WORLDS APART
Switzerland, with its snow-packed mountain peaks and forests, beautiful wooden chalets, and grazing cows and goats, really is as pretty as a chocolate-box image. And I think Father Time sets his watch to the Swiss train timetable. In fact, his watch is most probably Swiss-made. There is an orderliness to this society that is hugely attractive – even the woodpiles seem to be stacked with a definite sense of cultural pride.
“ It was the fantastic cheese collection at breakfast that made our stay so memorable”
The country is tiny – its population of less than nine million could fit nicely into the Kruger National Park – and most of it, interspersed with breathtaking lakes, is sandwiched between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It is also home to an incredible variety of cheeses, many of which are still artisanally made. A few of our favourites: Appenzeller, a hard cheese made in the north; Emmenthal, with its recognisable holes; Gruyère, which is similar in taste but without the holes; and then raclette, which, more than any other cheese, characterises Switzerland.
I have a clear memory of visiting my father-in-law in Switzerland, which translates into “monk’s head”. Originally produced by monks, it is served in an unusual way – a tool called a is used to revolve around the pungent, fruity cheese and scrape off ribbons.
