The last leg of our trip across the country was a stop at Zermatt, a cute little alpine resort village way up high in the mountains, beneath the shadow of the Matterhorn. You know, the mountain on the Toblerone bar? Yup.
From Geneva, we drove along the lake and got to see the beautiful countryside vineyards that grow on staggering slopes along the shore. Our guide, Armin, was almost on the verge of tears, however, because the weather was so bad and we did
not get to see one of the most beautiful parts of Switzerland on a nice day. Despite the fog and gloom, I thought it was still pretty. Minnesotans, you are not alone in your extended winter and late spring. In Switzerland, this year has apparently been the worst spring since 50 years ago. But I'll take it.
From Geneva, we drove along the lake and got to see the beautiful countryside vineyards that grow on staggering slopes along the shore. Our guide, Armin, was almost on the verge of tears, however, because the weather was so bad and we did
not get to see one of the most beautiful parts of Switzerland on a nice day. Despite the fog and gloom, I thought it was still pretty. Minnesotans, you are not alone in your extended winter and late spring. In Switzerland, this year has apparently been the worst spring since 50 years ago. But I'll take it.
One cool thing about Zermatt is that no car traffic is allowed aside from the hotel taxis that run between hotels and the train station. We had to park our bus in the nearby town of Tasch and take the train up to Zermatt. The drive to Tasch by bus was a little nerve-wracking because guard rails were only present when nothing else was at the edge of the road. But the views were unreal! I had to keep yawning to adjust the pressure in my ears as we climbed higher.
We finally got to our hotel in Zermatt at about 5:30pm. Can you say TOURIST TOWN? I embraced it shamelessly and pounced on the chance to do some serious souvenir shopping. It felt great. After the shops closed at around 6:30, we returned for the dinner at the hotel that had been arranged for us. The hotel was so charming with its heart decor everywhere. And the food did not disappoint. When we are not eating cafeteria food, they really feed us well on this trip, which I am thankful for. Even when we are eating cafeteria food, it is not that bad.
We finally got to our hotel in Zermatt at about 5:30pm. Can you say TOURIST TOWN? I embraced it shamelessly and pounced on the chance to do some serious souvenir shopping. It felt great. After the shops closed at around 6:30, we returned for the dinner at the hotel that had been arranged for us. The hotel was so charming with its heart decor everywhere. And the food did not disappoint. When we are not eating cafeteria food, they really feed us well on this trip, which I am thankful for. Even when we are eating cafeteria food, it is not that bad.
The weather that night was still cloudy and drizzly. A lot of us were unwilling to face the fact that if the weather was still not clear by morning, we would not go up to Gornergrat to see the alps because it just would not be worth it. We would not be able to see a thing. Our back-up plan was to visit a nearby castle instead. Everyone was crossing their fingers for a miracle. That night, I was so tired I went to bed early and got my first solid eight hours of sleep of this entire trip. It felt SO great.
I woke up the next morning and dared to peek out the curtains. It did not seem particularly sunshiny from what I could see in the space between buildings, but I opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony (yes, our hotel had a balcony), and looked up to see clear blue sky! Smiling to myself, I finished getting ready and went down to breakfast. There I found more tasteful heart decorations everywhere. I was also greeted by buttery croissants with nutella and one of my fellow students who was excited to tell me that the Matterhorn was visible from the street outside our hotel. Sure enough.
I woke up the next morning and dared to peek out the curtains. It did not seem particularly sunshiny from what I could see in the space between buildings, but I opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony (yes, our hotel had a balcony), and looked up to see clear blue sky! Smiling to myself, I finished getting ready and went down to breakfast. There I found more tasteful heart decorations everywhere. I was also greeted by buttery croissants with nutella and one of my fellow students who was excited to tell me that the Matterhorn was visible from the street outside our hotel. Sure enough.
We got to go up the mountain! Everyone was pumped. It is amazing the difference a little sunshine makes in everyone's energy level. It was a 45 minute scenic train ride up the mountain of Gornergrat where we would be able to have a good view of the mountains and the glacier. At the top, it was quiet like I was in an acoustically treated room, despite the mad mobs of tourists everywhere, and the sun was noticeably hotter on my skin. I have never seen such a vast expanse of untrodden snow in my life. The sun and the snow made it impossible to open my eyes without sunglasses. Speaking of sun, I think this is the only time I have had to wear sunscreen on this trip. My goal of not getting sunburned has been pretty easy to achieve, despite my initial prediction. In fact, I was one of the few people who did NOT get sunburned that day. Most everyone else was red in the face by evening with nice sunglasses tan lines.
Here are some of the views I got to witness:
Here are some of the views I got to witness:
Aside from mountains, I got to see some baby mountain goats (I'm not sure what exactly they were) and some black birds with yellow beaks that are common at high altitudes. Some of the tourists were taunting them with food and they were congregating on the ledge.
We stayed up there for about an hour and a half. When it was time to go, sure enough, the clouds rolled in and the Matterhorn disappeared again. We lucked out and got the only two hours of clear skies that day to view the tops of the alps. What a day.