Today we had to leave the hotel a little bit earlier to catch the ferry taking us to the southern side of the Vierwaldstätter lake. From there we took the Ärcherlipass, the smalest road so far, and stopped on top at a local cheese producer. After the Sustenpass we went into the Göschener valley, where a picknick was already waiting for us. We continued on the Furkapass and in the afternoon we arrived at Täsch, where we had to park our bikes and make the rest of the way to Zermatt with a cab followed by a little electric car, that took us to the hotel. As the weather was good we could see the Matterhorn high above the town. What a nice day!
Starting the day at the lakefront
our group
On the ferry boat are (left to right) Laura and Rick, Diane and Eric, Cristi and John. But wait... where is our beautiful Californian Lady...?
... there she is - Lisa A real highlight of today was the "Chäsladä". Come in and find out with us...
Diane is very much looking forward to see how the famous Swiss cheese is produced.
Neatly piled up wood in front of the house is a common picture with the Swiss country houses
The cows are out but this, obviously, is where it all starts.
The milk is pumped from the stable into this room with this huge bowl in the center. About 500-800 litres of milk can be put in here, depending on the season and the amount of grass the cows get to eat.
Christian had almost finished his work by the time we came but we could still watch him "bottling" the chilly cheese
All of us enjoyed the very interesting and informative visit at the farm and the cheese production.
We also got to see the different storage houses. The cheese is stored here from 3 months up to 1 year depending on the type of cheese
In this special storage house Christian has the 2 year old cheese. This one even has a picture of Wilhelm Tell imprinted.
Maybe some of the guys from last year's Ultimate Alps Tour remember this wheel of cheese Well, at the end of a day full of hard work, you deserve a rest on this bench. And this is exactly what it says on the bench: The "Fyrabigbänkli" On the way up the Sustenpass. Magnificent views!
Through this hollow alley they had to come...
... to reach the picnic.
Everyone was starving already and keen on eating the cheese at the picnic which we had bought in the morning at Christian's farm.
Later, our ride took us over the Furkapass and into Zermatt
Not without paying a visit to the Rhone glacier
The arrival at the garage in Täsch was celebrated accordingly
Zermatt is a car-free village.This is the reason why we leave our bikes in the garage down here in Täsch. Well, as promised, the last ride of today will be in one of these electric "shoe boxes". Sid thought it might be safer with his helmet on Alarmingly fast, those little carts a little electric cab in front of our hotel in Zermatt - what a luck that it had a luggage trailer Streets of Zermatt
The Matterhorn high above the town