Cailler chocolate sticks that were about three inches long. She grabbed a package of about 20 and threw it in the bag as well. We walked out of there with enough chocolate for me to cover each of my Valentine’s Day dates for the next ten years.
The sun was still beaming when we returned outside but this time it felt even better because we had boxes and bags of chocolate. We looked for a place to sit until we found a small water fountain with several streams shooting water about a foot high, and a large wooden bench circulating the entire fountain. I delicately reached into the chocolate bag, slowly unraveled more chocolate, stared into the heart of the chocolate for a few seconds, and then savored every bite.
However, I did notice after trying the Cailler chocolates that they did not have any peanut butter chocolate, which slightly disappointed me. I love peanut butter so much that I still put it in my cereal and still eat Reese’s Sticks, which I have been eating since I was a small boy. Still, even though they didn’t have any peanut butter flavors, the processed Reese’s Sticks that I love so dearly could not measure up to the rich Swiss Cailler chocolate.
Next, we walked to the car with a good chunk of the chocolate missing but much happier taste buds. Our next stop was a short 10 minute drive up the mountain to see the Castle of Gruyeres. I was excited but did not know what to expect.
The closest thing to a castle I have seen in my life was when I went with my family to the dinner theater, Medieval Times, in Lyndhurst, New Jersey and watched the “knights” joust while eating a chicken leg with my bare hands. A small part of me expected to see horses, knights, and some cool swords but I experienced something better.
I was hoping that we would get to walk over a drawbridge, approach a huge castle door like in Game of Thrones, and have a watch guard let us in, but it never happened. Instead a storm cloud hovered over the castle threatening to cut our exploration short.
Luckily the cloud bluffed and we walked on the dry medieval cobblestone. The cobblestone sloped downwards toward a well in the center of the town but I could not tell if this was by design or damage done from the passage of time. I would imagine that it was a way to prevent the castle from flooding but perhaps there was another reason.
Nevertheless, the castle was the prettiest sight during my European adventure. There were different gift shops along the cobblestone road with beautiful red and purple flowers hanging from the fence, and buildings dressed in dark green ivy. The buildings meshed together so well that at first I thought the whole town was one long building, but it was actually small pretty shops that sold Swiss gift items.
As we continued our journey on the cobblestone path, three traditional medieval houses stood out from the rest because they were real life houses that looked like they belonged in the Shire from the movie “Lord of the Rings.” One house had a concrete wall about a foot high in the front yard with a foot and a half high black gate that was about 20 feet from the door. Another house had a two and a half foot black fence but no concrete wall. And the third house did not have any fence at all but it was my favorite because it was made from stone while the other two were made from concrete.
After admiring all of the architecture, Cole led me to the east part of the castle where we could climb up the walls and get a fantastic view of the country. The climb wasn’t smooth but we made it. When I looked out it was like I was looking at one of the toy car carpets I had as a kid, where the grass was bright green with fields in the distance and concentrated pockets of communities. In the far distance were large mountains that seemed so big I was certain I could see them from the moon.
To get back to the central part of the castle we walked through an arched wall about fifteen feet high with a picture at the top of two white men dressed in nothing but a tutu of leaves and a walking stick in their hand. They were holding onto a painting of a crane, which is the symbol of Gruyeres. Crane in French is “grue,” which inspired the name of the town, Gruyeres.
Once we returned to the center of the city I was ready to eat because the chocolate could only sustain me for so long. Before eating, however, we stopped at a bar where Cole recommended that I order a glass of Absinthe. As we waited for the drink I struggled to understand the theme of the bar until Cole told me that it was modeled after the Ridley Scott movie “Alien.” I was sitting in a chair that slightly resembled the Iron Throne except that the back of this chair was covered with the Alien’s Tail, which just looked like a spine. As the rest of the group joined us, we sat down at a table where there were five rows of about 15 babies carved into the wall; the babies had warts all over their face and neck. If I watched the movie, then I am sure that I would have enjoyed the theme more, but it made me wonder what a Game of Thrones restaurant would look like and how I can create one in Staten Island.
The waitress brought the Absinthe that I ordered with a magic sugar cube that was set on fire and slowly melted into the drink. The presentation was awesome but I learned that Absinthe is not my favorite drink. Fortunately I was able to wash down the taste with meringues that had a heavy cream flavoring.
After we left, we found the Swiss castle version of Garfield, but the cat didn’t seem to want our company, so we headed up to the castle to eat. There were 12 cow bells hanging from a wooden fixture on the ceiling and different farming used as decorations on the wall. The combination of the two made me believe that all of the steak and veal were fresh from the backyard. However, when I looked at the menu I sadly did not find any veal.
For an appetizer we ordered the cheese fondue, which was served in a large bowl with a heater that looked like it was transported from 700 years ago. They paired small potatoes, called potatoes in jackets, and thinly sliced bread to dip into the fondue. I was worried that the cheese would be too sharp but I was pleasantly surprised. It had a thick texture and tasted very cheesy. I didn’t think I would like the potatoes in jackets but it was surprisingly good and even fun to say.
For dinner I ordered the mac and cheese with ham which was served in the same size bowl as the fondue and also had the 700 year old burner underneath. But this time it was also served with a wooden spoon whose bottom was curved to scoop the macaroni from the bowl. Growing up an Italian home I’ve seen my fair share of wooden spoons (not always for good reasons), but I never saw a wooden spoon this fancy. I thought this wooden spoon was a great traditional piece that made the meal taste even better.
After downing the mac and cheese, Cole’s mom told me to try the Quiche. It was probably about six inches in diameter and it looked like a tiny cake. I was hesitant because I never had it before and didn’t think I would like it, but I was surprised. When I bit into it, the texture was soft; it was like I was biting into a cloud.
For dessert we had ice cream, which was pretty standard and nothing out of the ordinary. After dessert we headed back but not before having a stare down with a fully shaven black sheep. For a minute I thought the sheep was going to win but after a couple of minutes he broke eye contact.
On the trip home I thought about how pretty Switzerland was and how much I had overlooked the country’s culture and beauty. Although I knew about the famous Swiss cheese, I never knew how much the Swiss love cheese and how integral it is to their culture. Whenever someone mentions Switzerland in America it is usually because we make fun of the fact that they didn’t take any sides in the World Wars but we never talk about the pretty landscapes, historical castles, and pristine environment. If there is one thing Americans and every other foreign person should know about Switzerland, it is that there is more to admire than their watches.
