Thursday, July 17
We woke up to a glorious clear day. It was crisp and cold, and I could have used a light layer under my jeans, but the day warmed up considerably
by noon.
The guide took us to the train station where we boarded the
Gornergrat which is Europe’s first electric cog-wheel train and ascended 5,000
feet to the Gorgergrat Station. The summit of the Matterhorn is 10,135 feet. The Gornergrat is a rocky ridge
in the Pennine Alps with stunning views of the Matterhorn, Gorner Glacier and Grenzgletscher,
which is a major tributary of the Gorner Glacier.
We didn’t get great seats on the way up. We were on the
wrong side to see the Matterhorn and had a wall right in front of us. We
enjoyed the scenery from our side of the train. A young couple left at one of
the stops and gave us our seats for the last 5 minutes. Before we had a chance
to see the Matterhorn one of our fellow passengers asked if she could pop in
for a quick photo. We let her in but told her we still hadn’t even seen it yet.
She was seated on that side of the train and had great views.
We rode the train to the last stop taking in the spectacular
scenery and we went through several tunnels on the way up. We spent most of our
time there before descending to the other stops on the way down.
Jaw-dropping and stunning aren’t superlative enough to describe
the awesome scenery. Our group couldn’t stop exclaiming about how lucky we were
to have such a beautiful clear day. When we reached the top, the Matterhorn had
a small cloud at its peak, and we hoped it would clear to see the entire top. (spoiler alert, it cleared!)
At the summit we could see the 29 peaks standing more than
13,000 feet high around us. Below, the Gorner Glacier, Europe’s second largest,
extends through the valley. There is the Kulm Hotel and observatory up there. Besides
the Gorner and Grenzgletscher, other glaciers like the Monte Rosa Glacier,
Zwillingsgletscher, Schwärzegletscher, Breithorngletscher, Triftjigletscher,
and Unterer Theodulgletscher also contribute to the Gornergrat's glacial
landscape.
The guide gave people the option to stay with him or strike
out on their own. We were free the rest of the day to stay up there as long as
we wanted and go back to Zermatt at our leisure. We chose to strike out on our
own to explore.
Be prepared for way too many photos of the Matterhorn and
glaciers!
Gornergrat chapel, “Bernhard von Aosta”
After being rewarded with a clear view of the top of the
Matterhorn after the last wisp of the cloud left, we boarded the Gornergrat and
stopped at the Rotenboden stop. Unfortunately, we thought the guide said the lake
was at the last stop on the way down so we missed the lake which would have
yielded spectacular mirror shots of the Matterhorn. We saw the trail, but Greg
thought it was just one of those trails where they label plants and we blew it
off. There were beautiful shots of the Matterhorn with the moon still in the
sky. (and only a 10-minute walk - OK, maybe 20 for me) It should have been labeled, and our guide could have been given the correct info.
It was lunch time, so we got off at the next stop in search
of food. Rottenboden had two options for food, a big buffet in the Restaurant and a cute
place where we could sit outside and enjoy the views. We opted for the casual
place with the view. We both got currywurst which was tasty.
Our next stop was Riffelberg where we took a short hike.
There was a tourist train that you could take if you didn’t want to walk.
We got off at the last stop before Zermatt with the
intention of hiking back to town. We got partway and there were many paths to take,
and it wasn’t clear which ones went to town vs hiking in other directions, so
we stopped and grabbed the next train back.
We shed our jackets and got into cooler clothing as the day had turned quite warm before
heading out to explore Zermatt.
We of course went in search of gelato and found a cart with
a long line. We spent the afternoon wandering and Greg left me to shop while he
made a stop at the hotel. While I was in the smallest shop I have ever been in
(about 3 people should have fit in there and one large woman decided to try on
a sweatshirt making everyone shift) I heard a bunch of bells, and the clerk said
it was a herd of goats going through town. I dropped what I was going to buy
but missed the goats. (couldn’t maneuver past the people crowded into the
store) Greg got them on his way back to meet me at the store.
The old part of the village of Zermatt, known as the
“Hinterdorf” (rear village) was fun to explore. There are barns, stores,
stables and old houses built between the 16th and 18th centuries.
We both went back to the hotel to drop some things and then
went for dinner. We thought it would be appropriate to have fondue, and it truly
was the best fondue I have ever had.
We walked around after dinner and went in search of the
gelato place that we saw earlier farther up the street, but it was closed.
Everything was pretty much closing down for the night at 9:00 except the bars
and restaurants.
We popped into the church just before they were locking the
doors.
Coop was still open, so we grabbed some pastries and took
them back to the room and had them on the balcony.
Tomorrow, we leave charming Zermatt for Geneva.
Gornergrat Cog-wheel Matterhorn https://photos.app.goo.gl/dpZgVTVUe1GiytRp9
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