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Switzerland/Italy Trip
Saturday, Sep 6
Today Deb and Gregg Knapke were due in to join us. They flew into Zurich and took the train down to Engelberg. We met them at the train terminal at about noon. We piled their luggage in the rental car and then went over to tour the Engelberg monastery.
The town sign. Mt. Titlis is the tall mountain where you can take the
cable car up to see the glacier and the Trübsee alpine lake.
The monastery is still operational, and they have a cheese factory, so we got to see how they make local cheeses. The cheese-making process was done inside a cylindrical room with clear plexiglass all around it, so we could watch the entire process, step by step. All the milk comes from local farmers. They heat it to pasteurize it, add the rennet and culture, fortify it with some calcium, then let it set for a while to ferment. Later after the mixture thickens, they pull through it with a screen-like paddle to cut up the curds. Then they separate the curds from the whey and wash them before packing them into forms. They were making the local soft cheese that gets a white rind after aging.
We ate lunch outside the cheese factory at a picnic table. The food consisted of quiche and assorted cheeses, which were all delicious. Pat had apple wine. While we were eating, an oompah band starting playing in the town square, complete with bass drum, two accordians, a snare, and a tuba. Apparently it was a festival weekend, and the town was hopping. People were dancing and singing along with the band. The songs were familiar to the locals, who chimed in spontaneously. All the businesses along the main street had brought out their own personalized angels (Engel is German for angel) to display on the sidewalk. About the height of a man, each angel is uniquely decorated or painted to reflect the business colors or theme.
One of the Engelberg angels. This one was
wearing a lampshade.
This poor thing had a wrapped package on its head.
This one was our favorite, outside the hair salon.
We did some shopping, then made our way back up to the hotel to let the Knapkes check in. Then we all went to the spa and hung out there for nearly two hours. Dinner was at the hotel, again wonderful gourmet food. I had trout, and Pat had venison. Absolutely delicious and beautifully prepared.
It was cloudy and drizzly today. Tomorrow we leave for Italy!