Zermatt

The Matterhorn

To give credit where credit is due, Tony excelled himself in choosing to re-visit here. I admit to a certain hesitation when it was mentioned that it be included in our travels...but it is everything it was claimed to be.

We spent 10 hours passing through Italy into Switzerland by train. Saw beautiful lakes, mountains, townships, villages; crossed through plains and wetlands; agriculture and livestock- such a diversity of landscape - easy and enjoyable. We had three connections, all were straightforward...even with the Besser pallets we call suitcases!

Zermatt sits in a valley surrounded by The Alps, on the border of Switzerland and Italy. Overlooked by the Matterhorn, one of 28 mountains over 4000 metres in the area. It is a skiers paradise in the winter and boasts several summer pastimes including hiking, hangliding, mountain biking (in the true sense) and mountain climbing. There is an abundance of eateries...from sausage stands, creperies, chocolatiers, bakeries(mmm!! not over these yet) to pubs meals, Italian; Thai; Japanese; German restaurants. We succumbed to the Italian, Japanese and Thai . Tony is still in love with good fresh crusty rolls filled with ham and cheese (he will eat them for breakfast, lunch and, if I let him, for tea).

Streets of Zermatt

Our accommodation was fabulous..a boutique type hotel and from our bedroom window we had an un-interrupted view of the Matterhorn. The decor was a mixture of timber, glass, brushed aluminum and wrought iron, complimented by a plain color scheme of creams and whites in different textures. The light fittings were glass , wrought iron and strands of beads, twisted into an art -deco style chandeliers. The floor of the main lounge which was square-shaped, was a grid of 16 glass squares, through which you could view the hotels swimming /plunge pool. The ambience was elegant and understated..somewhere Michelle-ma-Belle would be totally at home in...

Dining Area

Lounge Area

Our first day we went for a hike up towards the Matterhorn..it was a 5km walk over which we climbed just under 1000 m in altitude. The day was clear, blue skies and sunny...and as we went up we passed a pretty outdoor cafe , you know the kind with checked tablecloths; went up further and passed a place which sold you fresh milk cows milk - I assume from the ones which were grazing with the bells around their necks; it was about this spot Tony spotted two marmutes (a beaver -like animal) coming out from their hidey-hole, I was still hoping to catch sight of a deer; we kept climbing, winding through the wooded path and every so often we would walk along side or pass under the cable car we had to catch back down. Peripherally we would get an idea of how high we were getting, as the mountains became closer and the path became narrower and the thought of catching the car down was becoming the focal point. It is much easier just to look down and keep walking, nevertheless the time of reckoning was closing in.On the way up I had thought of a way to ride the cable car to get back down. The several times I had suggested we walk back was met with deathly silence from my companion!!! so I was using the old grey matter (NO not my hair!) big time to work a way around it.

Yes..there ARE cows if you look hard

Not far now!

View from path

Looking down over Zermatt

At the top we sat in the sun and munched on...you guessed it , a crusty ham and cheese roll for Tony... the mountains were magnificent, not all were covered in snow, so the contrast of shale, rock and snow was very captivating...and I was "very captivated" trying to put off the inevitable.

I am pretty pleased with the solution to my dilemma..this area was way higher than Sabine's slope and it was a thought that just flashed into my head. I was hoping and praying that Tony and I would have the car to ourselves...as it came around I got and sat down , facing away from the downward view....then I promptly put Tony's black polar fleece jacket over my head and shut my eyes, just make sure!! Easy peasy!

The following day was Saturday and Tone was pretty keen to catch the train, which runs on a cog system, up to the other side from where we were the day before. We left at 9 as we had stuff lined up early in the afternoon and we wanted to make the most of it. The day again was gorgeous, the train itself has these really big windows. which come over to part of the roofline, so you can see the mountain tops, as you go. We arrived at Gronergrat and walked around for a while ...looking down over part of the glacier system which exists for 25 sq kms... you could see where the glacier had channeled it's way down the mountain and in one spot there was a hole about the size of a spa, it's water being a really deep blue/black. We decided to walk back down to the next train station..lots of walkers in both directions; doing different levels of difficulty and heaps of mature walkers striding it out as if it's a mere walk in the park rather than a steep uphill climb!!!

Vikki & Tony at Gronergrat

Walk back from Gronergrat

We were back in the village by 1pm and I managed to get my hair done...while Tony scored the rugby -Australia v Wales. He was pretty stoked - even if it was in French, he didn't mind because he does his own commentary anyway!!! Mattie, Nic and Spud were at the game and the text messages were flying all the way through it...from Matt's end anyway, Tony's fingers hardly fly.

It is a great place to visit...there is plenty to do (or not, just soak in the view); plenty of choices to eat and plenty of people to spend time with if you so choose. It would be a very romantic getaway ...for anyone already over this side of the world :) , thoroughly recommend it

Tomorrow we move onto Madrid to catch up with Andrew and Cathy..