September 17, 2019
Michael and I were in the mood for fish today. So, we took the train to Murten to visit our favorite restaurant there, Anatolia.
We took the train from Interlaken to Bern and then, from Bern to Murten. You have to be careful as this train splits in two in Kerzers with one section going toward Neuchâtel and the other section in the direction of Avenches. With these small regional trains, you always must be aware.
This section of Switzerland is especially known as “The Salad Bowl” for its agriculture. There are fields of leeks, carrots, asparagus, potatoes, red and green lettuce, cabbage, corn, sugar beets, etc. Tomatoes and beans are grown in hot houses.
Murten or Morat, is a German and French-speaking little medieval town on the south-east bank of the lake of the same name. It has preserved its original appearance, with the picturesque alleyways of the Old Town and the pleasant shady arcades.
Situated on the language border between French and German, the town has a lovely lakeside promenade and offers a wide range of water sports, cultural activities and other excursions.
Common Swifts like to nest in old buildings, towers and town walls. Murten hosts quite an impressive colony. The town has constructed nest boxes especially for the Swifts. A bird feeder is a nice addition, too.
Flowers, flowers, flowers grow all around the town.
This sign was outside of one florist store.
Two small flowers bloom in a meadow. One was red and the other was blue. The blue said; "Forget me not" the red said: "I love you".
The town's name derives from the Celtic word moriduno, meaning "lakeside fortress". It was first mentioned in 515 as a defensive place called "Muratum".
Thanks to its beautiful location on a slight hill above Lake Murten, the 800-year-old Zähringer town of Murten has become a popular tourist destination.
A town wall encircles the little town protectively. However, for a long time now the almost entirely preserved wall, the only one in Switzerland which you can walk all the way round, has not had to resist attackers, but rather has offered visitors a magnificent view of the nearby lake and the roofs of the Old Town. The museum in Murten has a large collection encompassing 6000 years of the history of the town and surrounding region (open from March to December).
Many ways to tell time.
I find the chimneys very interesting.
There is always one whom does not like to play by the rules! It applies to chimneys, too.
St. Mauritius Catholic Church is just outside the town walls.
I lit candles and wrote special prayer intentions for people.
A beautiful Marc Chagall bible is placed so you can always read the day's scriptures.
For a small town, they have many tea rooms and bakeries.
The distinctive feature of the Nidelkuchen is that at least five thin coats of cream are added to a light raised pastry base. The first three coats are lightly acidulated and sweetened and are added during the cooking. These form a fine coat of caramel, which softens when the last two coats of Gruyere double cream are added. A clever mixture that makes this tart a creamy delight that melts in the mouth.
This is a very very rich and very very sweet dessert. We always have a piece to share but today we decided to be good.
Nidelkuchen is only found in this town. Other towns have different specialty desserts.
How much do you want cut off?
Anyone discovering this holiday region on wheels or roller-blades will certainly get their money's worth. With 170 km of cycle paths and 90 km of tracks for inline skaters, they could hardly ask for more. There is one particularly popular cycle route, especially suitable for families, going from the medieval Murten to the 2000-year-old Avenches and back, while another takes you all round the lake in about two hours, or can be extended as far as Mont Vully.
Murten offers lots of opportunities for excursions by boat, on foot or by bike. The boat trip from Murten to the wine-growing region of Vully takes about an hour. You can also do trips taking in two or three lakes, by passing through canals to the lakes of Neuchâtel and Biel-Bienne. Lake Murten is a popular bathing lake, where the temperature becomes pleasantly warm quite early in the summer. It was 80 degrees in Murten and many people took advantage of the warm weather and took a swim in the lake. Sailing, windsurfing, water-skiing, wake boarding, surf-biking, rowing, pedal boating, canoeing, lake kayaking, stand up paddling and angling – you can do almost anything here.
The slopes of Mont Vully offer a wonderful panoramic view of the Jura and the Alps. On these slopes, they cultivate refreshing wines which go wonderfully well with fish from the lake. The Vully wines can be tasted in wine cellars and tasting centers. Michael and I love a bottle of Vully with cheese and the perch from the lake. Pairs so well!
Mont Vully is across the lake from Murten.
Of course, Michael and I sat at “our table” at the Anatolia Restaurant. Michael switched and had the perch fillets in a lemon sauce. This has always been my favorite! Salted potatoes came with the fish.
We first started with a salad topped with dried red currants. It came with a pomegranate dressing.
Fresh warm crusty bread helped mop up the salad dressing as well as the lemon sauce. Almost forgot to take a picture of the bread.
My plate was spotless.
The lady at the next table had the stuffed eggplant. Looked quite interesting!
At the larger train stations they have free copies of the 20 minuten. You can read the paper in 20 minutes while you are sitting on the train .
This article said pigs have similar needs to dogs.
