Weeks 31 and 32 - The Swiss Cheese Awards

We had a brief respite from exploring before move on to our next adventure, vacation in Italy. However, we still had excitement here in Neuchâtel. Last weekend was the Swiss Cheese Awards.

The aim of the Swiss Cheese Awards is to name the year's Swiss Cheese Champion. Cheesemakers from all over the country gather for the event, and this year it happened to be in Neuchâtel (it was also the first time the Awards were open to the public). In addition to the town being filled with dozens of plywood stalls and

tents for tasting and buying cheeses, there was a gallery of cheeses, a big fondue eating tent, and livestock.

The gallery of cheeses was not quite like anything we'd seen before although it was reminiscent of the pies and produce shown at the county fairs. Each entry was artfully displayed on a pedestal with an enormous glass dome placed over the top. A block of dry ice (or rather some other really cold thing we couldn't quite identify) kept the cheeses fresh throughout their viewing and a security guard kept the cheeses from being nibbled. There was quite a range of cheeses presented: from gruyere, to a goat-cheese, to a brie-like cheese. And of course, there was a big hunk full of the beloved swiss cheese holes.

In the big tent, you could order fondue and other food while listening to a brass band or an alpen horn quartet. Being that we filled up on the free tastes at the stalls, we skipped the fondue.

We meandered through the town past a small corral with sheep, pigs, bunnies, and chickens to the big livestock. They had cows in a variety of sizes, included young veal munching down until the time to meet their maker. It was fun to pet the animals; it almost felt like we were back at Yolo County Fair.

In other news, autumn has arrived. All around the foliage is highlighted with bright yellows, oranges, and reds. And the fog has arrived. Whereas a few weeks ago we could see the Alps roughly 100 km away, now we can't even see the other side of the lake. The locals have cheerily informed us that the fog only lasts until December. Oh, good.

Lessons learned:

1. Three-day-long trainings in French are really taxing.