Grandson Castle, Yverdon Castle, sweets & more, Switzerland (Part 1)

Grandson Castle lords over the main street through Grandson (population 3,000). Why? This medieval beauty was built on the shore of Lake Neuchatel to control the coastal road.

Side view of Grandson Castle.

Yep, those are train tracks passing next to the castle. Until 1875 water from Lake Neuchatel lapped those castle walls. In 1875 the level of Lake Neuchatel was lowered to reduce flood risk in the area. 

Entrance to Grandson Castle.

Tourist entrance to Grandson Castle. Since the 1980s the castle has been owned by a private foundation. A two year renovation was recently completed. 

Here's a view of Grandson Castle from a hill. That's Lake Neuchatel in the background.

I've hit Yverdon (population 29,000) on market day and the city center is hopping. Yverdon-les-Bains is the correct name with "les Bains" translating to "the baths"--meaning it's a spa town.

 

I'm in the old town area of Yverdon to check out Gerber Wyss, a patisserie/bakery/chocolatier.

Lots of breads and chocolate goodies but, I'm more interested in the sweets. 

 

Hmm, chocolate brownie, lemon tart and Paris-Brest. Which to choose? 

Why is it called Paris-Brest? Created in 1910 for the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race--which still goes on today. It's supposed to be shaped like a bicycle wheel. It's sort-of-like a cream puff with a filling of pastry cream, butter and hazelnut praline cream but there're so many variations. 

So it seems Gerber Wyss has created a mini-food empire here. You can see the salmon-colored boulangerie building from my earlier picture. To the left is the Gerber Wyss coffee cafe and to the left of that is the Gerber Wyss chocolate shop.  However, that's not all. 

At the end of the street is the Gerber Wyss one Michelin star restaurant. Checking the restaurant's window I see that starting in October they're having a wild game menu. It's not unusual in Switzerland for restaurants to have wild game on the menu in the fall. Heck, it's also seasonal in supermarkets-starting last week you can now buy (already cooked) wild boar and deer in a red wine sauce. 

It's an eight course menu in French but I can decipher some of it. Wild game includes hare, mountain antelope and feral pigeons. What?? Feral pigeons? do they shoot those off of telephone poles? Why not quail or pheasant? I'm sure the food is fantastic. The cost for this feast? 250 Swiss francs or $300 per person. 

Yverdon Castle, which dates back to the 13th century, is undergoing renovations. This medieval castle has four towers.

Side view of Yverdon Castle.

Another side view. Yverdon Castle is now a cultural center with museum, library and conference rooms. 

Leaving Yverdon I spot up on a hill (to the left of the tree forest) what looks to be copper roofing. Could it be a chateau?  A chateau (in French) can be a large county house, mansion, manor house or a castle.  Better check it out. 

 

However, before heading up the hill I pull over and sample the sweets I bought earlier. Whoa! both are dangerously good!

Champery, Switzerland (ski resort)

I'm in the Swiss Alps and not a cloud in the sky today. Though it's late September Champery (population 1,300) is still awash with colorful flowers.
 

Ski lift.

It's 9:30 in the morning and parts of Champery have yet to see the sun. The gondolas from the previous photo whisk hikers up to the top of the sun kissed mountain. 

These sheep are checking me out--- wondering if maybe I have treats.

Champery's village center has a rustic feel.

Main street through the village.

The sun is finally bathing the valley in its warmth. 

Don't know if those horns are store bought or from hunting.

Sat at that picnic table and had a sandwich along with several pastries. 

Lots of roads to go walking or biking.

More of main street through village

More of main street.   

Church tower. 

They sure like to line the street with Swiss flags. 

Heading down the mountain. 

More heading down the mountain.

Fort Pre Giroud, Les Clees Castle, SICPA, Switzerland (Part 2)

After leaving Fort Pre Giroud I cycle through Vallorbe (population 3,100). The Orbe river flows through the center of town.
 

Another view of Orbe river running through town. 

