Everything is Matterhorn
We traveled by train to arrive in the tourist town of Zermatt. We quickly realized the peaceful countryside was well behind us. We don’t mind because we want a few days to relax before we chalk. I felt like my sore throat is gone but my cold is in full force. I am tired and congested.
I don’t want to taint our experience in this beautiful alpine town, but they are obsessed with the mountain. It just keeps growing and there is construction everywhere. Tourism is really important to these people. We rode the train to the top to see what it was all about and yes, the mountain is pretty epic. It towers above everything and the other snow caps are just as daunting.
We went into the Matterhorn museum and it was interesting to learn about the accounts of the first trek to the top. It ended in 4 people dying by falling from a broken or cut rope. It is curious on how the rope was broken. Some people think that the guide cut it to save himself and his son. The guide survived but received no credit. The British were the mountaineers who took all the credit. It is a curious story and I definitely do not ever want to suffer the death from falling from the top of a mountain.
Funicular up the mountain to hike around the Matterhorn. It was fun ride up and chilly in there. We left our jackets because it was a hot day, and we were right. Once we exited we were just as hot. The Matterhorn was beautifully looming above us during our entire hike.
There were several lakes along the way. They were all clear blue.
We had lunch at the top at Fluhalp. I had rotsi and veal sausage. It was delish. Zach ordered a custard apricot pie that was amazing and of course we relax with some beers. Wouldn’t be complete without the Matterhorn logo on everything. It is like if you put the mountain on it then it is more legit. Or maybe it just makes people feel closer to the real thing without going to the top and dying… We also visited the Matterhorn graveyard. It is sad how many people lose their lives just trying to summit it and the surrounding mountains. Monte Rosa is also one where a lot of people die. It is a few meters taller.
Zach and I hiked back down the valley and it was just our speed. It was a long exhausting walk back down and we loved it and each other.
We ended the evening in a Swiss pub watching the German vs France game. We shared drinks with some Italians who were rooting for the French. And yay France won! It was a great evening. I wish we could stay another day to try their restaurant Simi. Sebastian was the master chef and Luca was also. They were all very nice.
