After taking my longest hiatus from posting since I began this blog way back when, I figured our trip to Switzerland last weekend was just the inspiration enough to write something new! We set out to see something new, and to ski, and we definitely did both! We set out driving, and having driven to Chamonix via Switzerland a few weeks ago, we weren't expecting too many surprises...and that's where we were surprised! Guided by our trusty GPS, we were headed to Zermatt...when a boat appeared on the screen. M. said, "What's that?" I didn't think too much of it, and touched the screen. And that's when Ken said, "Take the ferry!" WHAT?! Scrambling for a map, we couldn't figure out why we would need a ferry! Little did we know, we were about to take our first ride through the Lötschberg Bassistunnel! After waiting in line for a few minutes and paying the 20 CHF fare, we gingerly drove our car onto the train and parked single file behind our fellow travelers! Within a few minutes, all the cars were loaded and away we went, rocketing underneath the mountain range in total darkness! A little spooky, for sure! The total ride lasted approximately 25 minutes of that, with 20 minutes spent inside the tunnel...amazing! Apparently, the tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in Europe! Once safely on the other side, we traveled on to Täsch, just below Zermatt. No gasoline powered vehicles are allowed into Zermatt itself, so we checked into our hotel in Täsch, and bought our train tickets to Zermatt and headed up the valley! We roamed around for awhile, did a little shopping and got ourselves some dinner before collapsing back onto the train and heading back to the hotel to rest before our first day of skiing! Saturday came quickly, and up the valley we went again. After a crazy bus ride around town, we caught our first glimpse of the Matterhorn on the way up, up and up the mountain: two cable cars and a gondola ride later, we were skiing on a glacier at nearly 12,000 feet! We were pretty breathless up there, but the snow was too amazing not to enjoy, breathless or not! We skiied to Testa Grigia, on the border between Switzerland and Italy and then down into Italy for lunch. So amazing! We were able to go back the next day on Sunday to see a bit more of Italy and try out some new runs on the Swiss side as well. The scenery was just so big. It was truly amazing and the Swiss people couldn't have been nicer. I love Switzerland, and I think I speak for M., too, when I say we can't wait to go back! Until then, one last look at the Matterhorn: it just doesn't seem real, but it was so amazing!
After taking my longest hiatus from posting since I began this blog way back when, I figured our trip to Switzerland last weekend was just the inspiration enough to write something new! We set out to see something new, and to ski, and we definitely did both! We set out driving, and having driven to Chamonix via Switzerland a few weeks ago, we weren't expecting too many surprises...and that's where we were surprised! Guided by our trusty GPS, we were headed to Zermatt...when a boat appeared on the screen. M. said, "What's that?" I didn't think too much of it, and touched the screen. And that's when Ken said, "Take the ferry!" WHAT?! Scrambling for a map, we couldn't figure out why we would need a ferry! Little did we know, we were about to take our first ride through the Lötschberg Bassistunnel! After waiting in line for a few minutes and paying the 20 CHF fare, we gingerly drove our car onto the train and parked single file behind our fellow travelers! Within a few minutes, all the cars were loaded and away we went, rocketing underneath the mountain range in total darkness! A little spooky, for sure! The total ride lasted approximately 25 minutes of that, with 20 minutes spent inside the tunnel...amazing! Apparently, the tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in Europe! Once safely on the other side, we traveled on to Täsch, just below Zermatt. No gasoline powered vehicles are allowed into Zermatt itself, so we checked into our hotel in Täsch, and bought our train tickets to Zermatt and headed up the valley! We roamed around for awhile, did a little shopping and got ourselves some dinner before collapsing back onto the train and heading back to the hotel to rest before our first day of skiing! Saturday came quickly, and up the valley we went again. After a crazy bus ride around town, we caught our first glimpse of the Matterhorn on the way up, up and up the mountain: two cable cars and a gondola ride later, we were skiing on a glacier at nearly 12,000 feet! We were pretty breathless up there, but the snow was too amazing not to enjoy, breathless or not! We skiied to Testa Grigia, on the border between Switzerland and Italy and then down into Italy for lunch. So amazing! We were able to go back the next day on Sunday to see a bit more of Italy and try out some new runs on the Swiss side as well. The scenery was just so big. It was truly amazing and the Swiss people couldn't have been nicer. I love Switzerland, and I think I speak for M., too, when I say we can't wait to go back! Until then, one last look at the Matterhorn: it just doesn't seem real, but it was so amazing!
