A Day in the Alps

After a breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we drove about 20 minutes to catch a train to Zermatt. There were some switchbacks on the road which makes you marvel at the engineering that goes into creating roads in this terrain. We went through one mountain tunnel that was about 2 miles long. 

Without too much trouble, we found the parking lot, purchased train tickets, and ran to catch the train before it pulled out of the station. There are very few cars allowed in Zermatt so everyone arrives by train. 

About 10 minutes later, we arrived in Zermatt which reminded us both of the city of Banff and Mackinac Island. Many of the restaurants and hotels aren't open yet but there were plenty of people around and places to serve them. Zermatt's elevation is 5.315'. Much of the town "goes up hill" - when you arrive that is. We had a bit of trouble finding the place to get tickets to get to the highest point possible which is Matterhorn Glacier Paradise (12,740'). We were scheduled to take the first cable car at 1:30 so we had a bit of time to kill. I got a couple of gifts in the shops and got lost on the way back to where Dave was sitting. With most of the walking "going up," having to take extra steps isn't ideal.

It was another glorious day - full sun and about 74 in Zermatt and about 25 on the glacier. We rode the cable car to the first stop - a ride that made me nervous but Dave was okay with it. We switched to a gondola and went to the next stop and then a different gondola to the top. Dave was very nervous in the gondolas but I loved it. The views were spectacular! 

It was much colder at the top - especially in the ice tunnels. Tunnels have been carved out of the mountain - tunnels which are completely covered in very thick ice. Rubber mats line the floor so you can walk around. About six very impressive ice sculptures are throughout the tunnels. It was truly amazing in there.

We had to use an elevator to get to the "next place." It was a bit scary. There was no indication if we were going up or down. The two of us were in this small metal box inside a mountain. What it if stopped?!! We got to the "panoramic viewing platform" and hesitated to go up as the steps/flooring were metal grates. Some were packed with snow and others, not so much. But we came all this way so we were going up there! Words can't express the beauty of what we saw. You could see over 40 mountain peaks including the Matterhorn - which is world famous. On the other side of the Matterhorn is Italy. The air was clean and crisp. It was quite warm with the sun shining brightly. At almost 13,000 feet, this is the highest we've ever been.

There were lots of skiers. You can ski year round there. We went to one of the spots the skiers left from and saw someone parasailing down the mountain. That looked amazing but terrifying. There were also 20 or so people hiking up to the highest "hikable" peak. Since we left our sherpas at home - along with our crampons - we decided not to do the hike. 😁

We took the two gondolas down but decided to hike down the last leg of the journey - from Furi (6,125') to Zermatt (5,315'). It was 5 kms and took us an hour and 45 mins. It was easy walking in that we were always on "roads" but that's were the easy part ended. The first bit was climbing up and then we went down, at steep declines, for most of the hike. The scenery was breathtaking. We came across a couple of tiny villages (a few houses), the oldest being Zematt (from the 1200s). By the time we were back in Zermatt, our knees were unhappy.

The day ended with supper at an outdoor restaurant on the main street, train ride, car ride, and arrival back at the hotel by 8. A very full and wonderful day!

One thing I learned today: High altitudes = poor sleep. It's hard to fall asleep. We wake up a lot. Don't feel rested. (I googled this so these are facts.) This! explains why we're both sleeping so poorly. 

One new thing I experienced today: Seeing a cervice on/in a mountain and thinking what a horrible thing it'd be to fall into that. 

Most powerful moment of the day: Being in Zematt (the tiny, old village) imaging what life was like for the residents almost 1,000 years ago. It takes "being in the middle of nowhere" to a whole new level. (Some people still live there.)

One pleasurable experience: Standing on the viewing platform looking at the mountains. Total peace. Incredible beauty. There were two bible verses there about how great God and his creation are. A bit surprising to see but so true!