Cheesy Road Trip: Rolling 100 Kilos of Swiss Fun!

A 100-kilogram wheel of cheese, known as Emmentaler, is going to be pushed or rolled 90 kilometers across Switzerland. This cheese adventure is a way to let people know about Swiss cheeses. It’s a unique event that involves people from a cheese factory in Canton Bern.

From October 21 to 28, folks in several Swiss regions like Canton Bern, Lucerne, Schwyz, Zug, and Zurich will see something unusual. They will witness a group of people pushing a huge cheese wheel along the roads. The route covers 90 kilometers, which is quite a distance. It starts at the Jumi cheese factory in Zäziwil and goes through Langnau, Entlebuch, Lucerne, Küssnacht am Rigi, Zug, Wädenswil, and Zurich before reaching Winterthur.

This cheese wheel is made using more than 1,000 liters of milk and weighs 100 kilograms. It’s about 90 centimeters wide. Along the way, the cheese will be part of special events, like an ice hockey match with the SCL Tigers on October 21. The cheese wheel will also travel across Lake Zurich on a boat before taking a tram ride in Zurich. Finally, it will reach the finish line in Winterthur, where the Mayor, Michael Künzle, and rapper Steff La Cheffe will help roll it. Even Schwingen champion Matthias Sempach will join in at some point. There will be tastings, concerts, and other activities along the cheese wheel’s route.

This whole spectacle is meant to raise awareness about Swiss cheese. The folks from the Jumi cheese factory say that more foreign cheese is being sold in Switzerland than locally produced cheese, which is a concern. In particular, the production of Emmental cheese has gone down in recent years. Rolling the 100-kilogram cheese wheel is a tough job, even for strong people. They need a break after covering a distance of 300 to 500 meters. Anyone who wants to help push the cheese is welcome, and people interested in following its journey can check the official website for updates.

After it reaches the finish line in Winterthur, some of the cheese will be sent to Swiss embassies worldwide. This way, Swiss representatives in different countries can enjoy a taste of home.