The Best of Europe Day 8

Day 8 Saturday September 13, 2003 – Zermatt

The alarm went off at 7:15 and as we thought of the upcoming day we looked out the window and saw the Matterhorn outside our window. About 7:45 the first of the sun’s rays hit the top section. The full moon was just off to the side - it was a beautiful morning in Zermatt.

I took a series of pictures and then took a shower to prepare for the day. We had a traditional continental breakfast and at 9 AM walked out the door to be met by the town’s electric taxis.

Their ride is very quiet but the suspension leaves much to be desired. The Swiss have paved every road and path so getting around is easy. We went to the foot of the cable car facility.

We were given a ticket by Otmar and in we went. We took the Matterhorn-Express and it seated eight. We went half way up the mountain and then transferred to another of their cars to got to the top. MISTAKE! We should have transferred to the large Zermatt Gondolas.

We went to the Matterhorn and then were told we were on the wrong area. We got on the Express and returned to the next landing and were met by Otmar who was chuckling at our lemming behavior and mistake.

We followed him to the 100 person gondolas and loaded with a large group of junior high students who acted their age, yelling, pushing, and flipping each other off.

As we journeyed by this mountain railway we traveled directly over Switzerland's finest glacier the Gornergrat, with spectacular views of the Matterhorn all the way up.

Once we arrived at the panorama terrace at 10,270 feet we could see some 50 peaks which tower between 9,850 feet and 13,150 to form a circle of silvery splendor.

We stopped there for an hour, taking pictures, seeing snow boarders and skiers on the mountain side and talking to our friends. Otmar organized a group picture with the Matterhorn in the background and then we took a Colorado group picture and then Gennie and I posed with a beautiful St. Bernard dog in sunglasses.

At 11:15 we took the last lift up to the top of the Little Matterhorn. As we got off, the wind was blowing and the temperature had dropped below 30 degrees.

I finally had to put on a sweater. We went through the tunnel to the other side and we were able to look down on Italy and France. The peaks were spectacular. Young people were snowboarding and skiing to make the view that much better.

We had been told about a glacier ice cave so after more photos, we went down to it and entered. Dug from the solid ice, the passage goes down about 500 feet and opens into a large chamber where rooms display ice carvings.

There were two men serving wine for 5 Swiss Franks and some other things to eat. When we returned to the surface the sun was out and at its brightest. It took my eyes some time to adjust.

We reentered the tunnel, walked to the elevator and took the last lift up to the observation area. After rising 200 feet, we walked up to the observation tower at the top of the Small Matterhorn .

From there our view all around was unobstructed. We could see Zermatt to the north and then Switzerland, Austria, Italy and France. We were at 12,680 feet and but we had no trouble with the rarefied air.

At about 12:30, we decided to return to the town. We took all the rides down, riding with the young teens again! How lucky we were.

We walked from the Matterhorn Express on south end of Zermatt to our Alpenroyal Zermatt Hotel and left our things in the room and picked up the disk to email our journal if we could find an internet location that accepted the 3.5 disks.

We walked back to town, 5 minutes, and walked toward the railroad station where we had heard there was one available. Unfortunately, it was closed on Saturdays. We went to the COOP grocery store and bought some bread, cheese, chips, soda, banana, and a bar of Swiss chocolate for our lunch.

We went to the park, sat in the sun and watched people walk by, play volleyball and soccer on the grass. We finally found a place to email at a skateboard shop!!! We were there for 30 minutes and then went out to walk the main street and do a little shopping.

We picked up our pictures we had taken in the morning from the store and then purchased a couple of gifts and a t-shirt for Gennie. I was looking for a patch with the Zermatt city logo but it is so new no one has it available.

We walked around seeing the sights, and at 5 PM decided to return to our room to work on the pictures and write the journal. On the way we went by a little settlement of original log homes of the early settlers in the area. Very primitive. Their front door was on the second floor - tells us how high the snow gets in the winter.

This half day at leisure in one of Europe's most picturesque mountain resort was quite enjoyable. The streets here are traffic free and the Matterhorn is always visible and stunning.

At the Hotel, I processed the pictures, did the four panoramas that I had shot and began to write this journal. Gennie ironed some clothes that she had washed.

Before dinner, we showered and then went up for dinner. We sat with new people, the Briscoes from Troy, NY and Taylors from San Diego. The wake up call will come at 5:30 tomorrow as we have to go to another ski village, St. Moritz.

Hotel Alpenroyal Zermatt

Day 10: Mediterranean Navigation

Antonio, Our Guide

Gardens at the Alcazaba

Roman Theater

Visiting with Picasso

Gennie & Vic, Malaga 2004

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