Chateau de Gruyeres

Gruezi one and all,

Twas a rare occasion, but Ness managed to get this Tuesday off work and we decided we would head out to Gruyeres. It was very nearly our own planes, trains and automobiles moment (Our thoughts go out to Bone and Alwyn who have had to deal with rail stoppages across Europe). After several modes of transport, changing from buses to trains etc and some 2 odd hours later we made it to Gruyeres. At the outset I really only wanted to see the H.R. Giger museum there, how wrong I was. My wildest expectations were surpassed in every sense. Before I get too far ahead of myself, let me lay down a few facts for those of you that are interested -

Gruyeres itself is a town in the Fribourg region of southern Switzerland nestled at the foothills of the Alps (somewhere around 800 metres above sea level). The crane (in French: "Grue") - its heraldic representation - inspired the name Gruyeres. Some of you may know the name as it is a cheese, and yes, it is made here funnily enough. This is the French speaking region obviously very near to the French border. The Chateau de Gruyeres is one of the most prestigious Castles (my previous spelling, Castel, is the German) in Switzerland. Constructed between 1270 and 1282, this grand structure is not just a Castle but a whole fortified village. Cobbled streets, stone walls, towers and ramparts - a true journey back into a time long gone. Again I add that a place such as this can never be done justice in a sentence or paragraph - it is just not possible to describe the feeling of awe walking the hill into this understatedly amazing place.

As I was saying earlier - The Giger Museum is located in the Chateau, along with the Giger Bar, several small restaurants, craft, souvenir and cheese shops. There are actual residents of the Chateau (not the Castle itself) going about their daily business, but the slack-jawed tourists clearly outnumber the residents. Luckily we didn't really stand out as tourists (despite constant use of camera), being Ness speaks French, we managed really well - more so than we do here in Zurich. Just wandering the streets was a brilliant experience which brings me back to H.R. Giger.

Many times I have seen his works, but never to stand in front of them: Sculpture, painting, furniture, etching, mediums that defy description, even a private collection of works that have inspired or been dedicated to the man himself. I'm not going to try and describe the style of art, if you don't know who I am talking about chances are you probably won't like Giger's very distinctive style. I spent nearly two hours wandering through these works with my jaw firmly attached to my chest. The experience was emotional, grotesque, inspiring, moving and a mind fuck all in such a fleeting moment - an opportunity I thought I would never have in my lifetime. The Giger Bar was just as incredible, the decor design was like a cave of ribs and skulls stretched across a bloody circuit of canvas (and they sold beer too). Furniture of bone and flesh melting into the mechanic as only Giger can. I could go on and on and on. You may have guessed by now that I relished the experience.

The Castle was truly magnificent. Walking through the main entrance into the courtyard was nothing less than spellbinding. Towering walls, timber older than the colonized nation of Australia, ramparts, wooden galleries overlooking the courtyard, Baroque and Renaissance artworks, even a Pianoforte constructed in 1835 by J.W. Braschoss for Franz Liszt. The grandiose Knights'room, painted between 1852 and 1862 by Henri Baron, depicting the history and legend of Gruyeres dating back to the year 400. There is way too much to describe so it is a good thing we have plenty of photos to bring back with us. You can feel the history, literally and figuratively, everywhere you look. One memory forever etched on my mind is the image of a lone Knight crudely etched into one of the white-washed walls, the date 1541 scratched in along side of it (and yes, it was authentic).

This day was the greatest experience I have had here in Switzerland, and quite possibly all of Europe, but of course there is still plenty more to see. For now I shall bid you all a very fond Auf Wiedersehen, very very soon I will start posting some photos of our trip to Gruyeres so keep checking back because there will probably be a fair few of them. I will also put up a few of the photos I was able to take of the Giger Bar and Museum. Until next time, my friends, I shall leave you with words from the man himself:

"The more famous I get, the more I am tolerated, albeit with some head-shaking." H.R. Giger.

'Well, at least I'm big in Europe.' L.J. Barnes

Regards,

Jimi and