Thanksgiving in Switzerland - The Chalet

Even though the Skyline Chili Thanksgiving Celebration had been a success, it did not quench the cravings for a real thanksgiving dinner of turkey and stuffing and sweet potatos. We decided the best solution would be to throw a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday, November 25. This would allow an entire day for the cooking.

And what better place to have Thanksgiving dinner than in Switzerland.

As it happens, Tim Whittaker spend some time working in Geneva and his former boss just happens to own a chalet near the village of Les Mosses. The village sits at about 1500 meters and is not too far from the towns of Lausanne and Montreaux, which sit on the banks of Lake Geneva. It is an old Swiss farmhouse that has been converted to a ski lodge with ability to sleep about 20 people. What better place to make a week-end.

The intro picture shows the chalet. Originally, the family would have lived in this front portion and the back and lower portion of the building would have served as the barn and hayloft. The picture below shows the wall in the bathroom. At one time, this was the feeding area for the cows. The strange bumps and grooves in the wall were caused by the constant rubbing of the cow heads against the wooden beams as they would eat.

Below is a picture of the village of Les Mosses as seen from the chalet. Last year, because of 2 feet of snow, we had to park down in the village and hike up the side of the mountain to get to the chalet. We did this in the dark carrying all the provisions for a thanksgiving feast. Last year it took over an hour to climb that mountain and was like a scene some disaster film. This year, the snows are late and we were able to drive right up to the chalet. Thank heaven for little favors.

For the record, the group that went to the chalet included: Tim and Andrea, Jill and Chris, Wade and Patrick, Joe, Daniela, Theresa and I.