It’s easy to get up in the morning when you know that bread, cheese, jam, fresh juices and other wonderful goodies await you. We were up early because we wanted to be out on the trail and up the mountain early on the train in case we had some good weather. We weren’t prepared for what we saw after breakfast. We finished packing our bags to drop in the lobby, had our day packs ready to go, when we walked out onto our veranda and were completely dumbstruck by the site of the Matterhorn. It was giant and majestic as it towered over Zermatt with a commanding presence. It was hard to believe that the mountain had been there this whole time, shrouded from our vision by the clouds. It was immense. It was regal. It was the perfect finish to our long journey.
We rushed out of the hotel and over to the cog railroad to make our way up to the Gornergratt. The views from the train up the mountain were outstanding. With each turn of the cog the views grew more immense. More peaks. More glaciers. More expansive views! Soon we were above the clouds and the majesty of Zermatt was on full display. Any of the views along our hike were worth the trip, but this place blew them all away. It’s hard to even begin to describe the immensity and the grandeur that surrounded us. To be able to see this on a perfectly clear day was a great blessing. We road the train with a wonderful older couple from Palo Alto. It was fun to see how blown away they were by the views as well. We arrived at the top of the Gornegratt and ran like giddy kids on Christmas morning around the top of the mountain to take pictures and take in the panoramas. We were on top of the world and witnesses to the immensity of God’s creation. Everywhere we looked, we could hardly believe what we were seeing. The Matterhorn was just one majestic peak among the glaciers and precipices that culminate in this part of the Alps. It was awesome.
After spending time taking it all in, we hiked back down the Gornegratt to Riffelsee, where there are 2 lakes that reflect the Matterhorn. Picture time for Sara! Yelling at people to get out of the picture for Sara and getting a picture with a Toblerone in front of the Matterhorn was priceless. After a morning of visual delight, we headed back down the cog to our hotel. We gathered our belongings and headed to the train station. Riding first class is the way to go. We headed down to Visp, and then got on the bullet train to Zurich. It passed through the mountains, by Interlaken, and then to Bern. Soon enough, we had left the Alps, the pastoral side of Switzerland and were in the banking capital of Europe. It’s hard to believe that in 2 hours we were suddenly somewhere so far away.
We walked from the Zurich Central train station along the river to our hotel. The front desk clerk was from Portugal and was amazed that Mike spoke fluent Portuguese. It’s worth noting that everywhere we went, the service in Switzerland was amazing. It blows the service in America out of the water. The hotel overlooked lake Zurich and the old town. Dinner was a traditional Cordon Bleu and ridiculously tasty apple filled crepe with ice cream. How were we going to go back to America and eat normal food again?
We rushed out of the hotel and over to the cog railroad to make our way up to the Gornergratt. The views from the train up the mountain were outstanding. With each turn of the cog the views grew more immense. More peaks. More glaciers. More expansive views! Soon we were above the clouds and the majesty of Zermatt was on full display. Any of the views along our hike were worth the trip, but this place blew them all away. It’s hard to even begin to describe the immensity and the grandeur that surrounded us. To be able to see this on a perfectly clear day was a great blessing. We road the train with a wonderful older couple from Palo Alto. It was fun to see how blown away they were by the views as well. We arrived at the top of the Gornegratt and ran like giddy kids on Christmas morning around the top of the mountain to take pictures and take in the panoramas. We were on top of the world and witnesses to the immensity of God’s creation. Everywhere we looked, we could hardly believe what we were seeing. The Matterhorn was just one majestic peak among the glaciers and precipices that culminate in this part of the Alps. It was awesome.
After spending time taking it all in, we hiked back down the Gornegratt to Riffelsee, where there are 2 lakes that reflect the Matterhorn. Picture time for Sara! Yelling at people to get out of the picture for Sara and getting a picture with a Toblerone in front of the Matterhorn was priceless. After a morning of visual delight, we headed back down the cog to our hotel. We gathered our belongings and headed to the train station. Riding first class is the way to go. We headed down to Visp, and then got on the bullet train to Zurich. It passed through the mountains, by Interlaken, and then to Bern. Soon enough, we had left the Alps, the pastoral side of Switzerland and were in the banking capital of Europe. It’s hard to believe that in 2 hours we were suddenly somewhere so far away.
We walked from the Zurich Central train station along the river to our hotel. The front desk clerk was from Portugal and was amazed that Mike spoke fluent Portuguese. It’s worth noting that everywhere we went, the service in Switzerland was amazing. It blows the service in America out of the water. The hotel overlooked lake Zurich and the old town. Dinner was a traditional Cordon Bleu and ridiculously tasty apple filled crepe with ice cream. How were we going to go back to America and eat normal food again?
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