First a View, then Fondue!

I’ve always had a love for the Matterhorn ever since I was seven years old.

I can remember it as if it were yesterday.  It was my very first trip to Disneyland, and we showed up right before the gates opened for the magical morning. I can remember the music echoing over the loud speakers, the big Mickey Mouse flower garden, the whistle of the train, and as I walked around the bend I saw it… the Matterhorn. I grabbed my dad’s hand and ran. I ran as fast as I could, with dad staggering behind me, right down Main Street, past the shops with windows full of candied apples and sweets, past all my favorite characters dolling out hugs, even past the vendors with mouse hats and Mickey shaped balloons. At that moment nothing else mattered. 

I’m not really sure what sparked me to make a mad dash for that mountain but I did. And at that moment, when I stood there and looked up at that magical mountain, never in my wildest dreams, did my seven year old self  even think that I’d be standing at the base looking up at the real one twenty years later. And let me tell you… it’s just as magical!

Enjoying the scenic train ride from Visp to Zermatt

Left: The view from the Hostel Matterhorn where we stayed


Upon seeing the Matterhorn in real life I now understand why Disney featured it as a centerpiece to his park. It is beyond beautiful. I never really understood how someone could fall in love with a mountain until now. It has a kind of hypnotic vibe that radiates from it. As it juts from the hillsides around it and slices the skyline with its raw jagged lines it screams for your attention while dominating anything and everything around it. Once you get a good look at it, there is no looking away.

Apparently, the fall can be ether the best time or the worst time to visit Zermatt – the cute little mountain town where you can see the Matterhorn. Being the offseason, and right between both summer and winter, many of the shops, restaurants, and hotels are closed. But the bonus is that there are many fewer people to fight with. The danger of the offseason is that it can be crystal clear with a photo perfect view of a rocky, but snow dusted mountain or it can be completely socked in where you’re wondering if there is even a mountain at all. Fortunately, we lucked out with absolutely marvelous weather.

This wasn’t the case at first though. When we arrived we were a bit disappointed by the fact that the clouds just didn’t want to clear. You could see the mountain but it wasn’t that perfect shot Matt was hoping for. This didn’t stop us though. The next morning we took a chance, got up bright and early, bundled up in every piece of clothing we could layer and hurried down to the train station despite the weather predictions of clouds, to catch the first cogwheel train to the Gornergrat Observatory.

On board the Gornergratbahn up to the Gornergrat Observatory

The Gornergratban is the second highest railway in Europe and because of the steep grade of the tracks it has to have a cog and wheel drive to help it up the mountain

We stopped off at a local bakery to get a tasty breakfast bun to eat on the way up. Once the train started and I got a glimpse of the view both Matt and I shoved our buns back in the bag and pretty much forgot about them until lunch.

Since we were the only ones in the car, taking into account the time and the weather, we took the opportunity to open the windows on both sides of the car, even though it was freezing, and run from one side of the train to the next depending on which side had the best view.

I never thought it was possible to take so many pictures of the same Mountain and not get board. As the clouds started to clear I kept telling Matt to take another…. a few minutes later… it looks even better now take another. Needless to say he filled his memory cards that day

Note how steep of a grade the train is driving on

When we arrived we were two of only a few people that got off the train and boy were we happy that we took the chance on coming up early. The light at sunrise was stunning and as it kissed the snowy peaks it truly made them glow. And even though it was windy, the wind blew the few still lingering clouds away making for perfect pictures. We found out later that this was some of the best weather they had all season and it only lasted the couple days we were in Switzerland. 

One of the many breathtaking views on the way up to the observatory

A view of the observatory. If you look close you can see me on the path in my white coat

How perfect! A Saint Bernard with a barrel! Little did we know that this dog was there for paid for tourist photos and we weren’t supposed to take pictures of him. Matt snapped this one before the we were told not to. Oh well!

I saw a Japanese lady do this and just couldn’t

 resist myself

We stayed up there taking pictures and enjoying the view for almost 2 hours. After a while though the cold got the best of us and we decided to warm up inside with a hot drink and finish our forgotten breakfast buns.

The Matterhorn at its finest!

Now I’ve had hot chocolate before but nothing like this. This was the real deal. Not that packaged powdered Swiss Miss stuff they pass off as hot chocolate. This place even had preheated mugs so that your chocolate didn’t cool down. It was beyond amazing and that’s not because we were both freezing!

After the chocolate we went back out, took a few more pictures and played in the snow. I even threw a Swiss snowball at Matt even though he kept saying, “The Swiss are always neutral!”

What a way to spend the day! 

Back in the town of Zermatt another famous thing to take note of is the graveyard. The graveyard is filled with those hypnotized by the allure and beauty of this mesmerizing monster of a mountain and ultimately died trying to reach the peak (or on the way back down in some cases). It puts into perspective that mother nature is not kind and that we are not immortal. Although it is beautiful it is a deadly mountain that requires respect.





Next to the cemetery there is also a mountaineering museum with all kinds of history and artifacts related to the Matterhorn. One of the most famous things is a broken rope that was used in the first ascent that ended in tragedy when the four climbers fell to their death. Although interesting and a true monument to mountaineering history we chose a happy fondue dinner instead of seeing the broken rope of death.

To get the full Swiss experience we splurged and got fondue and beer for dinner with strudel and cream sauce for dessert. Matt said it was an Act of God I didn’t get any of it on me!

I would highly recommend visiting Zermatt to anyone thinking about visiting Switzerland! Just keep in mind that it is expensive. And even though the the Gorhergratban tickets are close to a hundred bucks a pop and fondue for two is close to sixty, it is worth every penny! So just save up and plan on spending more than your budget can really bear. It is above and beyond one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I have been hypnotized by this mountain and I will be returning one day! Hopefully it doesn’t take another 20 years this time!