Left Rex Hotel at about 730am and took the No 7 Trolley to the Hauptbahnh Rail station. We decided to upgrade our Swiss Rail Ticket to to first class travel to Zermatt. The first class cabin had bigger and more comfortable seats, which was great for Boo as he had strained his back the night before when he lifted the heavy hardcase off Tram #7.
Train ride to Zermatt will be about 4 hours. It will stop at quaint little towns along the way. The journey was peppered with tunnel crossings through mountain ranges, sweep across meadows and rolling plains with farm houses and the occasional cluster of industrial buildings. The train journey from Visp to Zermatt was especially scenic and indescribably beautiful. The journey took us across rolling plains and valleys with lovely mountain flowers and through mountain passes. There were frequent changes of scenes - of lakes, rivers, waterfalls, rolling plains, steep cliffs with cascading falls, mountain bridges, quaint houses and old timber houses with slate roofs. Each station along the way to the mountain was unique in its own way. The mountain train was appropriately one that has picture windows and half roofs of clear screen, which allows in the beauty of the environment to seep into the train.
The last stretch to Zermatt was only 80 mins which we felt was too short for such a scenic trip. It's a definite destination for honeymooners. Finally Zermatt was announced and the quaint little village-town that seems frozen from the days of Heidi greeted us. One main street with lots of eateries of all kinds, shops and bistros which draws us like a magnet. Very tempting indeed.
With a bit of trouble we managed to find the Hotel Parmass. It was ideally situated with uninterrupted view of the Matterhor and away from the busy main street which was just a two minute walk away. A mighty “river” runs in front of the property. The sound of gushing water like that of heavy rain is rather soothing. The lounging area has picture windows of the mountains and the valleys. And the room we were given was great. It has a balcony with two lounge chairs, overlooking the “mountain meadow” garden one floor below. From the balcony, the majesty of the Matterhorn beckons. From the bed, the first sight each morning would be the sunlight reflected off the east face of the horn. A beauty indeed. These are the various faces of Kleinn Matterhorn from our hotel room.
Immediately upon checking in and dumping the baggage into the room, we headed for the recommended Rothorn Paradise. The journey from Zermatt to Sunnega Paradise was via a funicular -a very cool “au naturel” tunnel train. The journey was in darkness through a tunnel carved out of the granite of the majestic Duforespitze. The next leg was via cable car to Blauherd, with a restaurant in the wilderness that has the range of the 4 thousands as the natural backdrop. This was a scenic place to take in the full wonder of the snow capped mountains.
Another ride on a big gondola took us to Rothorn Paradise. Ice-laced mountain slopes and fields of unpacked ice meet the feet and the panoramic view of the major peaks and glaciers meet the eyes. It is an experience that will have to be felt to be appreciated.
We returned to Sunnega Paradise cable-station and hiked back to Zermatt. It was a trail that led from the mountains into the valley of Zermatt via Tuftern. The trail was easy but the sights were fantastic. The snow capped mountains were always in sight and the vegetation changed from alpine scrub to pine forests and grassy meadows with wild-flowers. The peak of the Matterhorn never left the trail.
A two hour hike has the rewards of a fine dinner awaiting…..
The stay at Parnass came with half-board and that means breakfast and dinner. Our first dinner was a traditional Swiss dinner comprising goat cheese, vermicelli soup for starter and the main meal was rosti and veal followed by dessert which was vodka-sorbet. It was a good dinner and Boo ordered a bottle of Swiss summer wine and sparkling water from the Alps and we had it in a restaurant with a view.
The stay at Parnass came with half-board and that means breakfast and dinner. Our first dinner was a traditional Swiss dinner comprising goat cheese, vermicelli soup for starter and the main meal was rosti and veal followed by dessert which was vodka-sorbet. It was a good dinner and Boo ordered a bottle of Swiss summer wine and sparkling water from the Alps and we had it in a restaurant with a view.
No comments:
Post a Comment