Col du Chasseral, Switzerland (mountain pass, Borcarderie Castle, Valangin Castle) Part 2

This is the entrance to the medieval village of Valangin (population 600). There's a castle here but have yet to see it.

I spot Valangin Castle up past the ramparts (fortified walls).  

Closer view of castle.

You make your way up via a cobblestone path to the entrance--which is unusual as it's near the top of the castle.

Love the view. Built on a rocky ledge this defensive medieval fortress had strategic importance. 

Backside of castle. To the right you can make out a road through a narrow canyon.

In the distance there's a road heading to the left and there's one heading to the right. The fortress castle was in prime position to control who passes.

View from castle towards village.

View of Valangin Castle. See how entrance is on upper floor. 

Impressive fortifications. Was also used as a prison. 

Castle view.

Cycling into Neuchatel I pass watchmaker Panerai's factory. 

Col du Chasseral, Switzerland (mountain pass, Borcarderie Castle, Valangin Castle) Part 1

 

I'm starting the day in Biel/Bienne (population 55,000) and will be cycling up through the Jura Mountain range to Col du Chasseral (mountain pass) and then down to Neuchatel (population 33,000). 

I've cycled numerous times between Biel/Bienne and Neuchatel. It's about a 20 mile flat ride along Lake Biel/Bienne and Lake Neuchâtel. This time I'm heading up along mountains which should add a dozen or so more miles.

In this photo that's Biel/Bienne below. I keep writing Biel/Bienne why? It's a bilingual city (French/German) and its name was officially changed to Biel/Bienne in 2005. In previous blogs of the city I've posted photos of street signs. Why? Street names are in both languages which makes for very large and long signs. 

After snapping the previous photo I look to the right and spot this cat ladder stretching up along the side of an apartment building. Better take a closer look.

Wow, if I was a cat and made my way either up or down the twisty ladder---I'd be dizzy at the end. 

Cycling through the village of Orvin (population 1,000).

The entire farming village of Nods, population 700, is part of the inventory of Swiss Heritage sites.

Occupying the main intersection of Nods is the Hotel du Cheval Blanc--which translates to White Horse hotel. Hmm, I wonder if horse is on the restaurant menu. 

Here's the menu posted outside the hotel. Don't see horse meat listed. Actually it's pretty common to see horse meat on the menu. I've tried it and it's good. 

So, look behind the salmon-colored building. See the transmission tower sticking out? That's where I'm heading. The route is closed during the winter.

I'm almost to the mountain pass. Way in the distance on the left is Lake Biel/Bienne and to the right Lake Neuchâtel.

Top of the pass (Col du Chasseral). 

Coming down the backside of the pass I see about a dozen hikers making their way up. 

Cycling through the Val-de-Ruz valley I pass a tiny hamlet and spot this place. Is it a castle? 

There's no plaque or historical markers. I do some research and it's Borcarderie Castle. Back in 1583 the site included a sawmill and a mill (flour). 

In and around Geneva, Switzerland (more watch facilities, mystery business) Part 2

I'm on the outskirts of Geneva and 10 years ago when I cycled around here it was pretty barren except for some watch companies opening production/headquarters. Piaget had built this eye catching watch facility.   

Side view of Piaget facility. Lots of glass as watchmakers like natural light. 

Backside view of Piaget. 

Ten years ago this building for watchmaker Frederique Constant sat all alone. See those buildings behind it?  Now there are a half dozen similar office buildings behind it.

Ten years ago this modernistic structure for high-end watchmaker Vacheron Constantin was just built with two more buildings to the left under construction. 

Now the two mini-me buildings to the left are finished.

Trivia: Vacheron Constantin is the oldest continuously operating watch manufacturer in the world since its founding in 1755. 

Ten years ago this area was in the boondocks. Now, it's full of buildings. Five years ago a new tram line to Geneva city center was built. 

That building on the left is Harry Winston, the famous jeweler.  The company also makes watches containing lots of jewels. Harry Winston is owned by the Swatch Group. 

This building complex intrigues me. It's relatively new with no signage. Visitors can't just walk onto the property unless the gate is opened.

Being the nosy guy I am, if it was a weekday I would press the intercom near the gate and ask what they  do. I'm almost 100% sure they wouldn't tell me. 

Switzerland is home to many secretive companies.  

These two buildings are physically connected to the red building in the previous photo. What the heck goes on there as inquiring minds want to know?

This is the tall building seen in previous photo. Look at all those security cameras at the top and bottom.

