Travel to Gruyere

• Travel in the Gruyère

Gruyere - a tiny medieval town, famous throughout the world of the same name cheeses. But this is not the only tourist attraction. What I did not expect to see in a place like this, so it is a museum of Hans Rudolf Giger, the author of the concept and artistic design for the film "Alien". This highly unusual museum in stark contrast to the quiet and calm of Gruyere. But perfectly memorized.

Our Way of Tuna in the Gruyère ran through a mountain pass Jaunpass.

It is a low Alpine pass, which reaches 1509 meters at its highest point.

The weather is still not happy, and so we had to wade through the heavy clouds, slowly crawling on the slopes.

In this weather has its charms, but still would like more sun.

Gruyere - the capital of the former independent Gruyère county.

That's the whole "city". By and large it is only one street, which abuts the medieval castle. Entrance to the city is prohibited for road transport. In the photo you can see the car parks for tourists.

Castle Gruyere with walled city founded in the late XIII century. Its name comes from the French grue (crane), heraldic bird count of Gruyere Castle founder Rudolf III.

The town has only one street from the usual tourist places set of cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops.

Mountain on which the castle - low, approximately 800 m, however, the walls of the castle offers stunning views of the valley and the surrounding hills.

Historically, that in all of Switzerland selhoznapravleny developed mainly dairy industry: the mountain slopes, which are on the territory of 70% of the country, was not allowed to grow wheat. But milk from cows that graze on alpine meadows, was and remains excellent.

Store milk without sterilization is of course impossible, and to organize its regular delivery to the mountain pastures in the village was very difficult. The result was the famous Swiss cheeses, many of which are still made by hand directly on the pasture.

The local cheese was so popular that the Gruyere cheese became seriously called the capital of Switzerland.

This is where a native one of the most famous Swiss cheese - Gruyere - yellow, hard cheese without holes having sharp spicy aroma and slightly nutty flavor. Here you can visit a real cheese factory, where you will be introduced to the secrets of cooking the famous cheese.

A ticket is a pack of three pieces of cheese Gruyere with a different flavor and ripening: sweet (6 months), polusolony (8 months) and salty (10 months).

The exposition is built around a real cheese factory and if get here at a certain time of the day, you can watch the different processes of cheese production. We, of course, were not included.

The Europeans admired his attitude to the organization of museums and exhibitions, and all because all my soul love their job. These metal containers - smells different alpine herbs and flowers that chew cows on alpine pastures. A story in the booklet is on behalf of Cherry cows. There is even a translation into Russian.

For those who like to read about the secrets of different industries bring description of the manufacturing process of this cheese. The rest can be skipped.

Milk for the dairy farmers bring 36 twice a day. To get a total of 12 cheeses for 35 kg, in one such copper vat to pour 4,800 liters of milk. The vat milk is heated to the desired temperature (32 degrees) and the leaven yeast and adding from calf stomach, hold until curdle (50 minutes). Thereafter cheesemaker grinds mass using knives "Tranche Kaye" for 10 minutes. Then the refined mass and the serum is heated to 57 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Task cheesemaking - not miss a moment of extraction of the future cheese vat. This moment it determines on the elasticity and texture of curd grains.

When the cheese curd formation process is completed, it is poured into molds, compressed and immersed in brine. Powerful pump surpasses the vat contents into special forms in less than 4 minutes. At this time the cheesemaker cooks stamps from milk protein, indicating the day and month of manufacture of cheese and dairies number. Fixed on top of the cheese stamps allow to identify the cheese "Gruyere". After identification of the cheese is placed under a press with an initial weight of 300 kg. Over time, the weight will be increased to 900 kg. This process lasts at least 16 hours, the cheese is regularly turned over.

On the second day, the cheese was immersed in a salt bath at a temperature of 14 degrees for 20 hours. After the first step of preparing a finished cheese, it is sent to storage for further ripening at a temperature of 13-14 degrees. Throughout the duration of ripening cheeses are regularly washed with salt water and flipped. It is interesting that here everything is automated. Even turning the cheese heads is a robot, without human intervention. After four and a half months of maturation of each head is checked for quality cheese. cheese readiness check by tapping with a hammer on the head cheese and listening to the outgoing sound.

When the dairy has a restaurant where you can dine and taste the famous local cheese.

The menu is present in all dishes. Gruyere is served in the form of salads, soups, sandwiches, desserts, and of course, cheese fondue.

And now commit contrast transition from pasture and cheese in the harsh world of Fantastic Realism. The Gruyère unexpectedly can find the famous museum of contemporary graphic artist Hans Rudolf Giger.

A collection of his work in 1977 "Necronomicon" has attracted the attention of British director Ridley Scott. Giger he invited to work on the concept of creatures and artistic design of her new movie "Alien." Subsequently, the work on this film brought the artist the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

Giger was born in the Swiss town of Chur, and in 1998 bought a house in Gruyère and founded a museum where exhibits his best works as well as works by other artists, made in the style of Fantastic Realism. Its style is called necro-gothic, biomechanics, and subgenres - erotomehanikoy and others.

A unique artistic quality of the paintings Giger gives the airbrush. This device, which sprays the paint.

Giger proved that art can be created and with the help of machinery. Actually, in this there is a subtext, especially when you consider that the main theme of his paintings are created by him biomechanisms that combine flesh and metal.

But these lovely chairs made of fiberglass can be purchased on the official website of the artist. The cost of excluding shipping - $ 15,000.

In a small cavern separated from the rest of the exposure curtains, in the light of the red lamps are strange drawings and sculptures with strangers in komprometiruyusche-erotic poses (input only for persons under 18 years).

amused as book reviews, which lies at the entrance to the museum. This is a rare case when instead of thank-enthusiastically inscriptions can be seen angry phrases like "Yes, he is sick!". Overall, I am ready to share this view.

there is a bar decorated in the same style next to the museum.