Moutain magic

摘要

The Appenzeller countryside, with its grazing Swiss Brown cows and bright autumn trees, was the ideal setting for the third Mountain Cheese Olympics and the 2004 Swiss Cheese Awards. For three days at the end of October, the village square in Appenzell was transformed into a cheese market, where 43 mini chalets offered every type of mountain cheese from Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy and Germany. The Mountain Cheese Olympics was organised by the Caseus Montanus, founded in 2002 'to promote the mountain region economy beyond national borders'. The competition, divided into 16 classes, attracted more than 400 entrants this year, with cheeses coming from Mexico, Ethiopia and Japan as well as Europe. The official marquee had a display of cheeses in transparent mushroom shapes surrounding a milk lake with fountains and arches of milk.