Once upon a time… We hopped on a plane for a short flight to Switzerland.
Living in a city as vibrant as London means there are always someone to see and plenty to do. Life becomes a juggling act, full of incredible events, unique nights out and limited amounts of sleep. For the long bank holiday weekend, I retired my dancing shoes for once and planned a trip with my family to visit an old and very dear friend.
Switzerland has such natural beauty and picturesque views, with each visit I am instantly reminded why I love visiting so much. In the distance sculpted mountains with snowy tops can be spotted, endless greenery and stunning lakes all form the beautiful country.
Our friend lives in a quaint town called Zofingen, with a teeny tiny population of less than 12,000 people. The old town has tremendous character and feels like you’ve stepped into a fairytale.
I could honestly picture Shrek and Princess Fiona skipping through the town being chased by Lord Farquaad, do you agree?
The buildings are all painted soft pastel shades with traditional metal store signs hanging arched into the cobbled street.
The facades have coloured timber shutters, pitched roofs with the undersides painted with intricate murals. The architecture is fantastic with each building presenting it’s own personality, the neighbouring buildings all help create the sweet town.
Our home throughout the trip was at Hotel Raben, owned by a local family that were unbelievably friendly. The owners couldn’t have made our stay feel anymore welcoming. A town so wonderful lends itself to people full of cheer and most were incredibly chatty especially after discovering we were Londoners.
The rooms were luxurious and spacious, plus our beds felt like sleeping on clouds – bonus points for our relaxing weekend.
Outside our hotel was a striking fountain, gushing with water all day long.
Mornings looked like this.
A feast of Swiss cheese, cured cold meats, fresh warm rolls, crispy croissants, yoghurts and jams in any flavour you could physically imagine. Needless to stay it was a carby continental treat each morning. The hotel was so relaxed that we had our own dining space and could happily feast away in our pyjamas without anyone to cast judgement. I made full use of this privilege naturally.
There were of course tough decisions to be made..
Too many jams too many jams.
I adopted the fairytale mode and skipped through town nosing into the little shops. First stop was a building covered with delicate painted murals on the exterior.
We stepped inside and were hit with a breeze of delicious chocolaty air. Another thing the Swiss know best is chocolate, rows upon rows of rich, silky chocolaty goodness.
I could of spent all day tasting the different options but for my own safety picked a few treats and left the luxurious chocolate store Laderach behind.
Switzerland is a country, which great influence from the bordering countries, France, Italy, Austria and Germany; this is evident in the numerous languages the Swiss speak and the wide variety of food.
As a serious food lover it’s important knowing each meal would be full of fresh and luscious goodness, the Swiss take such pride in offering amazing food and great service.
One of my favourite meals of the trip was spent at Markthaffe, the striking white exterior, accompanied with red shutters and floral baskets enticed us in.
We started our meal with a locally produced crisp white wine and fresh salad. A tradition when dining in Switzerland is to start with a portion of salad to cleanse the palette before the main meal.
The interior felt incredibly cosy with panelled timber walls, low level pendants, traditional timber chairs and tables dressed with fresh flowers.
Since my last trip to Switzerland I had been craving one of the speciality dishes, a hearty meal that was essential after being caught in a downpour of rain. I instantly opted for bratwurst; a gigantic sausage in a homemade rich onion sauce served with traditional potato rosti. It sounds simple enough but tastes seriously incredible.
After the huge serving I was extremely full, but I couldn’t resist the raspberry pana cotta that was equally scrumptious.
The hearty meal took its toll on us and we happily headed to bed to sleep on our clouds.
Thank you for the post, I am in town Olten now and searching for neighboring town to visit and found your site. Will definitely visit this town as your post is very interesting of a fairytale town
I hope you managed to visit Zofingen, I’m sure you would have fallen in love with the fairytale architecture like I did! How was the rest of your trip? There’s something quite magical about Switzerland.