Switzerland Tourism Influencer Summit, Davos. #inLOVEwithSWITZERLAND … again. {Part 1}

From the mighty Swiss Alps to rolling green meadows, countrysides that echo cow bells, the odd moos, Switzerland has so much to be discovered, it would take a lifetime. Perhaps more. Yes, I was back in this beautiful country after four years and it seems even more beautiful than ever!

Where does one begin talking about this incredible spot on the globe. For me, one word flows through, passion! A nation passionate about its heritage, its natural beauty, its culture, its everyday existence. Where else can you drink clear stream water straight from glaciers carried to taps in every nook & corner.

It’s a matter of pride & they know it! The air you breathe is clean, crisp fresh. Oh to fill your lungs with it and carry it back home! And all this hasn’t just happened. The Swiss are a hard working, passionate community who make sure this legacy lives on!

My second visit to Switzerland with Switzerland Tourism, the first had been a 10 day road trip shot for NDTV Good Times.

On a trip to Switzerland last month, a tiny group of 30 digital influencers from over 21 countries were invited to beautiful Davos, Graubünden.

Two of us joined from India {Aakash @WanderWithSky & me @PassionateAboutBaking}. Our hosts Swiss International Air Lines, Swiss Travel System, Destination Davos Klosters and Switzerland Tourism made sure it was a dream trip. We were divided into specialist groups, & post Davos, the food group happily {and hungrily} headed to St Gallen! {more about that later}

Fly Swiss flew us into Zurich, we met with a fellow influencer from Penang Ken @KenHuntsFood. Getting around Switzerland is the easiest thing ever. Armed with a unique all-in-one 1st class Swiss Travel Pass, we hopped onto the train to head for Davos.

The Swiss Travel Pass allows you unlimited travel by train, bus or boat, basically anything that moves you across the country, covering more than 90 cities & towns! If that’s not big enough, you get free admission to over 500 museums throughout Switzerland, and also includes mountain excursions to Rigi, Schilthorn, Stanserhorn and Stoos!

We were hosted at the very modern and beautiful Hard Rock Hotel, Davos and my first & last impressions about this entire time spent in Switzerland were overwhelmingly good!

… Everything worked like clockwork, very Swiss, and in the nicest possible way. Our stay in Switzerland was all heart as always, warm and fun; never a dull moment. Also possibly an undiscovered Swiss sense of humour kept us in splits throughout.

Our first day saw a trip into Graubunden with the amazing Petra {image above, right bottom ♥} from Destination Davos Klosters . She was all heart, patient, fun, passionate & all smiles always! She made our stay in Davos so worthwhile! Thank you so much Petra. We were so honestly so lucky to have you with us!

We had a day to do the rounds of Davos Klosters with Petra and of course our main areas of interest being around food – food products and producers. Our first stop was to visit a local farmer family Conrad in the scenic valley of Sertig. Rolling meadows, horses, cows mooing, bales of hay, goats, hens, cats … bliss!

It’s heartening to see the food chain in use, how the power of nature is harnessed, how nothing is left to waste. The super talented Monika and Nik are typical hard working Swiss farmer families who opened their home & heart to us. We watched in wonder – every edible flower & seed is put to good use, fruits are preserved, poultry & cattle reared, vegetables and herbs dried, liqueurs effortlessly hand made.

Quite overwhelmed, we headed to a typical Walser village in Monstein.

Nothing prepares you for the kind of natural & manmade beauty across Switzerland. Nothing! Every corner you turn takes your breath away!

Everything in perfect sync with the other, nature walks hand in hand with villages that seamlessly blend into the same colour palette, the same landscape. This is a very busy village in winter, yet was relatively quiet at the time we visited!

First quick stop a local brewery, Biervision Monstein AG, located in the former village dairy, a building over 100 years old. VIVA!!!

Founded in October 2000, Biervision began as the highest brewery in Switzerland, and uses water straight from the springs watered by glaciers. Under the Monsteiner brand, they offer specialities like cheese, bread, meat and chocolate product. They also make excellent schnapps!

A few chilled beers down, meats, cheese & chocolates devoured too, we sauntered along the picturesque village, a short walk to lunch to the rustic house that Veltlinerstuebli  hosts.

This place was like home. Run by Georg Flury and his beautiful wife Corina who have maintained, this vintage property has been running for 300 years. Low ceilings, tiled stoves and wooden beams offer an old world charm, while Georg offers an original menu.

We enjoyed fresh baked bread, sweet Swiss butter, dried meats, walnuts, local cheese & wine, then a really nice wild mushroom soup with Alpine flowers, game dishes with rostii. Of course the cherry on the cake, a very special dessert.

Well known beyond the borders is the blueberry cake with lots of fresh Davoser Schlagrahm. This cake is their speciality made from fresh berries from the nearby forest, picked at the right time. Because the berries are ripe & sweet enough, the cake is great. The pastry too was barely there, just enough to hold the pie beautifully.

The chef makes this almost completely without almonds and uses more berries than usual. In addition, they only use fresh ingredients from the farm, and this is possibly the trick to the best pie I’ve ever eaten.

Well from eating a pie, we set off to bake to be taught by the very charming and entertaining chief confectioner Matthias Heller of the traditional bakery & confectionery Schneiders in Davos. Food people are the best, and this was proved yet again. We had to most fun time learning to bake our very own nut cakes, a speciality of Graubunden.

That’s me, slicing up the nut cake that Ken baked, while Aakash/Sky took pictures while patiently waiting for his slice! That pie was amazing. A crisp butter shortcrust pastry filled with a walnut caramel filling. Simple, delicious, indulgent, & sweetly satisfying.

Do make sure you pick a nut cake from Schneiders if you are in the Graubunden region! It’s the best thing ever.

One last thing we did before we called it a long day, one that moved life clockwork. Imagine packing so much into a day! Our last stopover was at the Fleischzentrum Klosters Davos AG , a butchery, that follows the graubunden tradition and maintains a high standing craft.

It was here that I learnt to truly appreciate the real taste of dried meat, and I’m not even a meat person. If you do stop by the region, you MUST try the air dried meats.

The state of the art facility is run by two very passionate butchers & hunters – Samuel Helbling {above left}, and Florian Rudin {Florians sweet son Jason on the right} who bring innovation and spirit to this historic Swiss industry.

That was a wrap on a long day which ended with a rooftop beach party at The Hard Rock Hotel, then a sit down dinner at the ‘Abbey’, and we called it a night! The next day saw workshops with social media industry specialists, interactive sessions with the Swiss Tourism Board, a very engaged talk by Danny Bent, one of the UKs top 100 happy people …

… and then just like that, we grabbed our baked pies which had just been delivered and said goodbye to sweet Petra. Then raced to catch the 16:02 Rhaetian Railways panoramic train, a special Alpine Classic Pullman that had been arranged for us. It left ON THE DOT!!

Lavished with traditional specialities on board, local wine, cheese, dried meats, local breads, & the pies we baked, we were on our way to St Gallen! Do stay tuned for St Gallen!!