Highlights: Gruyères (castle & medieval village), Abbaye d’Hauterive, Fribourg
Route 4: Section 7 (Fribourg 585m–Montbovon 800m)
Stats from SwitzerlandMobility.ch (http://www.veloland.ch/en/routes/etappe/etappe/etappe-0879.html): 55km long, height difference Fribourg–Montbovon: 700m (560m in the opposite direction). Their site has the full profile.
Sept 2017 (1-day)
Today’s weather was perfect for biking: cool and sunny. The only glitch was that my front gears broke from the get-go (stuck in the middle range), hindering a little my trip. I guess 2,700km are starting to take their toll on the bike….
I biked in the opposite direction. I had already travelled from Montbovon to Gruyères as part of 9:02. Thus, I started directly from Gruyères (a must-see village) and headed towards Fribourg (about 40km).
From Gruyères the route passes by Broc (where one can visit the renowned chocolate factory La Maison Cailler) and then continues along the length of the man-made Lac de la Gruyère.
The route to Fribourg is mostly through farmland. Indeed, my first stop was at a farmhouse to buy some local products (in this case eggs and cheese, with the hope that the eggs would not brake along the ride….And they didn’t, yeah!). I love stopping in these farms to buy fresh products. In Switzerland they often provide self-service stores completely unattended and based on trust (some even leave the money box open…..)
The only major landmark I encountered along the way was a large abbey (Abbaye d’Hauterive), just 7 km before entering Fribourg. This abbey was founded in the 12th century by the Cistercian monk. Here, I stopped for picnic in their peaceful gardens and bought some more food from their shop.
In Fribourg, I wandered around the beautiful medieval town. It is situated on a very high hill surrounded by the river far below. It reminded me a lot of Bern, just in a smaller scale. The 13-14th century cathedral can be seen from afar and is the town’s jewel. But Fribourg requires a full day to visit and to stroll through the higher and lower medieval sections.
Here are links to the Introduction and to other Sections of Route 4:
- BIKING THROUGH SWITZERLAND (with an electric bike)
- Route 4: Section 1 (St. Margrethen–Appenzell)
- Route 4: Section 3 – Glarus to Flüelen
- Route 4: Section 4 – Flüelen to Sörenberg
- Route 4: Section 5 (Sörenberg–Thun)
- Route 4: Section 6 (Thun–Fribourg)
- Route 4 (Alpine Panorama Route): Section 8-end (Montbovon-Aigle)
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