Tag Archives: Switzerland

Trip in Switzerland : the Vallorbe Caves

This is my little cave of greenery ; I like to hide there to watch what’s happening in the garden. But during the holidays, Claire and Momo went to real caves, much larger: the Vallorbe Caves.

7 million years ago, tectonic movements folded the terrain to form the mountains of the Jura, and the sea that covered the region withdrew definitively. A river meanders above and below ground : the Orbe. Over the millennia, it shaped, with the surface waters, the incredible architecture of the caves.

In 1893, diver Pfund descended into the source to a depth of about ten meters, but he noticed that the vast gallery continued much further. On September 12, 1964, speleologist and diver Christian Giurumello discovered the caves during a dive in a siphon already explored several times. The caves opened to the public in 1974, and since 1992 offer a permanent exhibition of minerals from all over the world, the «Treasure of the Fairies».

The tour lasts about an hour and a half and leads to a huge room where a game of music and light dramatically stages this natural cathedral. From here, the route continues towards the exit via a slightly different path that ends with the exhibition of the treasure of the fairies.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the visit !

Such a lot of water, such a lot of water !

For several days now, we’ve been facing an unprecedented situation in almost all European countries : it’s cool for the season, it rains downpours, and sometimes very violent local storms accentuate the damage already caused by the rain. Germany and Belgium were particularly affected.

Floods, landslides, we’re not yet at the stage of other countries that suffer hurricanes several times a year, but it’s impressive.

Today we’re enjoying the return of the sun and the heat, but the situation of lakes and rivers remains critical: we hope that the decline will happen quickly, and hope that those most affected by these disasters will receive the help they need.

Trip in Switzerland : the Maison Cailler

It’s been very hot in the last few weeks, and we’ve been content with quiet activities, such as synchronized bathing, for example.

Pixie tried to find some coolness in the vegetable garden, but it was finally inside that it was the freshest.

Our humans have combined the useful with the pleasant : they have gone to fetch some coolness at the Maison Cailler, the chocolate factory located in Broc, in Gruyère, in the canton of Fribourg. Claire and Momo discovered the fascinating history of chocolate and observed with interest the whole process of its manufacture from A to Z. Not only was it fresh in the factory, but they could also taste different chocolates more delicious than each other !