The Events of Tuesday, July 26, 2011

                So much for a year-long trip! Trying to squeeze in as much travel time as possible, my parents extended the twelve-month year to a travel year of one year, one month, two days, and a few hours. Today, thirteen months ago, we began this epic journey together.

                This morning began bright and early at 6:30. We were out of the house by 7:30, headed on our way to Täsch. From there, we parked and rode the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway train (with bathrooms onboard!) to Zermatt, where we found a helpful TI. The lady at the TI gave us three free resources, with maps and descriptions of available hikes in the area.

                Why didn’t we just drive to Zermatt and park there? Well, supposedly, it’s a traffic-free city, so no cars are allowed. However, the roads are still ruled by crazy little electric cars, like golf carts on steroids. So, while the town attempted to maintain its small-town cuteness factor, it has failed miserably in the face of modern technology.

                As we emerged from the train station, we heard the now-familiar sound of bells jingling. It was a delightful and somewhat strange little event: a goat parade! A little flock of indigenous “blackneck” goats were being herded through the center of town on the way to pasture. These wooly goats, unique to the area, have long horns, a black head and shoulders, and a white rear end. My favorite part was watching the furry little baby goats (kids). It was also interesting to note the crowds of tourists trying to comprehend this quaint, small-town moment in such a money-grubbing, tourist-trap of a city.

                Next, we walked through Zermatt, across the Vispa River, following signs to Rothorn Paradise. We were going to see the classic Matterhorn vista. Essentially, we had three options of destinations to view the Matterhorn. Klein Matterhorn, reached by cable car, offers a panorama of a whole range of Alps, one of them being the most famous of all, the Matterhorn. Option Number Two: Gornergrat. Gornergrat, reached by train, also offers great views of the Matterhorn among the surrounding mountains. This is the cogwheel train Mom remembers taking up with Dad and hiking down when they visited Switzerland oh so many years ago. This choice brings travelers closer to Monte Rosa, the actual highest point in Switzerland. Rothorn Paradise, the last alternative, and the one we selected, offered the most universally known picturesque view of the Matterhorn. It is the cheapest option of the three, and also less crowded than Gornergrat. Most exciting, it gave us the chance to try three completely different modes of transportation: an underground funicular, followed by a gondola, and finally, a cable car.

                No worries, I shall enlighten you regarding these various transportation contraptions. The first leg of our journey, a funicular, is a vehicle that is pulled by a cable along tracks up an exceptionally steep slope, often counterbalanced with a similar car traveling the opposite definition. Funiculars are always in contact with the ground. Unique for this funicular was the fact that it travels underground, which made for a very chilly eight minutes.

                Next came a gondola ride. Gondolas are suspended in the air by a cable, generally holding ten or fewer people, who are usually seated. Like ski lifts, gondolas move continuously; therefore, passengers must quickly step into and out of these moving cars at stations. This section of our journey was the most fun for us, as it offered the best views of a partially hidden Matterhorn.

                The last section of our trip up to Rothorn was in a cable car. These are large passenger cars, suspended in the air on a cable, travelling between stations without touching the ground. They can hold a large number of people, who usually ride standing up. When a cable car reaches a station, it comes to a full and complete stop to allow passengers to embark and disembark. However, as it is on a cable, the car sometimes swings back and forth, even as people step on and off of it. Cable cars are larger than gondolas. Also, while gondolas generally have lots of smaller cars strung along the same cable like strings of Christmas lights, cable-car lines usually have only two big cars, one going in each direction. From here, we could see several glacial lakes and hiking paths, so we tried to determine which hiking path we would be taking.

                Eventually, we arrived at the top of Rothorn, 10,180 feet above the rest of the world. However, it was not a magically snowy winter wonderland. Rather, it was a stony, gravelly, somewhat barren-looking, Mars-like landscape. (I would know if it was like Mars, because, you know, I used to live there in a previous life. Just kidding.) Anyway, if one looked closely, one found brilliant wildflowers hiding among the rocks. We took a few pictures of the Matterhorn, which drifted in and out of view among the stormy clouds settling around all the Alpine peaks. We took lots of pictures of the huge Findel glacier, the snowy peaks, and their white glistening tops contrasting beautifully with the bright blue sky behind them. Atop Rothorn, we also found a teeter-totter and a slide and spent a few playful minutes there.

