Day 54 – new city day
July 20 (Sun) – to Zermatt, Switzerland
- After breakfast, we gathered up and leisurely headed to the train station.
- The train was on time and very nice. We sat with a nice couple from Victoria Canada. They travel by “house swap” and traded with a couple from Zurich. They do day trips radiating out from that city. This was one of their long days, their second train, and they had at least one more (maybe two). They were going to get back to Zurich pretty darn late. But they were seeing it all….and for a lot less than those of us in hotels!
- Our train views were a lot like Colorado rivers alongside highways except with glacier water.
- We could also see lots of ski resorts. They are strangely different from the ones in the US, though. You can see the lifts, but you can’t find the runs.
- There were also about a million Swiss chalets scattered all over the countryside. They seem to be fully off grid and not even insulated, but I guess it’s better than needing to carry a tent. We would soon learn that the popular image of a Swiss hiker isn’t just a stereotype, it’s a reality.
- One of the sights on our journey was a very long (280m) pedestrian suspension bridge, the Goms. It crossed a very deep 92m cavern that connected the train station to the small town. I was very glad we were only looking at it in passing and that I didn’t have to put my feet on it. I’m not sure what they did before 2015. Maybe that town wasn’t connected to the rail?
- When the train rolled into Zermatt, we were impressed by the quite picturesque alpine ski town.
- Restaurants were still ultra expensive, so we went to a grocery store for sandwich stuff, Cokes, salads (including a pickle-based pasta salad that was very good), snacks for later, and wine.
- While we ate, it sprinkled a little but was done before our walk back to our hotel.
Day 55 – Zermatt
July 21 (Mon) –
- Since breakfast here went until 11am, we slept in until 10am. It was pretty similar to the others: cold cuts, bread/toast, yogurt, cereal, eggs, but this one has bacon!
- Next, we got Cokes from the grocery, and then sat for a while to watch helicopters maybe doing training exercises. One time, they carried a guy on a cable. Every pass, they dipped into a canyon.
- Next we walked over to the bridge that’s one of the view points for the Matterhorn. There, we also saw the running glacial waters. Then found another (better) viewing spot with a deck, benches, and a telescope.
- After siesta one, we walked the long way around to have lunch at the (not Brown Chicken) Brown Cow. We had burgers, and our server was named Sebastian!
- We went back to the benches for viewing the Matterhorn hoping the clouds had gone away, but they had not. (which we later came back to find L camera lens cap)
- We took advantage of a city fountain and filled our water bottles.
- We needed another Coke break (and without a fridge in our room, we made a lot of runs for these). They were restocked, so they were warm. We also got a couple of treats.
- And that’s when I realized my lens cap was missing. We retraced our steps. It was not at the Brown Cow. But it was being “baby sat” by two lovely women on the bench facing the Matterhorn. They were so happy for me that I found it. I’ve had trouble with it ever since I got this camera. I don’t know if it needs to be broken in or if it’s just a terrible design, but it doesn’t stay on very well. Still, I’m glad we found it so it’s not exposed for the rest of our trip.
- I wanted wine, so we popped into a wine shop, but the cheapest I saw was 39CHF and I didn’t recognize a single variety, nevermind label. I guess it’s cool that there is a fancy wine shop, but that’s just not who I am.
- After all the back and forth, the walk back to our hotel for siesta 2 seemed very long. And it was; we did a lot more steps on that day than just about any other of our whole trip. And Zermatt isn’t even that big.
- When we did get back to the hotel, the lobby was very quiet, so I asked the Front Desk Attendant to teach us how skiing works here. It seems that runs are far less defined and people just ski all over and wherever. We also learned that they take a bus from Zermatt to the lifts. She also said that people snowboard all summer, too. It’s probably not the best snowboarding, but there is snow year round.
- The rest of the afternoon was filled with helicopters. A lot of people must have booked tours with them.
- While he napped and I dozed, nature had a fight. I think birds were getting territorial.
- For dinner, we went back to the grocery and then ate in our room. It’s not even just the cost; it’s also that there isn’t much that’s just normal. Everything is all fancified. We like that too, but not for every meal.
- With one more check on the Matterhorn, we learned it still had a cloud hanging around.
- He met another kitty in our neighborhood while having his dinner on our little patio.
Day 56 – Zermatt’s Matterhorn
July 22 (Tue) – the day we met her
- We did our usual morning routine, but when we saw the Matterhorn on the webcam we rushed a bit more.
- It was a gorgeous day. We saw several parachutists. The first one we saw was landing in town and was in a reflection on a window at our hotel.
- We walked 1000+ steps to the good Matterhorn viewpoint. She’s so pretty! This is why we spent the extra two days in Chur. We were waiting for the weather to cooperate so we could see the Matterhorn.
- At the view point, we found a group of young men (through hikers?) drinking beer and energy drinks…at the same time. LOL! Lots of families and small groups were also there taking lots of selfies. Everyone was taking pics of each other; it was like a small party.
- After getting about 892 pictures, we grabbed Cokes, watched some tennis, and marveled at all the parachutes.
- Since we were trying not to blow our entire travel budget in one country, we decided to have lunch at the foreign-to-us McDonald’s. They always have some local-inspired food. They had a chicken/bacon raclette! It was heavily modified, of course, but it was good for fast food. I was reminded of our honeymoon and the veggie nuggets the Greek McDonalds had during lent.
- Having accomplished our goals for Zermatt, we did a small siesta, a tiny bit of shopping, and another siesta.
- For dinner, we went to a nice hotel restaurant (where the rooms are like $1000/night) for Chateaubriand vom Black Angus steak, spinach, rosemary potatoes, potatoes au gratin, and sauces. It came with a 35 minute prep time, so we were given a lovely amuse-bouche from the chef (that included a duck liver aspic). We also had a variety of breads and my wine. The 35 minutes went by very quickly. Our food was amazing. And, dinner came with a couple of short shows…
- A family seated near us had had a rough day and were using this fancy restaurant to have their “high-low” moment and de-briefing of the day. We know way too much about them all, including that the woman is (Type 1 by my guess) diabetic. It seems she had some kind of episode earlier in the day and it was rough on them all as a family. She got up from the table for something and we noticed her cute “set” (all the fashion rage right now, it seems) of a tee and some fancy elastic waist pants made from what might have been raw silk. It was a dusty aqua color and looked a lot like scrubs. I guess to break the tension, her husband called her back to the table and said she was needed in the ER stat. I managed to keep my laughter on the inside.
- Then, a French family with a toddler came in. And despite a mostly-empty restaurant, they were seated next to us. I was so nervous, especially when the staff found a high chair. But I was happy to be wrong. This kid had its dinner bottle and then watched a kpop video on a loop on a phone. It was so refreshing to see good parents keep their kiddo’s needs met.
- But the next bit really almost did make me LOL!. One of the guys (the wife’s brother maybe?) was also wearing a matching set; his was black with white graphics. He looked like he was ready for a 1985 album/cassette release party. During their wine order, he told the server, “I’m from Napa CA”. The waiter didn’t miss a beat and said, “oh I think I’ve heard that they have wine.”
- After a lovely (and entertaining!) dinner, we looked for an open bar, but at 9pm, that was not easy to do. After a couple of tries, we ended up at our hotel bar only to be kicked out after one drink because we were the only ones there.