Hmm, I might have to come back during a weekday. What would I do?  First, I would go to neighboring businesses and ask around if anyone knows what goes on there. 

I might hang around the sidewalk across the street from the red building and ask people passing by or exiting the building if they know what goes on in the three connected buildings.

What are my guesses?  Several blocks away there's a Lamborghini dealership and also a Ferrari dealership.  Maybe it's a car storage facility.  With lots of watch factories around it could warehouse for a precious metals company.

It could also be home for an armored truck service (like Brinks in the USA). This would be easy to confirm just by hanging out across from the entrance and watching for armored trucks entering or leaving.  

 

I'm back in Geneva's center and always like passing the city's beautiful opera house. 

In and around Geneva, Switzerland (sweets, Ft. Knox, Patek Philippe, Rolex) Part 1

It's Sunday morning and I'm heading to the outskirts of Geneva to see if watch companies have built any new additions to their factories. Back in 2002/03/04 I visited the head offices of over 100 watch and watch related companies in Switzerland. Many times head offices and factories were located in different parts of the city/country. 

Ten years ago (on a Sunday) I cycled around an area of Geneva where a slew of watch companies had built new factories. I'm back to see if any new additions were added.

Every time I'm in Geneva I make it a point to visit one of Guillaume Bichet's pastry shops (he has a half dozen). Why? Many patisseries have the same selections of sweets (that's not a bad thing) but Bichet is always changing his offerings. 
 

Strawberries are coming into season and I've been sampling the offerings of various pastry shops to see who has the best strawberry tart. 

On the left is a mocha tart and the right a strawberry something. Both get the thumbs down. 

Under those balls of whipped cream on the mocha tart is a cake-like filling and the shell is not crispy. 

There's also a cake-like filling under the strawberries---kind of like strawberry shortcake. Not so good. A strawberry tart to me has a thin crispy shell, filled with a creamy vanilla custard, then a mixture of strawberries and LOTS of whipped cream on top.

Wow, that tall green building is the head office of Rolex and wasn't there when I visited the company back in 2002. 

Over the past few years Rolex has been marketing Tudor, their second tier brand, like crazy. This building with the Tudor name atop is new and sits behind the tall green building in previous photo. 

I'm standing next to a busy road a half-dozen miles from central Geneva. See that block long unassuming boring looking building with "Ports Francs" atop?  

What if I told you more than $100 billion dollars worth of art, precious metals, jewelry, wine, cars and who knows what are stored inside. 

It has been said it's the most secure facility in Europe. There's a million square feet of storage space. The average size of a Costco warehouse is 146,000 square feet. Do the math. 

Here's a closer look at the entrance. Two different sets of cheap-looking fencing. Big deal. No armed guards in a guard hut. Doesn't look too daunting to me if I was a bad dude looking to break-in.

So, let's say the Mona Lisa was put up for auction and I snagged it paying $500 million. I could have it shipped here and have it put in storage for a possible sale in the future. Since it's considered "in transit"  I don't have to pay custom duties or tax liabilities until it leaves the warehouse which could be years. 

 

This grey building if you look past the unsightly trash dumpsters has the word "art" on the door.  It has been said it holds the "greatest art collection that nobody gets to see". 

The company dates back to 1849 and has been involved in quite a few incidents involving antiquities trading and money laundering.  Oh, and by the way, who is the majority owner of this business?  The Canton of Geneva. Cantons are similar to states in the USA.  

Go to Wikipedia and type in Geneva Freeport to read more about its fascinating past. 

Patek Philippe and Rolex are considered top dogs in the world of watches. 

I visited Patek Philippe back in 1996 and 2003 and received an excellent reception.  You can read the stories by going to www.corporatetrivia.com, then clicking on the "watches and chocolate" heading. 

Looking through a fence I can see their 15th century chateau is still intact. Patek Philippe inherited the chateau when buying the property. It was renovated and is used for receptions.

Snapped this through a fence. Patek Philippe has created a campus-like setting.  

This is a new Patek building. In the distance can you see that half circle metal sculpture? It's a 4-story tall stainless steel balance spring.  

This is the full shot of the new Patek building in the previous photo.  Big doings had been going on because where you enter into this gate used to be a long white two-story building. They tore it down and I bet there's now a large underground parking facility.

This was an old addition and is connected to Patek Philippe's head office building.

When I visited Patek Philippe back in 2003 Rolex was putting the finishing touches on a massive three building production facility--right next door to its rival. 

That's Rolex on the left and Patek Philippe on the right with a public sidewalk separating the two. 

This is the Rolex three building complex.