So, the family lunch was a lot of fun. I had no idea Brigg was only twenty minutes from Italy. Stefan's mom offered to take at some point. She speaks Italian very well, so she was telling me in Italian. I (mostly) understood, but it was it didn't help that I was listening to lots of German at the same time. The house we went to was built by Stefan's father outside of Brigg in the Alps (which are absolutely gorgeous, majestic, and awe-inspiring). There were even some wood carvings he had done. I think everyone in Switzerland has a heated towel bar.
The Alps from the Cabin
Stefan's father's Woodcarvings
The food was again very good. I got to try Raclette, which is when you cut a chunk of cheese and melt the top layer. This is then scraped of quickly off and put on potatoes and meat. It's very yummy and is only found in the Canton of Wallis (where Brigg is). The type of cheese you use is called Turtman in High German and Turtmänner in Wallis. Interestingly, and slightly off topic, they use "Merci" for "Thank You" and "Ciao" for "Good Bye". Everything else sounded German.
Making Raclette Step 1: Melting the Cheese
Making Rachlette Step 2: Removing the Cheese
These are Sugar Cubes with a Canton Flag on the Wrapper.
Yummy pastries
I got to meet Stefan's sibling sand their spouses, and his nieces and nephews. I really like his sister Ursula and her husband. She has two kids, a four year old boy named Mateo and a six year old girl named Alessandra who was very shy. Matteo was ridiculous. They live in Zürich and invited me to come visit them some time. I think I will.
Those trains I wrote about last time are really cool, so here's some pictures of them:
The trains as we were waiting to get on.
The train as we were getting on
Stefan took more. He said he will give them to me, so there might be more in the future. Anyway, ciao ciao! Or tschüs!
Those carvings are amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the blog so far!
ReplyDeleteCiao, ciao!
So glad you included the photos - yes, the view is amazing, the carvings are fabulous and I especially love the step-by-step how to make Raclette.
ReplyDeleteSo did the "car" train go very quickly?
Love this blog - good job! Tschus!
It went a good speed, not really fast. The tunnels are really long and pitch black and you stay in the car, so it's a bit difficult to tell. I think we went through in about 10 or 15 minutes, definitely not more than 20 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI thought you might like the Raclette, Mom. They also use really good mustard in their cooking. Today, I ate chicken cooked in French pepper cheese, I think. It reminded me of sour cream. Christina said she will give me the recipe.
Valentina, What a great blog so far!! I am glad you have gotten off to such a good start and are really picking up on the intricasies of the language(s). The challenge further on down the road so to speak, will be of course to find the time to keep this blog up-to-date! Usually we notice a drop-off in postings to these blogs around November, and then they pick up again in March. Let's see just how good a correspondent you are! Best of luck - Wayne
ReplyDeleteThank you Wayne, I will certainly do my best. ^.^ However there was a typo, although it is now fixed; Bern is in the Canton of Bern, not Wallis, which is where Brigg is.
ReplyDelete