Swiss breakfast

I have been sorting through all the photographs I took in Switzerland and quietly reliving the holiday. We had such a great time that it would be difficult to pick out a favourite day but I think eating breakfast in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Schilthorn mountain was an experience that we will all remember.


This trip was also the most expensive thing we did so to take advantage of a 25% discount we went very early in the morning. From our holiday chalet we took a cable car, then a train and then finally the cable car to the summit. The final cable car was in two stages and as we moved to the cable car for the second leg of the ascent we were in thick cloud and the temperature was 2C. As we travelled up the last part I was beginning to wonder how much we would see from the top but just before the summit we emerged from the cloud into the sunlight.


This was the view when we got there, really magical.



This is a view of the restaurant. It was well worth getting up early because we were able to sit at a window table and enjoy a lovely breakfast while the inner part of the restaurant rotated giving us ever changing views of the mountains.

This is a view of the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau taken from the restaurant.

The breakfast buffet served in the restaurant was described as "all you can feast" and I think my two boys took that as a bit of a challenge! The food was excellent especially as it was served 10,000 feet up a mountain and all the food had come up the mountain by cable car. The boys feasted on scrambled egg and sausages before tackling cold meats, cheese, yoghurts and croissants - they certainly got value for money. I was too distracted by the scenery to do much more than sip my coffee and look out of the window but as it was Switzerland I did try a bowl of traditional Bircher Muesli. My normal breakfast muesli is just as it comes out of the packet with milk but Bircher muesli is soaked in either apple juice or milk and yoghurt overnight. Fruit such as grated apple or berries are also added.

Since coming home I have found some recipes for Bircher muesli. The basic recipe seems to be oats soaked overnight in milk or fruit juice with yoghurt and fruit added. I have been trying to recreate my Swiss breakfast, soaking Waitrose orchard fruit and berry muesli in a mixture of milk and yoghurt overnight and then in the morning adding some raspberries from the garden. The muesli at the restaurant was a very pale pink colour and I've found that by adding just a small amount of stewed blackcurrants I can have my own version of pink Bircher muesli at home.


So now I can imagine I am in Switzerland each morning although the view from the window is rather different!