TRAVEL

By AGATHA MATAYUN

Fine wine in Switzerland? Who would have thought?

Precision watches, cuckoo clocks, fine cheese, chocolate, banking: Switzerland is well known for all of these. But wine? When I let out that I was going to Switzerland and that vineyards were on the itinerary, there was amazement all around.

Does Switzerland produce wine? — people wanted to know.

Frankly, I hadn’t had Swiss wine before, but I was to hear from the horse’s mouth that the Swiss really do produce wine, and good ones too. In fact, it is home to one of the oldest vineyards in the world, the Unesco World Heritage-listed Lavaux on the shores of Lake Geneva.

It was in Geneva that we, a group comprising five journalists and — for want of a better word — public relations “handler”, Azreen Mohamed, began our trip.

“So what watches do Swiss people prefer?” I asked Isabelle Hesse, the press officer from Tourism Geneva, and Gianna Loredan, our designated tour guide. Hesse seemed taken by surprise.

“Oh, we go for normal ones,” she said, whatever that meant.

After a rapid exchange with Loredan, she named Patek Philippe as one of the more popular brands. Whether or not this influenced the itinerary in the later part of the day, we don’t know. But we did find ourselves trotting to the Patek Philippe museum at Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers 7. Actually, it was either that or a lake cruise, but since it was a chilly afternoon, the idea of a boat ride did not appeal at all.

“If there was something about your city that you were proud of, what would it be?” we asked Loredan.

“The fact that it is an international city,” she replied immediately.

Geneva is HQ to some 200 international organisations, most of which are located around the Place (Square) des Nations. Facing the square is the imposing Palais des Nations, European HQ of the United Nations. Loredan said she normally took public transport — a norm in this city of 186,825 inhabitants (city proper) — but when she had visitors to take around, she used an SUV.

Every so often, she pointed out an interesting place, followed by a detailed description.

“That’s the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN)”; “Over there is the headquarters of the ILO, ICRC and WHO”; “Oh, the water fountain is off, it must be because of the cold weather.”

At the Place des Nations, she explained the significance of the gigantic chair there, the one with its legs partly cut off.

“Notice that it is not a clear cut but a stump. It is a poignant symbol of the suffering of communities all over the world, including in Cambodia, whose lives are threatened by mines laid in times of war,” Loredan explained.

If you have only 24 hours in Geneva, like we did, then you would have to hurry if you wanted to catch all the sights, including the Cathedral of St Pierre (a majestic building built between 1160 and 1232 and is still in use for Protestant religious services).

“We don’t have in Geneva places like a Latin quarter or Chinatown,” Loredan said. “Everything is mixed here. This is really the will of the government. Everybody integrates easier than when they are in their own communities.”

Geneva is not just the city but includes the canton, and Loredan took us to its countryside of vineyards, hills, forests and farms.

“Almost everybody knows Geneva is an exporter of watches, but very few know we have good wines,” she said with pride. “We are the third largest wine-growing canton in Switzerland. That’s quite amazing considering we are the second smallest canton. We also grow 40 different types of apples, and are the largest producer of tomatoes in the country.”

Next, Loredan took us to Carouge, a small, charming city separated geographically from Geneva by the Arve River. Located 2km south of Geneva, Carouge was built mainly in the 18th century and remains a unique example in Europe of post-medieval urbanism.

“You see this building? It’s typical of Carouge — small houses and workshops of craftsmen on the ground floor, and one floor up are their apartments. There are lots of unusual shops with nice settings and exclusive products that can be discovered here,” said Loredan.

It was relatively quiet in Carouge, and it was pleasant to stroll around and look into the artisan shops. On the drive to Carouge, Loredan pointed something out to us.

“See the rapid on that river? You can go rafting down there. The river comes from the Mont Blanc massif and flows to the River Rhone. This is one of the hidden aspects of Geneva. You can go whitewater rafting in the middle of the city.”

Meanwhile, the shopaholics in the group were getting restive. In Geneva, shops generally close by 7pm on weekdays (closed on Sundays), and by the time our official itinerary was over, the shutters were coming down.

Anyway, we all knew Switzerland was an expensive place and so we clung on to our precious ringgit for a little while more. It was more of a pit-stop for us in Geneva but we managed to get the general lay of the land.

Montreux-Vevey

We all came out to Montreux

On the Lake Geneva shoreline

To make records with a mobile . . .

Yes, that’s the first three lines of the song Smoke of the Water by British rock band Deep Purple. The uninitiated may be interested to know that the song actually describes a real event, the burning of the Montreux Casino in 1971.

“Smoke on the water” referred to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva. Montreux, on the north-east shore of Lake Geneva in the canton of Vaud, has made its mark in other areas as well. If you have heard of the Montreux Jazz Festival, then you would know it has been held here for the last 40 years.

