Two Top Spots in Switzerland

7pm, April 2015- The Matterhorn

One of the big problems when planning a trip is how to choose what you can afford (time and cash) to do. Switzerland is smaller than Tasmania, a bit bigger than Scotland and quarter of it is covered in mountains or lakes. Even so we knew we wouldn't be able to see it all. Our car was being babysat in Luzern so that was our start and finish point, some things were not operating because Spring is not such a busy tourist time (not as much snow as the skiers like and too early for the summer wildflowers) and our desire to see amazing views from a train dictated our priorities.

This blog is about two places that we were glad to have included on our whistle stop tour.  Both may be considered tourist 'traps' but both are beautiful and there are food and accommodation options for the budget conscious like us.

Down south of Switzerland, close to the Italian border, is an iconic mountain that a few national companies use to identify their product as Swiss. At the end of the Matter valley is a ring of lofty peaks, including the highest in the country, Monté Rosa. One of those peaks sits right at the end of the valley cut by the Vispa river and could make an imaginative soul fear the soon arrival of a gigantic bull. The Matterhorn dominates the western skyline of Zermatt and is possibly the most photographed pile of rock in Switzerland.

Zermatt

This is one of the few places we stayed for two nights and wished we were staying for another couple. Sure the little village is quaint: the original climbers 'chalets' from the 1800s must be protected because they are still standing, the eateries range from a crepe store where you're served through a window to Michelin star rated and it is a little pool of humanity  surrounded by Alpine wilderness, but the great amazement of this place is one more rail journey away.

Left: The Museum - on display is the rope that snapped in 1865 during the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn - not so good for the fourth, fifth and sixth climbers that fell to their deaths!  There is an amazing range of architecture in Zermat.

Training up to the circle of peaks.

The line from Zermatt to the Gornergrat ridge is Europe's highest open air cog railway. It has been in action since 1898 but has been maintained well! Skiers disembark at whatever station they want to get off at, some of these have chair lifts and cable cars to more challenging slopes. The ski avenues we trundled past looked safe and fun for people new to the sport but we also saw some pretty impressive tracks through deep powder and people jumping off ridges to plummet down ankle wrecking drops.

Skiing around the Gornergrat Ridge - the guy on the right plunged down that drop to meet his friend waiting about 500m below him. There were lots of shops with adverts for the GoPro cameras with footage of some of the daring deeds in the area.

The concierge at our hotel said that the weather had just turned lovely, over Easter it had been overcast and damp, although it had snowed heavily one night. This was all perfect for us because as we stood on the Gornergrat ridge the sky was blue and we were surrounded by a ring of snow covered peaks, a rather overwhelming view.  Absolutely gorgeous!  There was no wind so we weren't cold although there was at the top of Monté Rosa; watching the 'snow cloud' flowering off the top peak was oddly compelling.

Snow clouds off Mt Rosa

We were able to stand out in the middle of the glistening landscape until the hugeness of everything began to feel a little surreal. To readjust our depth perception and prevent those awkward tripping off the edge of a cliff moments, we headed into the café to a window framed view of the Matterhorn.

Top: Cross country veterans  Bottom: All ages can ski up there.  Right: Train station from the café level.

The beasties up high. The Swiss equivalent to the NZ mountain parrot (the Kea) was just as cheeky but not so pretty. The St Bernard traditionally carries brandy in the barrel to revive the people they are sent to rescue.  I had to take a quick snap before the professional photographer who owned the dog and charged for photos could jump in the way as his customers rose from their pose. Why do Asian tourists hold up their fingers to do the bunny ears in every photo? Does it have some lucky significance?

The photographers at work!

Yes Petal, you took that photo!

A little Chapel outside the Gornergrat Hotel - 3100m.

The absence of petrol fueled vehicles and the constant whisper of the Vispa that could be heard everywhere in the little town, gives Zermatt a really special feel.  Even though there are dodgy hats and shops stuffed with clocks and Victorinox on the main streets and endless hotels and chaléts for rent, the absence of traffic sounds is incredibly relaxing.
Horses from the 5 star hotels clip clop their guests to and from the train station and bells on the harness of a hired gig jangle through conversations. Clomping from ski booted survivors, proudly walking through town after skiing down right to the edge of the snow keep a hallowed zone around themselves with the threat of the shouldered skis, They jump back on the rumbling train, up the mountain for another run before dark. The electric taxis and buses sneak up behind you and whiz past like lego come to life. And at every turn there are tables with grand vistas and interesting menus.

Top: Zermatt from our hotel terrace - facing back down the valley.
Bottom: The channeled Vispa river and our hotel dwarfed by the Matterhorn.

The Swiss celebrate their National pride!

Zermatt machines.

One of the guys at M's work ran the Zermatt marathon last year; 42km from St Nikulos (imagine that place in December), 3 towns down the Matter valley - up a constant climb of 1500m, through Zermatt to the Riffleberg station on the Gornegrat line. Zermatt is the half way point but the poor runners have to run up 1000m in the 2nd half. What a run. If you are one of my freaky running friends here is the link - limited places so book early!    http://regio.outdooractive.com/oar-zermatt-tourismus/en/tour/trail-running/zermatt-marathon/8991330/#dm=1 

We had to choose between traveling the Glacier express from St Moritz to Brig, which is said to be the most picturesque bit of rail in the country, or spend a day up the Matter valley. Our good luck with the weather meant we were very happy with the latter.

