Zermatt

Looking back at my first Zermatt trip I have to say it was quite the experience.  I wasn't skiing yet, so that was not a factor, but by the time we left I was hooked on Zermatt.  Let me tell you why it is so awesome.

1. The Matterhorn.  It is giant and iconic and just awesome to see.

2. The food.  Fondues, Rosti, lamb chops and steak cooked 20 feet from the table over a wood fired stove.  YUM!

3. The town.  No cars and stores and chalets all looking like they were out of a fairy tale, Oh la la. 

4. The mountains.  Take a short ride up the cog railway and your now at what seems to be the top of the world.  Who wouldn't want to hang out here?

5. Lunch on a mountain.  Having not grown up a winter sport person I had no idea how great it would be to have lunch on a mountain top.  It is pretty great.

6. Apres ski.  Even if you didn't ski, it is fun to hang out outside with every bundled up looking like snow bunnies and drinking a few glasses of vin chaud.

Are you getting the picture yet? 

Friday we arrived in the late afternoon.  We met up with Dorothy and Bob who came early that day to ski.  We weren't staying in the same hotel but they were close enough and after dropping off our bags we met them for drinks in their room.  Since we had some snacks earlier we pretty much skipped dinner and headed to a bar.  We grabbed a table that had a digital tap, and the amount we were drinking showed up on an electronic board.  It was quite novel which we loved, but it also made us drink far too much.  

On Saturday I woke up to this view from our room: 

We managed to rally by 9 and went out to finally see the Matterhorn in daylight.

our hotel

I can't express how much cooler the Matterhorn is to see in person.  It doesn't feel real sometimes, that you are walking around and this giant mountain peak is right there.  Anyway, our plan for the day was to take the cog railway to the Gornergrat with Jeff, Lindsey and their baby Oliver.  At the top we had lunch, and took a bunch of photos with a view of the Matterhorn.  Since the Gornergrat is also a hotel there were a few shops to check out before heading back down. 

Gornergrat!

Jeff, Lindsey and Oli

I especially liked this poster

on the way back down

Gornergrat on the right

On Sunday we packed our things and stored them at the train station lockers.  Then we headed up to Sunnega via the cog rail again.  From there we hiked about 20 min down the mountain to a restaurant called Chez Vrony.  I had been hearing about the burger there for about a year, so I was excited to finally try it.  

Our destination: Chez Vrony

Soon enough it was time to go.  The lifts close around 4:30pm and we made it down just in time.  This was my first lift experience which was kinda cool.  

So there you go.  Matterhorn, snow, Zermatt.  Lucky for me it wasn't my last trip to this wonderful place.

Stay tuned.