My second day in Switzerland started out like any other day, at 5:30am. Despite not sleeping until 1am my body is still programmed to get up in time for work. I decided to roll over and enjoy the last hour of rest and relaxation I had before needing to get up for the train.
A quick shower? Some last minute packing, and a couple of chocolate croissants later we were on the train to Zermatt. I ate my croissant, which was filled with Nutella and promptly fell asleep. Then it was a quick change of trains to go the last leg of the trip. I tried my best to stay awake and take in the scenery but was overcome by the slight rocking of the train and the warm sun shining through the large picturesque windows.
As we neared Zermatt I caught my first glimpse of the alps. Beautiful snow capped mountains reaching up into a crystal clear sky. It was the kind of scene that filmmakers spend weeks waiting to catch it on film.
Zermatt was pretty much exactly what I expected when we exited the train station. Small buildings stacked on top of each other, nestled into the side of a mountain with a narrow road winding its way between them.
We stopped at the tourist information center to figure out how to get to the gondola that goes all the way up. The woman behind the counter was lovely and helpful. Karen had originally planned to have us go hiking today and I had agreed despite knowing better. As the woman went through the hiking options and the time that each trail takes something told me there is no way we're going to be able to do all of it before sundown since we were starting around 11:30am. But I thought well maybe it's not that far.
I followed Karen down the road as she led the way to the first lift up the mountain. Along the way I was passed by a guy riding a bike with skiis on the back and a bunch of taxis, which are electric powered and look like giant power wheels cars. Finally we got there and paid for a couple tickets. The woman told us we should buy a roundtrip but we did two one way tickets with the idea that we would hike back to the main train station area.
The first tram was pretty cool. The cars were stepped like the stairs next to them and it went vertically through the mountain. We got off at the top and I started to follow her and we were suddenly on the ski trail. It didn't seem right at first but then we saw other people walking too. Originally the idea was that we would hike down to a restaurant, eat, and then come back up. We got maybe 5 minutes into the 40 minute walk and decided to abandon this idea.
By the time we climbed back up I had abandoned my winter jacket entirely and was just down to my t-shirt. The sun and exertion were just too much when combined. Thank goodness we noticed an elevator from the main tram down to the kids ski park area to avoid climbing against traffic up the mountain further. Eventually we made our way to the tippy top with all the skiers. Up there you could see everything, and enjoy lunch.
We eventually got a seat, after standing around and waiting for a while, and then it took even longer to get served. The waitress seemed to be annoyed to be there and then even more annoyed to have to serve us. I ordered some Swiss hashbrown concoction with bacon and an egg and Karen got a wurst with fries. The food was surprisingly dense and filling.
After we chowed down it was another long wait for the waitress so we could pay. I couldn't tell if she was happy we were leaving or happy that the eating rush was long gone. Either way we got out of there and headed back down part of the mountain to start our hike down the rest of the mountain.
We started out back at the kiddie ski school and on a path parallel to what we had tried before. It started out fine until I slipped and tumbled into the snow bank. Then it was a very very slow crab walk down. I felt bad that Karen had no trouble when every few, slow, steps I was crunching into the snow. They had dug out stairs into the path but they weren't much better since the edges were soft and melted. The sun beat down as I slowly made my way down, one step at a time, the hot sweat rolling down my nose and gently falling into the soft wet snow as I stared carefully at the ground to make sure I didn't make a wrong step. There were a few additional tumbles but each one was never shocking or painful. It was like falling into a giant pile of soft, cold, bubble wrap. There was one that sent me for a loop, my right foot going in one direction my body in another and my left in a third. The force of my ankle bending was enough to pop the laces on my boot. The path was so steep and my backpack heavy enough (after all I was doing this while carrying all my things for the overnight stay) that I didn't dare stop to tie them. I could only remind myself to take it easy and one step at a time.
By now we were running a very big risk of being stranded on the mountain in the dark with the wild animals. So Karen, while waiting for me to descend what would be one of the final sections of our journey, made a friend and found out that if we took the chairlift back up we could retrace our steps back to the main tunnel train and be back in town. I was so thankful that we wouldn't be stuck there.
So I made my way, slowly, down to the chairlift. We didn't have tickets for it but while I was carefully walking down the ski trail Karen met a guy who was on line and friends with the ski lift operator. They allowed us to jump the turnstile and hop on the ski lift. I was worried at the top that we'd have to have a very disgraceful exit, since they're made for you to just slide off you have to jump and run off the lift if you don't have skis. Thankfully the operator saw us and slowed the lift so we could get off without killing ourselves. It was another walk down the ski trail to get to our final tram. I was exhausted and so dehydrated at this point but knew I had to keep going. There was a very steep portion for a bit just before the tram and I was just trying to step, slide, step my way down. All of a sudden a skier zips in front of me and I thought how rude! He almost ran me over but then he comes to a sudden power stop in front of me and I see it's a ski instructor. He digs in his edges and puts out his right arm a bit. "Grab onto me," he said, "I will get you down from here. Just lean on me." I was so thankful to have someone so kind to basically carry me down that last bit. His arms were also crazy muscled.
$16 later I was weak and tired. My legs sore. My face dirty. My body sweaty. We walked from the tram to the hotel and I thought I would barely make it. I had nothing left when we got to the hotel and climbed up to reception. Thankfully we were only one flight of stairs from our room and I took this opportunity to sit down and relax for a few moments. I started to feel all the falls I had coming down but was just happy to have made it.
Karen said lets go for a walk and try to find some food and look around. More walking didn't appeal to me much but I was curious about what was around. So we set off again, this time on flat ground. We walked down the Main Street and ended up stopping at an Italian restaurant that was tucked away next to a Japanese hibachi place and the hundredth Swiss restaurant on the street.
Karen got a pizza and I got grilled chicken with risotto and a much needed Coke. I really enjoyed sitting together and talking about everything as I ate delicious food in a beautiful place. For dessert I got an affogato and Karen got a berry ice cream sundae which was huge. Looking back at it now espresso at 9pm may have been a bad choice. By the time we were finishing dessert the restaurant was packed and when we finally made our way to the exit (climbing up another spiral staircase) we found that not only was the restaurant packed but there was a line out the door to get in.
The air was briskly cold now, a far cry from the mild afternoon we had. The Main Street had seemed to come alive while we were eating and the streets were filled with people standing outside of the bars smoking and shouting at each other from across the road.
Tomorrow we are scheduled to go sledding. I'm a bit apprehensive after today's ordeal and seeing the conditions of the snow and especially if I'm doing it with a backpack again. The last thing I want is a runaway sled on a mountain. But there's no sense worrying about it now, like climbing down that mountain I will take it one step at a time.
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