Petite escapade en Emmental autour de la fabrique Kambly ( hiking in the Emmental region-Kambly factory)

Today we went to hike in the Emmental region: We did not visit a cheese factory as you would think, but the famous traditional Swiss cookies factory Kambly. 

In 1910, Oscar Kimbly created  the Emmental "Bretzeli" - baked according to his grandmother's recipe. 
Since then, the Bretzeli is still made in the factory with the same ingredients of the original recipe and the iron mold with the Kambly symbol. 

For more insight about their products, this is their website link. Just to let you know, they export in the world and you can find their products even in America! For instance, they are the first to have made Goldfish shape cookies!!!!

http://www.kambly.com/en/weltweit/kambly-a-small-thank-you-for-life/our-product-lines.html

I recommend you to try the Bretzeli, they are DELICIOUS!

After 4 hours hike, a sweet break was so welcome!

Fromage et Chocolat

For the long Ascension weekend and first "holiday" in Switzerland, we went 2 days to La Gruyere ( French speaking region).

First day: Gruyere or the cheese paradise

we stopped to Gruyere village where they make the famous cheese and we visited the factory ou "La Maison du Gruyere".

 Do you know that you need 400 liters of milk to make one cheese of 35 kg?

 The robot that turns and washes the cheese with salt during their maturation stage

 The two milk tanks in the factory on the left and the molds on the right

The huge Cheese of Gruyere ready to eat! Can I have just a slice please?

Then, we walked up to the Medieval Castle de Gruyere and we had a nice view from the valley but also we discovered interesting objects inside.

Dinner time and of course we ate a cheese fondue. Nathan and I did pretty well eating the whole pot of melting  cheese with fresh bread and potatoes. We needed a digestive walk after but no regrets, it was awesome food.

Second day: Broc or the Nestlé-Cailler Chocolate factory

After the cheese, the chocolate is missing to conclude our first tour in the beautiful country of Switzerland.

Cailler is a Swiss brand of high quality Chocolate bought by Nestlé in 1928 and nowaday people have access to the factory and can taste their chocolates at the end (we add at least 7 samples each). I never eat so much chocolate in my life!

That is about a sweet post. See you in a couple of weeks for new adventures!

First Weekend in Switzerland

We had a great weekend beginning with the 27th birthday party of one of Nathan's Spanish colleagues on Saturday at Bern. It was an interesting  international group: 2 Americans guys, 1 British guy, 2 Frenches girls, 1 Russia girl, 1 Egyptian guy, 1 German guy, and 1 guy from Liechtenstein (Liechtenstein is a country in Western Europe and is the sixth smallest country in the world).
I made a chocolate cake for the occasion and you can find the recipe in my cooking blog (http://deboucheao.blogspot.ch/2013/05/gateau-classique-au-chocolat-en-poudre.html?spref=fb).

Proost!

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The next day, we did a long hike, starting from Konolfingen (see your itineary at this link: http://fr.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=10505) and I cannot describe how beautiful is it around here so I let you enjoying it by the few pics I took.

The view from the trail

A typical Swiss farm

The famous Swiss cows: so peaceful

Another farm

A single tree on the hill 

A panoramic view of the valley

The trail before the forest

Inside the forest of pine trees

The "yellow" meadows 

A old sledge: Maybe they still use it during winter?

The Alps!

A Swiss playing Hornussen :The traditionnal Swiss sport gets its name from the puck which is known as a "Hornuss" (hornet) or "Nouss". When hit, it can whizz through the air at up to 300 km/h and create a buzzing sound.

Panoramic view of the village Konolfingen on the way back

Funny Sign: Be careful of chicken crossing!

Finally arrived in Switzerland!

After 7:30 hours in the aircraft Swissair, we landed in Zurich on Tuesday morning. We drove then one hour to Konolfingen, where we will be living for now. It is a small village surrounded by mountains and cows of course!

And to confirm that Swiss people love their cows, this is the cute present that welcomed us in our new home! A huge and delicious cookie cow!

Here are some pics of the village  Konolfingen I took today on my way to the grocery store downtown.

The Swiss and Bern region flags

 The church

A house in downtown