Day 23: Interlaken(ish) to Gruyeres

Day 23 · Gruyeres

Shorter ride today to Gruyeres via the Jaun Pass totaling about 90 minutes on the bike. The Jaun pass was not particularly long or notable, but it was a nice road with a good view of some interesting peaks up top.

I dropped the bike and my gear off at the hotel and walked up the hill into the medieval village, complete with castle. Gruyeres is probably best known for the cheese, but they also do some chocolate making here. Every restaurant in town serves fondue (duh), and they all smell deeply of cheese.

I first took a bit of an opportunity to explore the ramparts of the city walls before heading further uphill to explore the castle museum.

The castle museum was very cool, showcasing some revitalization that happened within it in the late 1800s when it was still occupied. This is my first time visiting a real castle interior, and it was kind of funny to see what William Randolph Hearst (of Hearst Castle) and Marjorie Merriweather Post (of the Post cereal fortune) were going for with their interior decorating in their respective estates. I could totally imagine Hearst strolling through this place going “Yes….I see how you combine 16th century tapestry with hand painted ceiling details – of course. All that’s missing is a zoo, an enormous Grecian pool, 6 more gardens, and a Roman bath.”

After the castle tour, I headed into the HR Geiger Museum, which is apparently here in lil ol Gruyeres. According to the guy at the front desk of the museum, Geiger thought Gruyeres was absolutely beautiful and he wanted to juxtapose that with his dark artwork. Juxtaposition indeed.

If you’re not familiar with Geiger, he’s the artist behind the xenomorph in the film Alien. The very phallic monster from that movie may lead you to believe the mind behind it was that of a freak, and I believe you would be correct. Boy was freaky deaky. It was actually a very cool museum with an enormous collection of his art. There was an 18 and up section with some of his more graphic work, inside of which is Penis Landscape, the piece that got Jello Biafra an obscenity trial. It was kind of hilarious to enter the “restricted area” to see that when the bulk of his work is unabashedly sexual and contains plenty of overt and thinly veiled genitalia, but I guess there’s a line to be drawn.

The top floor of the museum held his own personal collection of artwork, which included some pieces I really loved. His Academy Award is also housed in the museum, as well as some concept art from the Alien movie.

Across the road from the museum is one of two HR Geiger bars (the other is in Chur, I learned today). It did not have great drinks but in terms of interior decorating, Consortium Holdings WISHES. Everything felt like it was made of cast concrete and clearly here for the long haul. All the chairs in the bar used the Harkonnen Capo Chair design Geiger made for the first (scrapped) version of a Dune movie. They are not built for comfort, I can assure you.

It was a bit of a surprise to find the museum of a 70s sci-fi icon in a village known for cheese and a castle, but I really enjoyed it and the museum was definitely a highlight.

After my wander through town and a quiche lunch, I headed back to formally check in at the hotel and take a horizontal period to write the bulk of this post and rest a little. And what do you know – I found all of the deer? They look like they’re in an enclosure so they must live here. They make some odd noises (not caught on camera). I don’t know that I’ve ever had the opportunity to sit with a window open above a herd of deer before, especially not in view of a castle.

For dinner I headed to the closest restaurant to the hotel. I was originally thinking I might get fondue, but I’m just so afraid of having stomach issues that I got fish and chips instead. They were fine. The dessert I got was incredible thought. I think it’s a double cream tart of some kind? Like a creme brulee made of a buttery soft cheese. I hope one of these finds me again.

Tomorrow I head to Annecy, France – the alleged Venice of the Alps. Very excited!