In Heidi’s Footsteps

It happens to most expatriates in Switzerland, especially if your expat plans take you to one of the main Swiss cities rather than one of its idyllic alpine villages. You board the plane with visions of Heidi running barefoot on emerald-green mountain pastureland with cow-bells ringing in the background but, once you’ve settled into local city life, you realise your Swiss experience is turning out to be more urban than you initially envisaged.

However, this drawback has a very simple solution because in Switzerland you’re never more than a couple of hours away from the genuine Heidi experience.

The summer our Little Miss Cutie was born, we drove to the charming little village of Gruyères, which (you have guessed it) gives its name to the eponymous Swiss cheese and the region. As you can see from the photographs, this lovely town pretty much embodies the quintessential Swiss dream…

Gruyères is only 120 km from Geneva (approx. 1 hour and 30 minutes by car) and has many irresistible attractions besides its picture-perfect scenery: a breathtaking 13th century castle, The Maison du Gruyère cheese dairy you can visit, a museum of Himalayan art and the rather eccentric Giger Museum, dedicated to the Swiss artist HR Giger, who won an Oscar for his special effects on the movie “Alien” (as you might have guessed by now, there’s definitely more to Switzerland than Heidi & cheese).

So, if you’re looking for a special day out during these summer holidays, take a look at the many events that are taking place in and around Gruyères, it will certainly be a day to remember.

Here’s to a great Swiss summer !