Bon match, Allez Suisse!

Last week we went to Davis Cup tennis. We watched a doubles match and a singles match between Switzerland and Czech Republic. As the event was held in a convention center, I had wondered what the atmosphere would be like. When we walked in, we were immediately impressed with the patriotic show of display exhibited by the Swiss fans. We were expecting people to wear red or some kind of Swiss gear, but people went far beyond that!

There were definitely a few memorable fans, such as the lady adorned in flags, cowbells, fringes, ribbons, flowers, pom poms, and cows, the men in their Swiss flag jackets, and the younger guys dressed up as cows:

At the front, you could choose to have a raclette plate or pasta dish, plus tarts and sandwiches. And of course wine or beer too. We tried the raclette plate, which was a great snack that actually didn't break the bank!

I could go on about the food and drink, but back to the tennis.

All of a sudden, we heard a group of people come in, singing, blowing horns and banging a drum: the Czech fans had arrived. There were not many of them, but they made up for it in noise! They really caused quite a scene coming in. When we took our seats, we found out that we were behind the Czech fans. I think the group's noise actually drove the Swiss fans to increase their noise level as well during the matches.

The Czech group

The tennis teams entered onto the court, to many cheers and much applause. The first match we sawa was the doubles match between Wawrinka and Chuidinelli of Switzerland versus Berdych and Rosol of Czech Republic.

Switzerland on the left; Czech Republic on the right

Now the fun began! I can only imagine how loud it would have been if Federer had played - as it was, the Swiss fans really showed true vocal support of their team.

It was apparent in the first set that these teams were pretty evenly matched. It was hard for each team to break each other's serve, so the match was pretty exciting from the start. The first four sets were 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7. But that was nothing compared to the fifth set! As we later found out, this turned out to be the longest Davis cup match ever played, clocking in at just over seven hours (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-02/sports/sns-rt-us-tennis-davis-recordbre9110dn-20130202_1_doubles-rubber-czechs-world-group) with Czech Republic finally winning the match with 24 games to 22 in the fifth set. 

The next day, Wawrinka and Berdych played a singles match, and they must have been pretty tired to say the least! We saw a lot of the same fans we'd seen the day before, including the Czech contingent (who were warned a lot by the umpire for drum banging, horn waving, flag waving etc. during the games).

Wawrinka in action

Berdych's toss is really high

This match was not as evenly matched as the previous day's, as Berdych was in pretty good form. But Wawrinka did a good job, and seemed to enjoy home country support that day!
The match was won by Berdych in 4 sets, to the dismay of the predominantly Swiss crowd, but they respectfully applauded at the end. And the Czech fans brought out the biggest flag I think I've ever seen!

Big Czech flag for Berdych's win!

Gruyères

The Gruyères region in Switzerland has amazing mountainous scenery, and is where the Gruyère cheese is made. We were told by many non-Swiss people that it is a town that we must visit. The central part of town is medieval, with old buildings on both sides of the main street which is cobble-stoned. Essentially, it can be described by one word: quaint.

The town is pedestrian-only, which means buses and cars all park below, and tourists have a short walk in. We visited on a warm summer day, and although it was mid-week, it was pretty packed with tourists - not too much so you couldn't walk around easily, but it definitely made it hard to take photos (at that time, most of the tourists were Spanish actually).

One of the first things we did was go to the HRGiger Museum Bar. Right by the HR Giger Museum, it is a bar that is best described as "cavernous" and "skeletal" and is said to remind one of Jason and the Whale. All I kept thinking about were the Alien movies, however. It took 2 years to complete, and there are some great photos on the website: http://www.hrgiger.com
People are constantly walking in it just to take photos, so there is a sign saying that it is for patrons only to enter. We enjoyed a drink and a snack there, and it was a cool place to sit and get away from the sun for a bit.

I later learned that H.R. Giger is a Swiss artist who did award-winning design work for the Alien movie.His work is also in the museum, and just outside it too. One of the more impressive displays is the sculpture of the alien "bullets" in the gun.

Gun with alien bullets

Door handles

It is a small town, but there are plenty of restaurants to choose from, and the dishes of choice are fondue, raclette, and rösti; and for dessert, Gruyère cream with berries, meringues, or both! If you are lactose-intolerant, this is not the place for you to eat. I enjoyed cream with raspberries. I liked that they were separate, as I could choose the amount of cream to eat, but the waitress was surprised I didn't finish my cream. I wondered if I'd offended her.

Berries with cream

 We walked around the grounds of the château, which are flanked by the château walls and the stunning scenery. The chateau is from the 13th century, and marks the top of the town.

Going around the château grounds

View from the château grounds

Around the town is the remaining part of the fortified castlewalls, and it's fun to scramble around there on the old, worn steps.

We found a lovely hotel / resort, Hotel Cailler, in nearby Charmey, a town that is enjoyed by people who enjoy fresh mountain air (who doesn't?). We chose to stay there and experience the bains, or thermal baths, and spent a lovely and relaxing afternoon.
Charmey also boasts breathtaking views of the impressive mountains. We could only imagine the scenery in the wintertime.

A Swiss lunch

We were invited by friends to lunch on a very cold but sunny Saturday. The restaurant was in a nearby canton, just a short drive away from Geneva. We were told that it was known for three things: fondue, Malakoff, and saucisse dishes. We are, of course, familiar with fondue. And big fans! Malakoff is a fried cheese ball, and Ryan loves sausages, so we already knew before stepping in to the restaurant that we'd be in for a treat. The restaurant is near several vineyards.We've made a point to look for local wines when we're in the supermarkets.

A frozen vineyard, Canton Vaud

The restaurant was very cosy and we were quickly seated. Our hosts told us their recommendations, and we started with a Malakoff each, and a bottle of white wine.

Malakoff

The Malakoff is served with a cabbage salad and a gherkin. For history buffs, the name Malakoff is supposed to have come from the soldiers of the French Vaudois army who stormed the fortress of Malakoff during the Crimean war - they named this dish in memory of their victory.

Then it was onto the next course. Being as brave as I am and not afraid of too much cheese, I had fondue. Delicious and simple, we could taste the wine more as we got to the bottom of the pot (we all ate fondue, but alas, could not finish it!).
Ryan had the Saucisse aux choux avec papet Vaudois. Roughly translated, that is a sausage (mixed with cabbage) and a potato / leek dish. He was very smitten. If he's quiet, he likes his food a lot. And he was pretty much silent when eating this!

Finally, we had coffee and I tried the Oriental orange salad with liqueur and lovely vanilla icecream.

The lunch was so decadent. We don't eat like that all the time, so it was a wonderful experience!