We loved our two days in this quaint little Swiss mountain town. There are no cars and the place has that real holiday vibe.
On the afternoon of our arrival we simply strolled through the town. It was the end of a special weekend folk festival so lots of people, music, drinking and traditional costumes. The various brass bands played to very appreciative crowds and the scene was picture perfect.
Worse than taking your harp to a party! Real mountain horns.
It is the sort of place that you don't really feel the need to visit the museums or galleries, although they are there. A great place for people watching.
Five beauties in Zermatt
Yes we both had a turn! They were very polite and friendly. Most of the locals speak a Swiss German.
Our hotel is a block off the main street and we can see the Matterhorn from our huge wrap around balcony. That is when it is not in hiding! The top is often covered in fog and cloud.
Photo from the balcony. The Matterhorn is under the cloud and even hides behind trees!
The view from the other side of the balcony.
The next morning we had even more cloud but still made the cable car trip up to view the Matterhorn. We took the Matterhorn Express. We started at the town around 1620 metres and climbed to Furi at 1867m then on to Schwarzsee at 2583. We could have gone higher but the top was obliterated by cloud. The peak is 4478 metres.
We had lots of glimpses of the Matterhorn and our views were better than the photos. We also had views across to the Gornergrat Glacier at about 3089 metres and down to Riffelberg where it melts at about 2582 metres. All very spectacular but not a great day for photos!
Gail on the Matterhorn Express.
The view back down to Zermatt.
The houses on the way up.
Yes this really is the Matterhorn behind the clouds.
The view of the Gornergrat Glacier taken from Schwarzsee.
Most of the time at the top it was clouded in or raining so we waited it out in the traditional way of mountaineers....and planning.
We were very comfortable with windows to watch for changes in the weather!
As we walked back into town we were sure that we could see the Matterhorn just over Rob's right shoulder!
In the afternoon we headed out again and caught the cog railway from Zermatt to Gornergrat. This was a spectacular journey and an even more spectacular destination. This time we were in a carriage rather than a cable car but the cog rail system took us up slopes so steep you almost slid off the seat!
We climbed up past the various small stops most with a hotel restaurant and a few chalets until we reached the Gornergrat Glacier viewpoints at 3089 metres. The views along the way were great but superb once we were at the top.
We stayed for ages and saw several changes in the weather. The sun came out a few times and we even got a few shots with tinges of blue sky. When we discovered that the trains had changed to hourly we scurried to get on board and wandered in light rain through Zermatt back to our hotel
This is how we made it to the top with the cog rail system. Excellence in engineering!
We went up under the protection of avalanche chutes at times. The snow and ice passes over the top!
It was a river of ice flowing down the hill carving a path as it went.
Gail at the top.
The sun was out at last. Rob at the top.
The views were spectacular. Every direction was snow and ice.
Keep away from the edge Rob
The glacier curving its way down.
Even more blue sky.
Two at the top.
The train ready to head back down. We made it!
On the afternoon of our arrival we simply strolled through the town. It was the end of a special weekend folk festival so lots of people, music, drinking and traditional costumes. The various brass bands played to very appreciative crowds and the scene was picture perfect.
Worse than taking your harp to a party! Real mountain horns.
It is the sort of place that you don't really feel the need to visit the museums or galleries, although they are there. A great place for people watching.
Five beauties in Zermatt
Yes we both had a turn! They were very polite and friendly. Most of the locals speak a Swiss German.
Our hotel is a block off the main street and we can see the Matterhorn from our huge wrap around balcony. That is when it is not in hiding! The top is often covered in fog and cloud.
Photo from the balcony. The Matterhorn is under the cloud and even hides behind trees!
The view from the other side of the balcony.
The next morning we had even more cloud but still made the cable car trip up to view the Matterhorn. We took the Matterhorn Express. We started at the town around 1620 metres and climbed to Furi at 1867m then on to Schwarzsee at 2583. We could have gone higher but the top was obliterated by cloud. The peak is 4478 metres.
We had lots of glimpses of the Matterhorn and our views were better than the photos. We also had views across to the Gornergrat Glacier at about 3089 metres and down to Riffelberg where it melts at about 2582 metres. All very spectacular but not a great day for photos!
Gail on the Matterhorn Express.
The view back down to Zermatt.
The houses on the way up.
Yes this really is the Matterhorn behind the clouds.
The view of the Gornergrat Glacier taken from Schwarzsee.
Most of the time at the top it was clouded in or raining so we waited it out in the traditional way of mountaineers....and planning.
We were very comfortable with windows to watch for changes in the weather!
As we walked back into town we were sure that we could see the Matterhorn just over Rob's right shoulder!
In the afternoon we headed out again and caught the cog railway from Zermatt to Gornergrat. This was a spectacular journey and an even more spectacular destination. This time we were in a carriage rather than a cable car but the cog rail system took us up slopes so steep you almost slid off the seat!
We climbed up past the various small stops most with a hotel restaurant and a few chalets until we reached the Gornergrat Glacier viewpoints at 3089 metres. The views along the way were great but superb once we were at the top.
We stayed for ages and saw several changes in the weather. The sun came out a few times and we even got a few shots with tinges of blue sky. When we discovered that the trains had changed to hourly we scurried to get on board and wandered in light rain through Zermatt back to our hotel
This is how we made it to the top with the cog rail system. Excellence in engineering!
We went up under the protection of avalanche chutes at times. The snow and ice passes over the top!
It was a river of ice flowing down the hill carving a path as it went.
Gail at the top.
The sun was out at last. Rob at the top.
The views were spectacular. Every direction was snow and ice.
Keep away from the edge Rob
The glacier curving its way down.
Even more blue sky.
Two at the top.
The train ready to head back down. We made it!
4 comments:
views look amazing
Wow, it looks like you were lucky with the weather even if the top was shrouded for much of your time. But I did read on one site you should sit facing uphill on the cog railway "unless you have thighs of steel"!
We sat uphill and we had not even read that advice!
Fantastic views, boys would like to dip their hands in the snow! Amanda and Stu
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