Remember Fort Pre Giroud? I'm now on the other side of the valley and using my zoom lens. See the three windmills? If you look below the middle windmill and to the left you can barely make out the fort. 

I'm still way up high with the valley floor in the distance.

Finding Les Clees Castle requires going down a deep gorge. You can see the castle tower in the distance. 

Les Clees Castle peeking behind the village church.  

There's no road going up the the castle only this steep (slippery) dirt pathway.

Les Clees Castle dates back to 1134. The keep (fortified tower) is all that's left of the castle.

Grounds of the castle. It's privately-owned and someone lives in the small building on the right.

View from castle grounds. About 150 inhabitants live in the village of Les Clees 

Pathway going down from castle. 

I'm passing through the farming town of Chavornay (population 3,100). It's a bedroom community of Lausanne which lies about a dozen miles away. So, what's the deal with this photo? It's a factory complex for SICPA.

When I was cycling around the world visiting corporate headquarters I visited their head office close to Lausanne in 2002. Was surprised they even met with me as they are famously secretive. 

What does SICPA do?  They make ink here. Not just any ink but security ink used in printing banknotes. In fact, their ink (depends who you talk to) is used in something like 85% of the world's banknotes (including the US dollar). 

Back in 2002 revenues were estimated to be $800 million with 3,700 employees. The company was founded in 1927 by Maurice Amon. 

I read somewhere this factory complex was opened in 1993 and evidently was a big deal in Chavornay as the street is named after Albert Amon (see street sign in photo), son of the founder.

Anyway, the reason I'm telling you all this is because for years I cycled by the place and there was zero signage anyplace on the property. (did I mention the company being secretive?).  

This is the rear of SICPA's factory/plant complex. 

Printing ink has been good to the Amon family as the family's wealth has been estimated to be over $2 billion dollars. 

Fort Pre Giroud, Les Clees Castle, SICPA, Switzerland (Part 1)

I've spent the last 30 summers cycling in Switzerland. The Jura Mountain range acts as a natural border between France and Switzerland and I love exploring the area. I think it was second summer that I unexpectedly came upon something really unique so I'm returning for another look.

I was cycling along this back road when I came upon a sign up ahead.

Don't recall the tank being here back then--only the sign. What did "Fort 39-45" mean? I had no idea but headed up the mountain road. 

It's a long ride up the road but it brings me here. What are we looking at behind the tent?

It looks like a typical Swiss chalet on a mountain side (actually that huge Swiss flag painted on the structure wasn't there on my first visit). 

In reality, that Swiss chalet is a disguise. It's actually a concrete fort (Fort Pre Giroud).

This is the entrance. Upon entering it's 100 feet down a shaft.

When I was here (about 28 years ago) it was around 1PM and a tour group was just about to enter. I was lucky to join the group (tour took an hour and a half--in French). It was a fantastic experience!

It's self-contained inside with an industrial-size kitchen, infirmary, command center etc... with dorms capable of accommodating 125 soldiers. Thankfully I had a coat as it was cold inside (high 50's). The tunnels seem to go for miles.  

Summer is over and I knew the place would be closed today but, it's still fun to see the outside again. 

Closer look. The windows are all fake.

Opening for machine gun.

It's about 8:30 in the morning and the sun hadn't come up on this side. I was walking around to the back of the structure when I came upon this guy. That back area behind him is fenced in and I was blocking his escape route. 

Here's the view from the fort. In the distance you can see more of the Jura Mountains. You can see a gap. That's the Jougne Pass. This isolated artillery fort was built between 1937 and 1939. The Fort Pre Giroud complex was carved into the rock. Why? Switzerland wanted to be prepared to block the pass if any foreign army invaded. 

Right below the flags are fake boulders which housed artillery guns.

Some of the artillery.

Another big artillery piece.

Sentry post. Looks like a stand-up metal coffin.

That's a fake barn. A tunnel goes from the fake chalet to the barn. The cow is real. 

That's another fake barn connected by tunnel to the fake chalet.  

Coming down from the fort you can still see concrete blocks from World War ll. They're shaped like that to prevent tanks from clambering over.