Day 5 - The Green Mountains of Vermont

The past few days, the sun was gentle to us and shined its golden warm rays over us under a blue sky. But today that blue sky cannot be seen and there is a stubborn cloud cover hanging over us. Just now as we are driving to the state of Vermont, the state where we hoped to see the Indian Summer at its best.

The cool nights and cool mornings that we have been experiencing for several days, make the chlorophyll, which provides the green color of the leaves, stop working so that other color pigments become visible and the leaves turn into beautiful colors. The tree that first becomes a ‘victim’ is the so-called red maple. This maple turns into a beacon of fiery red leaves and provides the first sign of the Indian Summer. This is followed by the sugar maple trees that discolor in shades of sunny yellow to deep orange. Add to that the sparkle of the golden birches and the evergreen pine trees and you get a colorful painters palette. It is this variety of deciduous and coniferous trees that makes Vermont so attractive during the fall and therefore also for the Indian Summer enthusiast. The name Indian Summer has indeed to do with the Indians. This people lived to the rhythm of nature and not like us according to the calendar, and knew that when the leaves began to discolor, the last part of the summer began and the long, dark, cold winter was approaching. Today we were hoping for one of those beautiful early autumn days, in which we would  inhale cold air into our lungs in the early hours, after which the sun would heat up the temperatures to a comfortable height and we would only see our sweaters and coats back in the evening hours when a chilly breeze and cold wind take over New England. But today we are not that lucky: dark weather and thick, gray threatening clouds are the boss today. Our first stop is the capital of Vermont: Montpelier. The capitol can be visited for free.

As soon as we leave the capitol, the first raindrops fall. We will not really enjoy our road trip today. I had been looking so much forward to Stowe. A lovely and typical New England village and a famous and popular ski resort. A little Alpine feeling in the Green Mountains. I spontaneously burst out in ‘The Sound of Music’. Not because I see alpine meadows or edelweiss flowers in the corners of my eyes, but because of the fact that the Von Trapp family found a new home here after their daring escape from Nazi Austria. Their Von Trapp Familiy lodge is located high in the mountains and is one of the most popular hotels in the region. There is currently little to see of those beautiful surrounding mountains. Grayness is present and rain is a fact. Under a blue sky, this village will undoubtedly be a picture. The church is positioned stately in the middle of the main street.

It is a typical white wooden New England church with a high, pointed tower. You can find them with thirteen in a dozen but they are so picturesque. Add to that the colored wooden houses and shops, and you have the perfect mix for a classic New England village. Logging is one of the most important industries in New England. New England is one giant forest, trees in abundance. A wooden house is therefore a cheaper solution than a stone house and, on top of that, wood insulates much better than stone. Hence the popularity in this region. All those colored facades, on their own and together as a colorful collection, give the village its character and a certain charm. The charm of Stowe also lies in the surrounding mountains, now probably adorned in beautiful fall colors. There are a lot  sugar maples in those mountains. The famous maple syrup is therefore one of the most important products of Vermont. Maple syrup comes with a price tag. Because to get one liter of syrup, you need 40 liters of juice, which is collected during the first spring months with still cold nights, but pleasant days, when the first leaves begin to bud and the flow of juice starts to flow. The yield is one liter of maple syrup per tree. But it is oh so delicious and, above all, a healthy alternative to our refined sugar.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are two friends from New York who, one day in 1978, had the bright idea of ​​taking an ice cream course at the University of Penn State. Cost of the course: a staggering $ 5. With their own resources and partly collected and borrowed money, they bought an old gas station in the city of Burlington a year later and renovated it into an ice cream parlor for $ 12,000. It was also their only investment. Ben & Jerry’s was born. In 1979 they celebrated their one-year anniversary with a big party: a free cone for every customer. This tradition continues to date in every Ben & Jerry’s worldwide. The only difference: to maximize the surprise effect and to prevent everyone from coming to get a free ice cream, the ‘free cone day’ falls on any day and is not previously announced. Our friends could and can make ice cream as the best. They use  whole cream and milk from local Vermont farmers. Local, natural and honest products are very important and for them also a principle issue. The black-and-white Hogstein cow ​​became the symbol and can still be found on the packaging to this day. Ben Cohen suffers from anosmia, the inability to smell or taste. In order to enjoy and ‘taste’, he uses different structures in his food. And those structures, the so-called ‘chunks’, became the basis of their world-famous ice cream: ice cream with all kinds of ‘pieces’.

The simple vanilla or chocolate ice cream has since been replaced by unique combinations and flavors and accompanying hip names. How about strawberry cheesecake, chocolate fudge brownie, chunky monkey, half baked and the most popular of them all and my absolute favorite: cookie dough. They conquered the world with it. The first franchise store was opened in 1981 and in 1983 the largest sundae in the world was made with Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. And from then on it went fast. The ice cream was also offered in stores, supermarkets and gas stations in half-liter containers and in the meantime also found its way to Belgian shops. Nothing is left standing from the original ice cream parlor on the corner of St. Paul Street and College Street. It was demolished to construct a parking lot. Only a plaque reminds us of the first success. Fortunately, a new ice cream parlor has been errected on the corner of Cherrry Street and Church Street, a few blocks away.

You can still eat or buy your scoop of ice cream there to go. In the meantime, Ben & Jerry's was bought by Unilever. Did our principle friends sell their souls to the devil? Maybe. Nevertheless, the sales agreement states that nothing can be changed, not even the name, and they received the eternal promise that 10% of the proceeds will still go to charities.

In the meantime, production takes place in the Ben & Jerry’s factory located on the road between Stowe and Burlington that can also be visited. You learn everything about making ice cream and with a little luck you can also taste new flavors. But you don't have to travel all the way to Vermont to taste a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. When you pass a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlor, step inside. Maybe it's ‘free cone day’.

Although Ben & Jerry’s put Burlington on the map, this city was already a popular place before that. One of the oldest universities in the country, the University of Vermont, is located here. More than half of the inhabitants are either students or working at the university. The city is located on the edge of charming Lake Champlain. You can take a boat trip on the gigantic lake that is sometimes called the sixth of the Great Lakes due to its dimensions or you can explore the city on foot. There is a small center with a pleasant pedestrianized shopping street with lovely terraces, great restaurants and a variety of shops in beautiful buildings.