Hello all. It's amazing how little time we have left here. Only 14 class days and 3 trips left until our return to the good old U.S.A. But still so much to see! This past weekend, Jeff and I got to catch a glimpse of the Swiss Alps in Zermatt.
June 29:
We left Metz around 5 pm, putting us in Zermatt around 11:30 pm. After stopping through the border town, Basel, we took a train to Visp, where there was a special rail that would deposit us in the foot hills of the Matterhorn. Once we arrived, it was too late to catch a glimpse of the mountainous region, as the peaks were shrouded in darkness. Most of the bars and restaurants along the streets of the picturesque Swiss ski town still held a decent crowd. As inviting as it looked, we had to get our giant packs to the hostel and get some sleep for our big hike the next day. After a bit of aimless wandering, we found the hostel perched atop a steep road. The front desk was closed, but the staff had a taped a small envelope containing our key to the door. We shuffled inside quietly, trying not to wake our two roommates who had laid claim to the bottom of each bunk. I quickly fell asleep and dreamed of fondue and snow covered peaks.
June 30:
My phone alarm went off around 8:30 and I headed to the shower to rinse off my sleep. I took a peak out the hallway window to check out the town in the daylight. To my surprise, it was even more beautiful than I had pictured. I called for Jeff to come check it out, but he insisted the view from our room was much better. I walked over and sure enough, the Matterhorn was staring me right in the face.
The hostel included a wonderful breakfast spread of deli meats, cheeses, yogurt, cereal, a variety of breads, coffee, and some sort of thick multi-vitamin fruit drink (which I stomached for the sake of fueling for the hike). After breakfast, we geared up and headed downstairs to settle our bill. I asked the front desk attendant for any advice on hiking in the area for about a 6 hour round trip. She quickly pointed out the "5-Seenweg" or "5 Lakes" trail, which sounded like just what we were looking for. After orienting ourselves with our trusty new map, we made our way up the steep winding streets to the head of the trail. I'll post chronological pictures of the hike and tell stories in the captions. Here we go!
Geared up with his Camelbak, Jeff was ready to take on the steep ascent into the Alps...
... Not too long after, Jeff was regretting taking the steep trail ascending into the Alps.
A short ways up, we found a good spot to perch our cameras on self-timer and pose with the Phi Delt flag. We have been taking it everywhere in hopes to get some good pictures for Rush. I'd say this was a success.
A bit further, we stopped again for a photo op with the foothills of the Alps surrounding Zermatt and the Matterhorn shooting up in the background. We were lucky enough, yet again, to have beyond perfect weather for our outdoor adventure. Later in the day, you will see, the peak of the iconic mountain started to get covered in clouds, which most 14,000 foot peaks are. So, I'm glad we got these pictures early on.
We continued up the steep zig-zag trail, until it finally leveled out a bit onto a small hillside cluster of restaurants and houses.
The fully reclined wooden chairs covered in sheep wool were all too tempting, but the pricey wine list kept the two poor travelers at a distance.
From Zermatt (elev. 1620 m) we had made it just over 400 m into the mountains. 1312 feet? Not bad.
Looking back, as we continued up the path. I was taken back by the scenery around every twist and turn of the trail.
We stopped a bit further up the road to climb a rocky hill, "Christopherhorn".
After we descended Christopherhorn, we followed the path to the first of the lakes. You'll be able to see the blue hue of this one in a lot of pictures as we climb higher up the mountain. Keep an eye out.
We crossed a creek flowing down between the walls of rock, and continued along 5-Seeweg up the next section of steep, zig-zagging ascent.
Here comes Jeff.
Once we made it up the hill, we were assured by this informative sign that this was in fact the right direction.
We made it to lake number two where there were many people scattered about, taking a rest by the water. We decided to do the same.
I kicked off my shoes and untied the jackets from my waste to venture onto Chris Island. It's funny how many landmarks along the trail shared my name.
Spectacular view of the Alps from Chris Island.
Cooling off my foots.
Back on the trail. You can see the Matterhorn trying to hide.
We climbed up and up along this trail that cut just along the ridge side. A tumble down would not have been fun.
We passed and older gentleman and his wife headed down the trail, who were frantically photographing something. As we passed them, he got our attention and enthusiastically pointed out the rare iconic symbol of the Alpine region, Edelweiss. We saw tons of Japanese hikers, armed with guidebooks, hunched over, scouring the hillsides to catch a glimpse of one of these babies. Looks like we got lucky. Or maybe we are just that good.
We kept climbing and finally reached our highest point at around 2700 m. In the background you can see one of the gondola stations. I wasn't about to trade in my manhood and ride back down the mountain, so we started our descent. The trail was very steep and I wasn't aware that going down can be harder than coming up. Regardless, is was a great workout and the view was arguably better than the way up.
There's the lake, far below.
Jeff throwing down a power-stance on a rocky ledge.
Brought the flag back for one more shot before the day was done.
Glorious.
This was our last view atop the mountains. In the bottom of the frame you can see the top of the Sunnegga underground railroad. It goes underneath the mountain back into downtown Zermatt. We decided to take it and bypass going down that first steep part of the trail.
It was just like the Incline in Chattanooga, but all the seats were oriented level.
At the bottom, we stretched our legs and admired our accomplishing hike. The views were incredible, and the hike itself was invigorating. We hobbled back through town and up to our hostel. We took a short rest, showered, and walked down the hall to dinner served in the hostel. This was a first in our travels.
Spaghetti, salad, chicken noodle soup: just what I needed after a long hike through the Alps.
We shoveled in our dinner, and then headed into town to get a taste of Switzerland. We wandered through small shops and outdoor apparel stores until most of the retail businesses were closed. While exploring, we kept our eyes peeled for the best place to get some fondue. We decided on a restaurant right off the main street and quickly ordered a big pot of melted Swiss cheese. 1 hour and 3 baskets of dipping bread later, we finished the whole pot and were quite satisfied.
After the cheese extravaganza, we went next door to the Brown Cow Pub to have a beer to cap off the long, wonderful day. Back at the hostel, bed never felt so good.
Here's some pictures from around town per Chris Sr.'s request. Everything still has that old ski lodge feel, so I'm sure not much has changed in the last 30 years.
No cars allowed in the city, so they have these goofy little golf cart taxis
July 1:
We woke up around 9 to get ready to for the trains back to Metz. After breakfast and a shower, we packed up our things and headed back into town towards the train station. We locked up our bags in the luggage lockers, and went to check out some of the stores that had been closed the night before. We found a few good trinkets to bring back, and then boarded the train for our journey home. It started to get a little rainy right as we picked up speed on the tracks, confirming my suspicion that good weather follows us wherever we go *KNOCK ON WOOD*. Once we got back to the French border, in Basel, we ran into the Sigma Chi gang on theirway back from Interlaken, Switzerland. We spent the train ride swapping stories from the weekend and playing Tiger Woods on Gleber's iPhone, while Jeff downed a bottle of wine and swapped language lessons with a French Canadian from Montreal. Back in Metz, I decided to walk back to the dorm from downtown because the next bus wasn't for another hour. Forty minutes later, home sweet home.
Jeff and I play a game where we rank cities/trips/activities/meals based on random criteria.
This weekend won for me:
1st Place: Best Hostel All Around, Best Hotel Breakfast, Best Small Town, Most Expensive, Most Scenic Train Ride (Zermatt-Visp)
2nd Place: Best Scenery (only behind Plitvice)
3rd Place: Best Activity (hiking), Best Meal (fondue)
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