"Travelling by train from Lausanne to Zurich I felt like a break in the city of Biel/Bienne to have a bite and to try some local wine, since the area around the lake of Biel is a well known wine growing area. On that warm summer evening most locals had been heading towards the lake, thus the center was rather quiet. From the railway station I walked down the Bahnhofstrasse, where there are no cars, only city busses going through. On the right hand side can be found several eateries with outdoor seating. I chose the last one with almost no guests, but a friendly looking waitress. My order had been a glass of local white wine as a starter and the excellent waitress, who was also very informed about wine growing, recommended me a 'Schafiser '. Schafis is a village near the lake and it has given here the name to the Chasselas grape, which is so popular all over Western Switzerland and which is known as 'Fendant ' in the Valais. The modern looking restaurant in a functionalist style has all kind of dishes, also Fondue and Steak Tartare, but I went for a 'Falken Plättli '. On a plate of black slate are served cold cuts (roast beef, dry-cured ham, salami) and very little cheese, all topped by gherkins, caper berries and baby-tomatoes. Slices of dark bread and butter come with it and also a peppermill is brought along. To accompany the dish I asked for some local red wine and the waitress suggested a 'Pinot Noir ' from the village of Ligerz. The two deciliter came in a small caraffe. It was a quiet dinner and I enjoyed sitting outside and doing some people watching. After the tourist crowds of Montreux a few hours earlier it was relaxing to see no tourists here,on the other hand a for Switzerland surprising high number of obviously local residents with overseas roots."