                Soon, however, it was time to get down to the business of the day: hiking from Rothorn back down to Zermatt, where we had started. We planned to first take the Kristallweg (Crystal Way), then the Murmelweg (Marmot Way), and finally, the Gourmetweg (Gourmet Way). We had a bit of trouble discerning which direction to head to find Kristallweg’s trailhead. There were plenty of signs, trailblazes and “ducks” (stacks of rocks used as trail markers), but not in the most helpful locations. Eventually, we headed down the back of Rothorn, away from Zermatt, towards the Findel glacier. At the bottom, we finally found trail markers and signs that affirmed we had selected the correct path. As we wound our way down and around the mountain side, we determined that this walk is probably called Kristallweg because of all the rugged, sharp, almost crystal-like rocks one sees along the way. We had lunch overlooking Stellisee, a scenic lake that apparently reflects the Matterhorn stunningly on a clear, windless day. Though we did not enjoy this particular scenery, we still managed to have a fun time taking in the Alpine scenery all around us. We lunched on our Ballenberg cheese, the last of our Swiss cheese experience.

                After lunch, we continued on our merry way down, soon transferring to Murmelweg. This themed trail spotlighted marmots. As we walked, we learned about the way of life of these cute rodents from wooden sculptures and multilingual information boards. The trail also passed many marked marmot observation points, but during our entire time on “Marmot Way”, we spotted no more than one furry marmot. Some of my family members were not even so lucky as to see that one! But no matter, we were enjoying the hike, spotting fantastic displays of Alpine wildflowers, surrounded by towering mountains, getting our exercise, being together as a family, and learning some fun facts about marmots along the way.

                Down, down, down we hiked. Beside the path, we found an inviting flat rocky ledge on which to sit and enjoy some inexpensive Swiss chocolate. From a certain perspective, it looked as if we were dangling our feet off a dangerous precipice, even though we were not! Next, we hiked through a ghost town of abandoned, partially-constructed, decrepit chalet-style vacation homes. From there, we picked up the Gourmetweg. Though this trail took us through the resort town of Findeln, with plenty of expensive restaurants to sample, we frugal Taylors walked on without spending a cent. Further along this trail, we enjoyed weaving our way through sweet-smelling evergreen forests, the footpath a soft blanket of fragrant pine needles. This section of the “Gourmet Trail” was free for all to enjoy its delicious smells.

                Finally, we came to the tracks of the Gornergrat cogwheel train and – the end of Gourmetweg. We had been hiking down from Rothorn, with occasional short stops for over five hours straight! We covered a distance of 13.6 kilometers (approximately eight and a half miles) and descended almost 1500 meters (almost five thousand feet). Needless to say, we were exhausted, but proud of ourselves for our achievement. Next came a lovely, almost-level, paved path through the resort town of Zermatt.

                We followed Kirchstrasse (Church Street) to Bahnhofstrasse (Train Station Street) – I’m becoming quite fluent in German! Quaint chalets with overflowing flower boxes lined Bahnhofstrasse, as well as souvenir shops and restaurants. As we wandered, we heard the sound of Alphorns and hurried over to watch. Four gentlemen and two ladies, all in tradition garb, were giving an informal street concert. We listened, delighted, to the second half of one song, and then all of a second song. Then it was over. The group posed for photos with other tourists. Then, they walked slowly up the street the way we had just come, carrying their Alphorns in one piece over their shoulders. It made quite an amusing sight, these Alphorns all sticking up in the air! Mom exclaimed that there was absolutely no better way to end our day, as well as our time in Switzerland.

                We walked back to the train station, rode the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway train back to Täsch, and drove home. After emptying the car, we stumbled, rather tiredly, inside, unpacked from the day’s adventures, and prepared yet another dinner of pasta and red sauce. This time, we added lots of garlic to spice it up, as well as sliced sausages. Ben even seasoned his spaghetti with hot sauce! This little tidbit of variety made it tastier, but I cannot wait to get home and eat dinners with a bit more variety. After dinner, we relaxed, read, and went to bed, tired but happy.