Growing up as a kid who made frequent visits to Disneyland, the Matterhorn to me is a fun ride and part of Tinkerbell's flight during the nightly parade. I can now say that Mickey has nothing on the real thing. Our stay in Zermatt reminded me a bit of Whistler Village with its sport shops, restaurants, and après ski bars. We stayed in a newly open hotel and were once again reminded to never stay somewhere that has not been open for at least one year. The Backstage Hotel will be cute once they finish construction and work out the kinks, but it was a bit too soon for guests. One thing the hotel had going for it was location. We were minutes from the train station and he main street through town. The historic old town and the Matterhorn Glacier were an easy stroll away.
Our first full day in Zermatt we took the cog railway up to Gornergrat one day where I was able to take some great pictures of the Matterhorn. After gawking at the view for a while, we abused ourselves sledging away the afternoon taking the cog railway back up for each run. I still am not quite sure how to steer, but I had a great time and managed to make it through the afternoon without any major crashes. Tim got a lot of practice with tuck and roll.
The next day we went up to Klein Matterhorn at 12,736 ft. That is the highest altitude I've been at outside an airplane and you could really tell if you moved around too quickly. Up close and personal, the Matterhorn does not stand out as much, but it is still an impressive profile. Tim was able to ski both the Swiss and Italian Alps from the top.
With all of the gondola trips over the last couple of weeks, I am getting better with my fear of heights. I am still not keen standing too close to he edge, but I can ride a gondola with my eyes open now.
The trip from Zermatt to Locarno was fairly uneventful with only four train changes, no gondolas or funiculars this time. We switched from Swiss trains to an Italian train in Domodossola and the change was quite obvious. Swiss trains are fast, clean and run like clockwork. The Italian trains are a bit more run down and the timetable is more of a suggestion than a schedule.
Locarno is just back over the Swiss border on Lake Maggiore. Known as the banana belt of Switzerland, I expect to thaw out for a few days before heading off to Torino. Forecast is for more sun so keep your fingers crossed it holds. Switching up the diet from cured meat, potatoes and cheese to pasta and olive oil tonight. Even though we are technically still in Switzerland, Italy is just down the lake and the local menu reflects the proximity. We are definitely eating well this trip.
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