Fribourg to Gruyères

... starting with last night’s excursion around Fribourg; the city that appears to have been built across the gorge of the Sarine River. In fact, Fribourg was settled on the river bend which made construction of several bridges essential especially after the extension of the town to the right side of the river. In the Middle Ages this was an unusual achievement, bridges were technically difficult, costly and thus few. Today the bridges are an essential characteristic of the town.  

For the leg weary travellers, to traverse the various layers of the city meant we needed to revert back to our mountain goat ancestry (not sure if that’s possible!), but some how were found the reserves to tackle the steps and the hills. An interesting old city, but seemed a little tired, but busy,  compared to many other Swiss cities. After a couple of hours of sightseeing we returned to the riverside where the van had settled for the night. 

The Funicular Cable Car - 1899 - connects the lower part of the city to the upper part - and, running on waste water!

TODAY:

Away relatively early this morning, with a few unnecessary detours because of road closures and GPS fun-and-games! We eventually found our way out of Fribourg and heading in the right direction towards Bulle. A few supplies purchased at Bulle before heading to Gruyères, a hilltop town surrounded by alpine foothills. Fantastic scenery wherever you looked. 

The town is dominated by the 12th century castle, but the most interesting feature was the working Gutenberg Printing press. The original was developed during the 15th century which has gone done in history as one of the worlds great inventions - the first printing press. The Gutenberg Bibles are rare and famous items - only  about 49 still in existence. 

Many of the visitors we milling around the HR Giger Museum. The Swiss-born graphic artist H. R. Giger won an Oscar for the special effects he created for the film Alien. He brought his obsessions of sexualized surrealist visions to the quaint town of Gruyères, where he opened this museum. Many of his key works are on display here, including grotesque paintings and sculpture, bizarre furniture, and film designs, many from the early 1960s. 

The scenery from the village is quite stunning. 

Later in the day we drove down to Lac de la Gruyères where we spent the rest of the day and the evening. A very popular lake with kitesurfers and windsurfers.