Swiss Sunshine & Snow
We made the effort to start the day early so that we could get ourselves to Zermatt by late morning. Montreux greeted us with dark skies and rain but the fingers-crossed forecast for Zermatt was for sunshine.
The last leg of the train trip was another spectacular journey as we headed towards Switzerland's most iconic Alpine village.
Train from Montreux to Zermatt
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| Blue glacier ice in the middle of this pic |
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| A closer look |
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| A "Wallis" sheep |
Zermatt is the gateway to some of Switzerland's most spectacular ski runs with the Matterhorn as it's backdrop. The village is spotlessly clean and is car-free. The only vehicles allowed are little electric buggies and even the number of these allowed is rigorously monitored. The village itself is quite picturesque, full of chalets and hotels geared up for ski bunnies and outdoor junkies alike.
Cog Railway from Zermatt up to Gornergrat
And so to the top - yes that is sunshine you can see in the photos, and yes, that is Georgina in a tank top and 3/4 pants. Well it was a balmy -5 degrees so what else would you expect from G? Our time up here was simply one of those indescribable experiences leaving all 3 of us utterly speechless. It wasn't a bad spot for lunch either!!
Arriving at the top looking over to the Matterhorn
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| A local Swiss Marmot |
Here's what a Marmot looks like from the front
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| Even the railway signs look Swiss! |
Unfortunately what goes up....... so we hopped back on the train for the trip back to Zermatt and to The Butterfly Hotel and up to our room. The hotel was the typical Alpine village-style from the outside and the rooms all had balconies with gorgeous views. By far the best 3-star hotel we have stayed in during our time in Switzerland.
The afternoon was spent strolling through Zermatt and just taking our time to enjoy the sunshine and relaxed village pace. The hotel had such a lovely little bar area Caz and Caron met up for drinks and dinner while Georgina got some well-earned rest. Being at such a high altitude the temperature was brisk enough to chill our drinks out on the balcony so Caz could even have a cold beer after dinner in the room! Our drinks for the next day were extremely well chilled overnight. Thanks for the tip G!
Zermatt Day 2
As we only had the one night in Zermatt and had to catch the train to Zurich at 1.40pm we were determined to make the most of every minute so after an early breakfast we headed up to the cable car rides of our lives - to the Klein Matterhorn at 3883m. This final stop is officially the highest cable car in Europe at the Klein Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. We rode 3 different cable cars (Zermatt to Furi, Furi to Trockener Steg and Trockener Steg to Klein Matterhorn), sharing the first two with skiers and snowboarders (there are ski runs open throughout the year as snow falls 300 days a year!) and the last with just 2 other people. Georgina can sometimes struggle with heights but with this as her backdrop she managed these cable cars with ease:
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| Yes you do go down then up like a swing! |
We both felt the change in altitude a little, even Georgina who is very fit, so took a few moments to slow things down and adjust. I guess that's to be expected when you arrive at the highest altitude mountain railway in Europe! A little difficult when it's -10 degrees and all you want to do is speed things up to keep warm! After a visit into the Glacier Palace (the highest in the world) we had quick stop at the summit cafe to warm up (Georgina even rested her hands on their hot food counter to try to get the feeling back into her finger tips) and off we went to the highest viewing platform.
Matterhorn Glacier Palace
The weather simply couldn't have been better for us. In fact when we were at the viewing summit there was a local guide pointing out the different peaks to her group of mainly-Aussie tourists and when asked what a particular mountain range was she said "no-one ever sees these mountains - they are somewhere in Italy", meaning that today was truly one of the rare days to see far and wide. We were thoroughly spoilt and perhaps amongst the very few who get the chance to see so much of Europe in the one place. We struck up a conversation and met some local Adelaidians who knew two of Georgina's friends. Even here with less than 20 other people around us there was a connection! Georgina also gave them tips on using their cameras to take panoramic shots.
Here we are at 3883m....
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| Highest peak you can see is the Matterhorn |
For us this was one of those moments in life when you feel truly humbled, privileged and perhaps a little insignificant. We're quite lost for words really. If you are ever anywhere remotely near Switzerland.......
Sadly this was the last of our real holiday time under the Swiss flag with the next night in Zurich really only a place to rest our heads before starting the journey home via Frankfurt and on to Singapore.
One of the reasons we both fell in love with Switzerland was the local attitude towards life and making the most of what surrounds you. At every chance the Swiss will be out hiking, skiing, exercising, or just strolling along with the dogs to get out in the fresh air. It's all about being outdoors. The Swiss are also incredibly proud (and rightly so) of being a neutral and autonomous nation; it is so very important to everyone here. At one stage Georgina had to get an another adaptor for our European adaptor (go figure!) and asked the gentleman at the hotel reception desk why Switzerland had a different set up to the surrounding countries, and he replied with a lovely smile "we are Switzerland, we are just different". We have been greeted with smiles and warm greetings throughout our time here. Perhaps one of the things that separates the traveller from the tourist is our genuine interest in learning something about the person who is on the other side of the desk. A warm smile does go both ways and can make such a difference to your travel experience.
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| Our very own private cable car |
We have made a promise to return to Switzerland and really make time to enjoy some of the outdoor life here and we are already very much looking forward to it. This is definitely a promise to each other that we intend to keep.
We'll be back! (G has decided we're spending her 40th walking in Switzerland..planning has already begun!)
