The Matterhorn - Zermatt, Switzerland

I say “Matterhorn,” you say “Disneyland!” Well, that’s what I would have said. I was surprised when my husband said, “No, Zermatt, Switzerland.” He wanted to see the mountain that inspired Walt Disney to build a replica thrill ride in Disneyland. Our journey began with a train ride from Geneva to Visp, and then from Visp to Zermatt. We found out that when you’re traveling on your own and don’t speak the native language, you get pretty good at understanding hand signals. We had no idea what anyone in the train station at Geneva said and we couldn’t read the stations signs, but thank goodness for hand signals. They got us through the difficult task of getting our tickets, getting on and off the train, and standing at the right platform to board the next train. The train ride scenery was beautiful and took a total of about four hours. It’s a good way to see the various towns and the countryside. We finally reached Zermatt and it was freezing cold! It’s a beautiful village and one of the locals told us that they only allow horse drawn carriages and electric taxis, no gas cars. We were told that a lot of people come here for skiing and hiking. Most of the locals walk where ever they need to go. We stayed at the Walliserhof Hotel, which was a really quaint hotel. Our room was quite large and very comfortable as it overlooked the main street. 

After checking in and relaxing for a bit, we went for a walk and came to the village center and got our first really speculator view of the Matterhorn. It’s awesome!! It’s so tall, huge, and majestic! It’s easy to understand why this was the inspiration for the Disney thrill ride known as the "Matterhorn Bobsleds." The next day we looked at the map to see what our options were for going to the top of the mountain. You ride a train to the various stops up the mountain, and there are many train stops choices. My husband voted for the Little Matterhorn, known as Klein Matterhorn, which is almost 13,000 feet high. There’s a glacier grotto at the Little Matterhorn and I would have loved to see it, but I admit I chickened-out and said no. The high altitude frightened me a little so I voted for Gornergrat, which is about 10,200 feet. We got on the train and enjoyed the view of the snow covered mountaintops. This was a very comfortable train ride, not cold at all. We got off at a stop called Rotenboden, to walk around and take some pictures. We saw a St. Bernard dog with the little barrel strapped around his neck. He was so big and cute! 

There are skiers everywhere and almost all of the train stops will take you to an area near a ski lift or is the drop off point to start a ski run. The view of the mountain ranges is spectacular! I was amazed to see how high some of those ski lifts will take you. And the snow is so bright when the sun is shining, you have to wear your sunglasses. We made our way to Gornergrat, which has a restaurant and gift shop. There’s a lookout point which gives you an awesome panoramic view of the mountaintops. Going up is not a major problem, coming down was a bit tricky since the steps are made of carved ice (very slippery). We enjoyed lunch at this lookout point and did some shopping. Wouldn’t you know it, I had a slight touch of altitude-sickness. We made our way back to the train and once we were back in the village, we picked up some soda which helped settle my stomach. The village is not large so you can leisurely walk around and cover it in one day. The view is beautiful, the air is refreshing and crisp. We noticed that many of the older homes have slate roofs, which gives this place a nice old fashioned look.  

It snowed overnight so we were greeted by a beautiful blanket of snow that covered the streets, trees, rooftops, everything. I couldn’t help think that this is what Christmas morning should look like, even though it was an April morning. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast at our hotel and then said “Goodbye to Zermatt!” It was a short trip for us (only two nights) since this was not our primary travel stop, but we're so glad we traveled to Zermatt, Switzerland. We truly enjoyed the Matterhorn!

Tips and Insights:

• When you have to take multiple trains, travel as light as possible. You have to load and unload your own bags.
• Don't forget to take sunglasses and gloves (if it's snowing). 
• If you enjoy hiking or skiing, plan to stay for at least five days. There are many trails and ski runs; you'll want to try several of them.
• Bring your camera! The views are spectacular!

Walking around the village.

Horse drawn buggy,

Slate rooftops.

Fresh snowfall.