A return to Switzerland – land of mountains, museums and moos! COMPLETED 12/4 - Page 36 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Then we headed down the stairs to see the cheese cellar. Oh my goodness, what a huge place this is! It just went on and on and on….
I had to get a photo with this guy!
Our next stop had to be the shop, but I was a disappointed by the selection in there. I thought they’d have lots of T-hsirts for me with cows on, but all the ones with cows on were for kids. Not fair! I got a wooden cow model, a cow bowl and fridge magnet and that was it.
I’d have love to have bought these, but my goodness, they were expensive!
We headed outside to wait for the bus and got some photos while we were waiting. It was a beautiful day and it was lovely to see the cows grazing on the hillsides high above us.
Our bus was soon with us and we headed off on our couple of minutes journey to the village of Gruyeres. Houses here date from the 15th to the 17th centuries, and on the top of the hill is the Chateau de Gruyeres.
When we got there, we still had a walk up to the village, but we got a lovely view at the entrance.
Then we were into the medieval village itself, which was beautiful. We both commented on how quiet it was here. I was expecting a lot more people around, as the coach had just disgorged everyone, but where they went, I don’t know.
We wandered around, getting some photos and looking in a few shops, all of which were full of cow things! Heaven!
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No T shirts for grown ups? I agree - no fair!!
The town itself is so picturesque. Very beautiful, wish-you-were-here kind of scenery! The stuffed animal St. Bernard is adorable!!
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Tanya
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PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
That is an unbelievable amount of cheese! The village of Gruyeres is beautiful and it looks so calm there. Sounds like shopping for cow items here would be super easy.
Wow! Those photos of the sloping hills and the alps in the background are just amazing! Can't count out those of distant villages either! It makes me want to go back to Switzerland so much with the views, the beauty and great food and cheese of course! They have good wines as well.
Seeing your photos of the cheese tour, put me in cheese nirvana! Just wish I was there. Oh, I need to go back to Switzerland! It's been far too long! Why, you do this to me Cheryl, I can't explain! I would just go to that cheese shop at the counter and just say, "Yes!"
Switzerland is now near the top of my bucket list! Still have southern Italy and Sicily and Western France as well. Just love going to Europe! Eight times so far!
Thanks so much for such a great TR as there is so much I can relate to from experience and what I want to do in the future! Even better is as there is more to come!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
That is an unbelievable amount of cheese! The village of Gruyeres is beautiful and it looks so calm there. Sounds like shopping for cow items here would be super easy.
Wow! Those photos of the sloping hills and the alps in the background are just amazing! Can't count out those of distant villages either! It makes me want to go back to Switzerland so much with the views, the beauty and great food and cheese of course! They have good wines as well.
Switzerland has so much to offer visitors, doesn't it?
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Seeing your photos of the cheese tour, put me in cheese nirvana! Just wish I was there. Oh, I need to go back to Switzerland! It's been far too long! Why, you do this to me Cheryl, I can't explain! I would just go to that cheese shop at the counter and just say, "Yes!"
That's why I want to go back again...
Quote:
Switzerland is now near the top of my bucket list! Still have southern Italy and Sicily and Western France as well. Just love going to Europe! Eight times so far!
Glad you enjoy it over here so much. There are so many beautiful places to see. I have to be honest, we stopped off at Sicily on our Disney cruise a few years ago and it didn't really wow us. Sardinia , Sicily not so much.
Quote:
Thanks so much for such a great TR as there is so much I can relate to from experience and what I want to do in the future! Even better is as there is more to come!
Monday 2 September – part five: exploring the chateau
We made our way through the main square and towards the chateau, which was built in the 11th century. The courts of Gruyeres lived here until the mid 16th century. At that point, the count at that time became bankrupt, and he fled the chateau, leaving it and its land to be divided up between the lords of Bern and Fribourg. In 1848, the castle was acquired by a wealthy family who carried out the required restoration to it. In 1939, ownership of the chateau passed from them to the cantonal authorities of Fribourg.
We headed up and the views from up here were stunning.
Look at what I could see in the fields!
But we hadn’t seen anything yet…
We made our way inside the chateau and what a treat awaited us here. The main courtyard was quite something. The wooden galleries were constructed in the late 16th century.
However, there was lots more to explore here… The first room we saw was the kitchen, which included a fireplace with pot hangers, mechanical skewer and cooking pots.
From here, we headed up the spiral staircase, which was built by Count Louis towards the end of the 15th century.
In the Burgundian Room, you could see the three fleeces of the Golden Fleece Order in showcases. They were captured in a war in 1476.
We then headed into a corridor with the famous “severed hand” on show here. Nice! There’s an explanation about the legends of this hand from an Egyptian mummy.
The next room we headed into was the bailiffs’ room, and between 1555 and 1798, a total of 50 bailiffs used this room, probably as a study.
The Corot Room is named after French artist Camille Corot.
From here, we went into the Room of the Counts, dedicated to Gruyeres’ last counts. The bed in here dates from the 15th century.
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It just went on and on and on…. 
Not fair! 
I got a wooden cow model, a cow bowl and fridge magnet and that was it. 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Sounds like shopping for cow items here would be super easy.
I would just go to that cheese shop at the counter and just say, "Yes!" 
Sardinia 
, Sicily not so much. 
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