Grandson Castle, Yverdon Castle, sweets & more, Switzerland (Part 2)

So, if you recall in Part 1 it looked like there might be a chateau up on a hill.  Chateau in French translates to large country house, mansion, manor house or castle.  
 

Looks like I'm right. I'm in the village of Chamblon (population 560) and come across Allee du Chateau which translates to "avenue/driveway to chateau".  

Built in the 18th century Chateau Chamblon has had a variety of owners. Entrance to chateau. Notice the ironwork. In 1925 it was bought by a hospital association. It's now a treatment & rehabilitation hospital----which is set to close at the end of this year.

Chateau Chamblon must have been pretty spectacular in its early days with extensive formal gardens.

The next hill after leaving Chateau Chamblon I come upon Champvent Castle. Better go check it out.

 

Champvert Castle was built in 1266 by Henry Grandson. Remember Grandson Castle in the previous post? Henry was a descendent of the Grandson family. It's only a dozen miles from the village of Champvert (population 300) to Grandson.  

You'll notice Champvert Castle, Yverdon Castle and Grandson Castle all have the same look. Known as Savoyard square fortresses they feature rectangular walls and four cylinder-shaped corner towers. 

Champvert Castle has had many, many owners over the years. In the 1980's it was bought by businessman Karl Leister. In 1993 Leister died and his wife lived there until her passing in 2025.  Don't know what's the status now--empty? for sale? or family member living there. 

This is the gated entrance to Champvert Castle.

Champvert Castle isn't visible from most sides thanks to lots of trees. I'm standing in a vineyard next to the property and here's the view. Way in the distance is Lake Neuchatel. 

I do find this secondary entrance to Champvert Castle and can see a large expanse of grounds.

Yep, the castle grounds could easily accommodate a helipad. 

 

Wasn't planning on cycling through Orbe (population 5,000) but was having a problem with my bike. The bike mechanic said to return in 20 minutes. 

Streets were blocked off and some kind of festival was going on as I wandered around.

Oh, oh, passed these guys----looks like there will be some serious horn blowing.

The medieval round tower (built 1233) along with a square tower are all that remains of Orbe Castle. 

View of Orbe Temple. Built in the 12th century. Now called Reformed Church of Notre-Dame.  

Wow, haven't seen one of these guys in a long time. He's real but usually see them in touristy areas. It's fun to watch little kids approach him (thinking he's a statue) and see kids freak out when he moves.

Fall season is here and several of Orbe's street are celebrating the change.

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.