I burrowed into the sofa next to Brad with a cup of hot cocoa (no, not Swiss Miss!) to read over his shoulder about Zermatt and the surrounding region. According to the “official” tourist Web site, Zermatt is packed with fun adventures: glaciers, hiking, ice caverns, and chalet-lined streets. Picture-postcard Swiss. The planets had aligned to present that once in a millennium occurrence—our babysitting and work schedules were colliding to allow us to skip town alone for a day. We were determined to mark the occasion.
Our feverish clicking lead us to cooler and cooler discoveries. Not only were there coveted views of the Matterhorn, which has made Zermatt famous, but there were also cable cars to zip up to stunning 360 degree Alpine views. Coupled with the “Glacier Palace” carved into permanent ice, I was sold! I couldn’t wait to see the Matterhorn in person and zip up the scary cable cars to the towering observation decks.
It has to be said that I am a little uneasy when it comes to heights. You might even say that I have a fear of heights. A small little fear of plummeting to my death from a scary height. I used to get nervous waiting in line for roller coasters at Cedar Point (an amazing amusement park on Lake Erie) and I could always calm myself down by chanting, “no one ever died on this ride, no one ever died on this ride.” I was hoping that this little mantra would work on the cable car too, because I was way too excited to miss an up close and personal view of Mr. Matterhorn.
Come to think of it, Cedar Point had a ride called the Matterhorn. And … I was about to see the real thing! How dorky … and cool.
Our babysitting arrangements were flexible, so we decided to push our luck and take overnight bags—just in case we were having such a good time that we couldn’t leave. It was just like old times … taking off on a wing and a guidebook, not sure what we would find or how long we would be. We were giddy with anticipation.
The sky looked grey as we set out and we knew we were taking a gamble with the weather. The Zermatt site had a weather forecast link and it looked ominous. It called for rain and fog, but we already had plans and babysitting and planets lined up, so we soldiered on. Plus, weather forecasts are always wrong—there is no way it would rain on our big day. And even if it did, surely it couldn’t obscure everything? Maybe we wouldn’t experience the full splendor of the Alps, but we’d settle for a good peek of the Matterhorn.
Within the first half hour of our trip, it started to rain.
I began to grumble. Brad convinced me to stay positive—it was an adventure after all! We decided to take a scenic detour to Vevey for a drive along the “Swiss Rivera.” Ooh, la, la! And it was really beautiful. Even through the sprinkles, we could tell that it was a place we would like to revisit. Think dramatic views of mountains diving into lakes, a nice promenade along the lake, and cute restaurants and boutiques. It’s also where Charlie Chaplin lived—and they have a commemorative statue of our little hero.
We finally made it to Täsch where we had to park. The story is is that Zermatt is a sans car town, so everyone parks and then takes the train in. Not only do I love a good old car-free town, but also the train ride totally set the mood. The engine gingerly chugged its way up the track, as it began to snow. We climbed higher and higher—passing through covered bridges (I love those things!)—until we reached Zermatt.
