La Rossinière, Royaume des chats ( Kingdom of cats) and Tafers to Fribourg

Welcome to the kingdom of cats in Rossinière. What better choice of trips could have been organised! I'd never been to this magnificent area of Switzerland before and I love cats. 

The drive from Tafers to the Canton of Vaud is magnificent, passing through narrow gorges, up winding mountain roads and past the lovely, yet touristy village of Gruyere. After the heavy spring rainfall, it's so unbelievably green here despite rivers and lakes being rather dry.

The exhibition in Rossinière takes place each year, each time with a different theme. School children and professional artists exhibit , with more than 100 creations. The tea cat being very appropriate. 

Other piEces are more intricate, with moving parts, like the one above, where the mice moved

I loved this very angry looking cat!

They are made of many  different materials, wood, paper Mache, tapestry, etc.The woodpile with the cat was superb.Cats galore, but also spectacular scenery and beautiful Swiss chalets dripping with colourful geraniums!

Elegant masterpieces 

Great expressions,

fabulous gardens,

simple ideas to make simple geraniums look fabulous,

and more woodpiles, which were a work of art..Not surprisingly considering the woodpile belonged to a very gifted elderly gentleman, who  kindly showed us his workshop.

he was a fascinating man, who does Marquetery, working with miniscule pieces of wood 

To create what look like paintings, but are far more intricate. 

Possibly my favourite was this cat admiring other cats. It was in a beautiful setting with gorgeous chalets all around and of course fantastic scenery.

And just as I thought there were no real cats around, at last we found one- very disinterested in the admiring spectators!

Continuing the cat theme the next day, I was a bit horrified to see these cat stairs. No way the cat can be scared of heights!

We had walked from  Tafers to Fribourg city through fields of maize and rape seed. It was  very quiet and the farms lovely . We walked down to the old wooden bridge, close to where Urs grew up. It's so picturesque  there.

The colours are so vibrant as you look through the geraniums at the turquoise river flowing slowly through the deep gorge into the city.

It's such an attractive city with its fabulous old buildings on the slopes. Like so many places I've visited over the past months, you get a good workout just walking around the city.Here we were under the sign for Hotel d' Ours. Appropriate for Urs.

We were spared the walk up to the station, thanks to one of the only working lifts in the world using waste water to run the lift. A brilliant idea.

Thanks so much to Marlis and Urs for a fantastic programme of visits, great food and company.  This photo was taken at lunchtime at a wonderful restaurant run by people recovering from psychological issues, and returning to the workforce. The food and venue were superb.

Farewell to Tafers and Fribourg for a few years.