Dubbed the Swiss Riviera, Montreux is prized as a holiday and residence by artistes, celebrities and the rich and famous. At the quayside, the life-sized figure of Freddie Mercury is a popular snapping point for visitors. Sharing a bit of gossip, our guide said Mercury actually died in Montreux but everything was hushed up because his estate wanted to escape the heavy death taxes here.

B. B. King, Ray Charles, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald have also been honoured with life-sized figures in various locations in the city.

So what do you do in Montreux?

There are numerous shops to attack, from low-end shops to high-end boutiques and delicatessens. For sightseers, a stroll by the lake is ideal for enjoying the sights of the city whose buildings seem to cling precariously to steep slopes.

The climate is conducive to walking, and the lakeside scenery is awesome. And who knows? You might just rub shoulders with celebrities. There are many around, according to our guide. Then there’s the Casino, where Ferraris and other luxury cars are parked at the entrance. Our only adventure here was to have lunch, though.

There are other places to visit, like Chillon Castle, which we reached by boat. Our Swiss Pass allowed us passage on the boat as well as entry into the castle. Built in the 13th century by the Counts of Savoy, it has inspired various creative people including Lord Byron, who supposedly wrote one of his poems after visiting it.

Not too far away is Vevey, which boasts a very global name — Nestle. The House of Nestle is here, and it also has a food museum called the Alimentarim. Like Montreux, Vevey is also a magnet for long-stay celebrity visitors.

Here, we posed happily with Charlie Chaplin — a life-sized statue of the great English comedian actor and film director, that is. Chaplin died in Vevey in 1977. He and his wife were interred in the Corsier-Sur-Vevey cemetery.

And then it was time to go to Lavaux, a Unesco World Heritage site since June 2007, whose terraced vineyards, spread over 800ha, have been producing wine for more than 800 years.

It is said that Lavaux is the “Land of Three Suns” — sun in the sky, from which the steep hillsides derive good benefit; the sun in the lake, which serves as a mirror; and the sun in the walls, which store up warmth. We saw this with our own eyes: in the late afternoon, the shadows were long and the lake was a shimmering mirror of the low-lying sun.

Lavaux produces eight quality appellations: Lutry, Vilette, Epesses, St Saphorin, Dezaley (Grand Cru), Clamin (Grand Cru), Chardonne and Vevey-Montreux. The different vintages may be tasted on the spot, in the cellar belonging to the wine grower, the wholesaler or in a small bar.

When asked why there was a dearth of Swiss wine in the international market, our guide said: “We produce too little to export. It may also be because in the past, the Swiss Franc was too expensive compared to the other currencies. With the Euro now, it is comparably cheaper.”

So how does one go to the vineyards?

“Go to a tourism office, and they will give you all the information you need,” she said.

The Pre-Alps

Switzerland lies in the midst of the Alps. These magnificent mountains occupy three-fifths of the country. The Alps provide a beautiful backdrop to the villages and towns nestled in their midst, one of which is the town of Gruyeres, home of the world-famous Gruyere cheese.

Visitors can get there using the Golden Pass, another component of the efficient Swiss Travel System. The ride offers vistas of rolling countryside peppered with farmhouses, grazing cows and small towns. It is said that Swiss cows are happy cows, and we found out why this was so at La Maison du Gruyere.

In one of the sections in the factory, samples of the grass the cows feed on were kept in special containers for visitors to smell. One sample even had a component that would normally be considered contraband.

“Hmmm, people could get high on this,” I thought after smelling a particularly potent sample.

It is said that it was the richness of the milk in Gruyeres that made Alexander Cailler, producer of Caillers chocolates, set up his factory in the region in 1897. Maison Cailler is nowadays one of the most important companies in the area.

As a town, Gruyeres is charming with its medieval setting. It has a castle that’s worth visiting and a number of museums, including a very modern one, the Museum of H. R. Giger, creator of the movie Aliens.

For the die-hard hiker, there are various walks to take, one of which is the Cheese Dairy Path, a two-hour hike from Pringy to Moleso-sur-Gruyeres that will get you a diploma if you complete it. Other activities include hot-air ballooning, horse-riding, skydiving and helicopter rides.

Personally, the breath-taking scenery was enough to keep me happy.

Getting there & around

A number of airlines fly to Geneva from KLIA. We travelled on Etihad Airways (www.etihadairways.com), the national airline of the UAE. Based in Abu Dhabi, Etihad currently serves 58 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, and flies daily from Kuala Lumpur to Abu Dhabi.

Once in Switzerland, you’ll find that public transport is the best means of moving about. Trains are never late so be sure to be on time. In fact, the service is so punctual that you can actually look at the time of departure rather than the number of the train you want.

The best way to travel is to purchase a Swiss Pass, which is available from the airport railway stations (Zurich, Geneva or Basle), or via the designated travel agents.

The Swiss Pass includes four, eight, 15 or 22 days or one month’s unlimited access to the Swiss Travel System’s rail, bus and boat network in 38 towns and cities. It also doubles as passes to 450 museums all over the country.