Anniversary weekend - Switzerland!

Brian and I celebrated our 6th anniversary by going to Switzerland for the weekend of the 11th! We had a great time, mainly because my cousin and his wife had us stay with them! We loved being with Oliver, Amber and their family for the short time we were able to go down.  The morning we woke up to start our adventures, Amber had a yummy breakfast for us- then, we headed out for the Cheese factory in Gruyeres.  Gruyeres was a perfect and picturesque town. I loved every second being there.

The town of Gruyeres

Switzerland is seriously stunning

How cute are these old cars? I had to take a picture

Brian and cow. The cow wouldn't turn so I could get a good picture of his bell.  It was really cool to see them and any time they would walk, or bend their head at all, their bells would ring.  Awesome!

 The cheese factory was awesome! It was in French though, so we couldn't really understand the whole process of turning the milk into cheese.  The room that they made the cheese in was really cool. It was 2 cauldrons and a wood fire that you would move the cauldrons over filled with milk. After reaching the heat necessary to make the milk curd, they'd remove the milk from the heat, then take a piece of fabric stuff to pull out all the curds.  They even dip their arms into the warm milk/curds to get all the curds out. It was impressive! Now we know why their cheese is so good, and why the worker's arms are smoother than a baby's bottom. haha

Removing the curds from the Cauldron

Gathering the Curds

Hot milk in the cauldron anyone?

After the fascinating Cheese tour, we went on a drive to Lauterbrunen! Amber stopped at a convenience store and got some cheese and chocolate for our drive! She is so dang nice!!  The drive was gorgeous, and Lauterbrunnen did not disappoint!  

Lauterbrunnen!

This was actually taken out of the window of a moving car. 

This also was taken out the window :)

When we got to Lauterbrunnen, we went to Trummelbach falls. Oh my, they did not disappoint!  The glacial water actually carved its way into the mountain! The pictures don't do it any justice, but I will post some none-the-less

On our way up Trummelbach falls

Part of the falls. It was really cold in there!

Part of the falls again!

Lauterbrunnen valley is filled with falls coming off the top like this.. Best ever!

Seriously, this place was gorgeous and we will be going back!

Our drive back was super fun as we talked with Amber about her life living away from the US. She has more stories than anyone I know! So so many experiences make her and Oliver and their family the people they are.  When we got home, Oliver took us on a small drive about 10 minutes from their house to a lake that borders France.  One of their sons who came with us decided to jump in the lake! It was fun to watch him do a few flips. 

This is actually Oliver trying to push said son into the water. :)

The next day, Oliver, Amber and most of their kids took us to the Chocolate factory back in Gueyers! Brian was seriously in hog heaven! One thing we learned at the factory was how to properly eat chocolate! you're supposed to use more senses than just taste! You can hear the difference in how much cocoa is in a piece of chocolate by how it breaks. Once you put the chocolate in your mouth, to enjoy the flavor more, you can breathe through your teeth, and the flavor kinda enhances a bit! Its interesting.  

Seriously, he ate a ton of chocolate samples

After the chocolate factory, we took a little walk where Oliver lost his hat over the edge into the water. I am pretty sure he was teasing one of his kids and in retaliation, they grabbed his hat and threw it over..but we will just say he lost it.  

Oliver searching for his hat

How gorgeous is this view though!

Brian trying to retrieve the hat. He said the water was freezing!

We then went to a little village called Thun! It was beautiful - and a little rainy!  We had a good time though walking through the town.  We saw a castle at the top of the hill, and had an amazing view of the town.

The view from outside the castle

I spy...Brian!

Brian was hoping around and kept doing things like this on the walls.  I guess I was walking too slow..

I am not positive what the next castle is called that we went to.. was it Oberhofen? Anyway, we hit up one more castle. It was a lot of fun! One thing different about castles in Switzerland than anywhere i have ever been, is they are very kid friendly! They always have a little spot for kids to play, try on hats, etc. It was interesting to experience a castle like that.

The Castle Gardens

This was the actual day of our anniversary! 

That night, we had an amazing meal! Like I dream about this meal sometimes.  It was called Raclette. It is basically melted cheese that you put on top of potatoes and meat. Oh man.. I am drooling. Why didn't I get a picture!!?  

The next morning, we went to church with Oliver and Amber, then ducked out to head home so Brian could be rested for work the next day.  We missed a turn and had to stop to see what we stumbled upon.

That is a castle with a church attached to it.  So cool and a crazy site to see from the freeway.