Europe or Bust!: Gruyère and Vogelpark

Drive. Drive. Drive. Yesterday was a day of travel. We started home but detoured to Gruyère, the home of Gruyère cheese. There we toured the cheese factory. They have huge copper vats for stirring the milk and separating the curds and whey. Each 35 kg round of cheese uses 400 liters of milk. Therefore, each copper vat can make 12 rounds of cheese daily, as they hold 4800 liters of milk. With four vats they can start forty-eight 35 kg rounds daily. The numbers really add up, especially when you go back to the cow. A cow needs 180 kg of grass daily and 85 liters of water. The cow can then give 25 liters of milk a day. The cheese factory has a morning and an evening milk delivery. They mix the evening milk, after it is stirred at a curtain temperature, with the morning milk. Then, they begin the day's cheese making. Two thirds of the cheese produced is consumed in Switzerland. The other 1/3 is exported to the US and EU. The cheese-makers of Gruyère have been using the same recipe for their cheese since 1655. Every year, 5.7 million liters of milk are made into Gruyère cheese. To age this cheese, they have a cheese maturing cellar that can hold 7000 rounds of cheese. That's over 540,000 pounds of cheese! But, before it can enter the maturing cellar, they are soaked in brine to allow them to develop a crust. After many days in the cellar, the cheese is ready. Scientists have discovered over 75 different flavors in one round of cheese. So, next time you are at your local supermarket, pick up some Gruyère cheese and tell me how many flavors your fine palate can taste.

Now, back to the present. Have you ever heard of a "Vogelpark"? It is, literally a "bird-park". Today, we trotted over to the local "bird-park" (Vogelpark Steinen). There, we first watched a bird show. It is incredible to watch falcons dive, storks strut, and condors awkwardly flap onto the falconer's glove. After the bird show, we rushed over to the place where they keep the monkeys. (Yes, very good, it is a "bird-park" but there are more than just birds there, though that is the theme.) Entering the sprawling cage, we disturbed swaggering peacocks. The monkeys would scamper around, take popcorn, grapes, and treats out of our hand, and depending on the monkey, either cling to us or scamper to the next person. The older monkeys were bullies, biting and pushing the smaller monkeys. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the vast playground in the back of the park.

I had better sign off so I can enjoy the Gruyère fondue Grandma is serving tonight!