Colour of Spring: African Tulip

Spring has made a powerful statement with the African Tulips blooming all over. This flowering tree is known as Spathodea Campanulata (The buds are Spathe or ladle shaped and the flowers are bell shaped). The bud contains water and if squeezed, the water squirts out. That is why it is called the Squirt Tree or Syringe tree.

The water is clear to the eye, but has a salty and mineral taste. The bell shaped flowers are upward pointing, hence the water is retained till the flowers drop down.Possibly in dry areas it provides water to birds and small life forms. This tree is also monotypic without any relatives.

La Gruyere- Ecole Regionale

La Gruyère has a world famous school which attracts international students. The one above however seems to be a regional school. This building also carries the image of the crane.

Welcoming the Goddess of Learning

On 8th February, Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of learning and music, was invoked. The colourful pandal above heralded the onset of spring.

The Tourism Office: La Gruyere

The Tourist Office also carries the image of the Crane on the board.

The Village Church: La Gruyère

La Gruyère has a small, but very elegant church at one end of the village.

A Village Full of Restaurants: La Gruyère

La Gruyère has restaurants on both sides of the cobbled hilly roads. Each one represents the crane in one form or the other. The bird indeed is ubiquitous. The logs placed in front of the restaurant in the image above has an old world charm.

Inside La Maison du La Gruyère: The Endearing Cow

Inside La Maison du La Gruyère, one could see the traditional cauldron made of copper, the image of a cowherd and a colourful image of the cow. There is a tableau giving details of the cow, and how it lives, what all grasses and herbs, flowers and leaves it eats.

No wonder cheese is one of the most loved foods.

La Maison du Gruyere: Swiss Cheese

It was a great experience to visit La Maison du Gruyere, the cheese factory in La Gruyere village, in Switzerland. In the conducted tour, one could see milk being split and processed, the cheese disks being treated in salt water and matured, and the final product being branded and matured. the cheese produced here is considered as one of the best.