Switzerland: Geneva to Gruyere

Swiss Inter-city Rail

Swiss Regional Rail

Getting to Gruyere was going to be a beautiful exercise in public transit. Kim has no need of a car, and doesn't own one. And the Swiss transit system is famous for its extent and punctuality. Schedules in hand, she walked us the half kilometer to her bus stop and caught the bus to the train station in downtown Geneva. From there we caught a main line. Again, not high speed rail, but very fast and smooth.

We were treated to scenic views of Lake Geneva in the hazy morning light, to outlying cities, to vineyard covered hills (yes, a Swiss wine industry). We arrived at a small, outlying station where we would transfer to regional rail. Kim says, "Ok, 5 minute layover here". Wait, that sounds awfully tight. But we arrive on time, de-train and there's the regional train waiting. We climb on it leaves promptly.

This happened time after time in Switzerland - close transit schedules met perfectly again and again. No delays, no missed connections. It's super efficient, super convenient, and pretty affordable. I love it. And electric trains everywhere, even on small rural routes where in other countries you might expect buses. A train fan's heaven.

Leaving Gruyere Train Station

The regional train wound up into the foothills of the Alps. We crossed field and forest covered hills and farm covered lowlands. There were no soaring, snow capped peaks here, just pretty farms, quaint towns, and beautiful fall color.

We crossed a broad, flat farming valley and pulled into Pingy. This was the town below the Chateay de Gruyeres, along the rail line and the river. Next to the tourist office across from the train station was the cheese vault where the Gruyere cheese from the region is aged. Surrounding the end of the valley were low mountains and between them at the edge of town is a hill capped by the Chateau de Gruyere. Once a fortified castle and home, with a town built against it inner wall, its defensibility is clear from below - it commands the entire region from its redoubt.

The Famous Gruyere Cheese Aging

A steep winding road crisscrosses the hillside, a steeper footpath leads more directly to the old city. We hiked up the footpath in beautiful 50 F fall weather. Cows grazed the hillside wearing the traditional bells. After touring decidedly non-tourist parts of Sweden, it was clear that this was an area focused on tourists. Early November was definitely the off-season, but on this warm, sunny Sunday, there were plenty of folks about. Most spoke French, and being a weekend, we figured they were Swiss out for a nice fall outing after the international tourists had gone home.

Entering Hilltop Old Gruyere

Near the top of the hill our path joined the road and passed through a gate in the outer city wall. The entire old city was within this outer wall. Stepping through the gate was like stepping back into time and at the same time into a resort. All the wonderfully preserved buildings, the gorgeous cobble streets. All the well dressed tourists, restaurants, shops, and boutique hotels. It was a careful balance of preservation and re-purposing generally succeeded.

Kim had found us a sweet upstairs room for three in a hotel in the center of old town (and on pretty short notice - yay, Off Season). She not only was our tour guide, but also our personal discount banker, not only handling check-in here, but all the bills on the Swiss leg of our trip, charging us a straight conversion with no fees at the end, to be paid into her US dollar account. Thanks, cuz.

Stairs to our Room in Gruyere

We climbed the narrow stairs from the lobby, down the narrow hall, and into our cozy room. It was nicely updated while retaining a historic feel. We swung open the windows and gazed over the main street across a flower box of blooming geraniums, listened to the crowd below, and planned the rest of our day.