The second stop I want to remember in this recount is Interlarken. We only stayed here because of the Golden Pass rail trip through the center that we wanted to do. Because the lines change between three different gauges (I think that is width of tracks) the trains, although regular, are a bit difficult to coordinate. I couldn't book from Montreux through to Luzern in one day - so I booked a night at the town between two lakes. One of the priorities of finding hotels on line for this trip was proximity to the train stations. Interlarken has two - West and Oust, there is about a 20 minute walk through the town between them. The train to Lucern, that I had booked before leaving the UK (for a fee you can reserve seats on the Golden Pass line - it is very popular and with the time constraints we had I decided better to be safe than sorry) departed from the eastern station. The next priority is price and in these 'top spots' it is a bit tricky to find something that allows you to eat near the end of the month! The other thing I try to find is a view!

I think I got that last priority sorted!

The India Village Motels ticked all the boxes. Although it was only a 10 minute walk from the station, half of it is over a gravel riverside path. If it had been raining I would have booked a taxi. It was past a backpacker campsite and look pretty crunchy on the outside.  They are run by an English speaking Indian family and are much nicer on the inside. The thing that didn't make me regret the booking were the views from our 'Superior River View' room. It was so nice to find an electric jug. A hot cup of tea in hand, comfy armchair, feet on a low windowsill staring across sunlit water at a snow covered mountain on a perfectly still late afternoon with the local birds flitting and twittering - I wish I could bottle that feeling.  We were tired after a long day, we boarded the first train of the day at Zermatt around 7:30, and had overloaded visual memory so we took an hour or so to WiFi up and take it easy before our evening scouting trip into town.

An Interlarken side street

The big attraction of the town is that it is the base for people wanting to visit the famous Swiss peak of Jungfrau. It is a long day trip from Interlarken and we were disappointed to discover that we wouldn't have enough time. It provides a similar surrounded by mountains viewing point as Gornergrat but much further up the mountain. It has the highest post office in Switzerland, the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454m and the longest alpine glacier in the country.

In the center of Interlarken is a huge empty green space - a park with no football posts but lots of grass. Opposite it with stunning views straight up the valley to Jungfrau is one of the oldest big hotels in town.  I wouldn't mind betting that they owned the land so that their views couldn't be built out. As M and I walked down this boulevard that evening we looked up and saw paragliders circling down to land there. This is something both the girls have wanted to do so we got a flier off one of the pilots as he was folding up his glider for the next run to take back to Petal. There seemed to be several firms offering tandem flights from early to evening.  The weather was so settled and the outlook so majestic that it was a perfect opportunity.

Top: The closest we got to Jungfrau was this poster in the train Station.
Bottom: The Victoria Hotel gazes across the park at Jungfrau (Right)

Petal took all of 5 seconds to say yes to our offer, she looked up the Skywings site, checked Tripadvisor and decided that she'd live through the experience so I rang and booked her in for a mid morning flight. The Skywings van picked her up at the motels and kindly dropped M and I - with the bags, at the train station so we could stow them in a locker for the day. Petal was then taken up to the jump off point on one of the mountains behind Interlarken with another 8 or so people booked in for the same flight time.  The van picked up the pilots and their gliders from the park after their early morning flights on the way. What a living, gliding down five or six times a day when the weather is right.  Petal had instructions to txt us the colour of her 'wing' so we could video/photograph the right glider from the ground.

A few stunts as they flew across the town - the ohhoooh - heard plainly down below.

From an outside table at Kirchoff, a restaurant that over looked Hohematte (the big flat park) we sat and ordered coffees to wait for Petal's arrival - well I did, M couldn't sit still.  He walked over to the Skywings desk and started chatting to the Kiwi guy there. He phoned the takeoff site and found out that Petal would be piloted by Steve under a red, white and blue wing. Without missing a beat he then said to M, "She'll be lucky to make it, this is Steve's first flight." I must say that the dry Kiwi humour isn't quite so funny when your daughter's life and your own misgivings are keenly front and center!

M and I breathed a sigh of relief as they landed safely, our legs were more wobbly than Petal's!  She loved it and the pilot suggested that she become a pilot - they need female ones because the Muslim female tourists will only fly with a girl!

One of the churches competing for bell supremacy.

There are more expensive watch shops in a smaller space in  Interlarken than anywhere else I have ever been. Big tourist buses pull up, hordes of tourists jump out and 45mins later are boarding again with little bags that cost them anywhere from CHF500 to CHF 580 000 (that was the most expensive one we saw in a window!)
This area is big in Bollywood films, they've even filmed some of their biggest stars up at Jungfrau, so there are lots of Indian restaurants and lots of Indian tourists. In all the watch and kitchen shops there were Asian serving staff who could speak to the Japanese and Chinese tourists. Of course everyone knew enough English for all we required.
The streets weren't lined with flags as much as stands of postcards. Although I searched, I couldn't find a red head Heidi postcard for my cousin anywhere. All her little girls are blond so the blond Heidi and Peter whisked its way to NZ and arrived within the week!

For a town that was once a powerful monastry that declined after the reformation and was revived by Edwardian and Victorian European tours into a resort town, it is no wonder that its heart and purpose is tourism.
Plan for two nights if you want to go up to Jungfrau or stay up at one of the little mountain villages higher up the valley. (Grindelwald or Lauterbrunner) A company called Viator do day trips by coach from Zurich and pick up people in  Interlarken on their way for around £140. Apparently there is an ice sculpture palace cut into the heart of the Glacier. Most guides say not to bother going if it is cloudy and advise to book ahead in the Summer months.

Facing towards the entrance to one of the two lakes that the river flows between, bordering Interlarken.