across the border to CH

Record-breaking rain ruling out the mountains, plus an exhibition we had long wanted to go to, were the spurs for a "cultural weekend" based at Juan's Yverdon flat.

We started with a stroll around Fribourg, including Saint Nikolaus cathedral. Given that church and
state are separate in Switzerland it was surprising to see an out-sized Swiss flag filling the choir:

Elsewhere in the city Christmas was getting into swing:

The following day the expressionist-fauvist exhibition at the Merzbacher Collection, Martigny ("one of the finest private collections of pre-World War II 20th century art in the world"), was fabulous. Juan, initially (uncharacteristically) respectful of museum security, was soon snapping at jewels by Vlaminck, Kirchner, Kandinsky and chums:


"Sertigtal landscape", Ernst Kirchner, 1924



"Autumn landscape with boats", Vasily Kandinsky, 1908



"Potato pickers", Maurice de Vlaminck, 1905-7

We thought of our friends Antje and John, with whom we'd had a fondu the night before, in the throes of a kitchen tiling-scheme decision. Any one of these paintings could be the inspiration. Gorgeous.

From the exhibition at Martigny, the village of Gruyère was a short drive, helped by sat nav. I love the way Juan puts blind faith in the equipment. It results in unpredictable outcomes - especially if you key in a random address like "1 Beauregard". As Juan said, even the dog was surprised to see us arrive at this isolated house at the end of a track:

I would never have got away with such a scenic diversion. Sat nav must oil the wheels of many a couple's navigating crises.

Gruyère was a tourist trap par excellence...

... verging on kitsch, stuffed with hotels and restaurants with meringue and cream topping every menu. Its quaintness made it feel a long way from its roots. At the visitor centre the most impressive thing was the sheer quantity of the over-rated cheese:

In France there would have been a whole marketing thing around the families, the history, the terroir, the savoir faire... What the Swiss wanted to tell us was the number of cheeses their robots could make per hour. Say no more.