Zermatt

A hut to get out of bad weather

Monday September 15, 2025

Grachen

After a nice breakfast and saying good bye to some new friends, I had dinner with them 2 nights ago, it was off to the bus stop. To get to the next town you need to take a bus down the side valley, a train across the big valley, then another bus up the next valley. Today was slightly different, as the train comes up the side valley I am in now. So I took a bus down the hill to a town, another bus down to the train station in the big valley another train part way up the Zermatt valley, then another bus up the hill to Grachen. Yes – bus, bus, train, train, bus. The transportation system here is amazing. Every bus or train I have taken has been on time. The trains run every 20 minutes or so. The remote busses are not as regular, but are still basically every hour. When you buy a ticket it is good point A to point B, you do not need to be on a specific bus or train. I have enjoyed all the sights cruising around the past few days. I know I have said it before, but it is incredible where they build these roads and that the busses go up and down them.

Last night for dinner my salad was served with a hot salad dressing that had chunks of chicken in it. It was really good. Something I would have assumed to be over hot pasta, not a cold salad.

The lakes here are glacier fed. That gives them the blue water. Similar to Alaska and the Canadian Rockies.

I crossed over into German speaking Switzerland today. On one hand I am totally lost with signage now. I can read some Spanish and French, but no German. But, it seems everyone speaks English now, so it is easier to communicate with staff at hotels and restaurants. And the trains give information in English now, which is great for me.

I am in the town of Grachen now. It is my favorite town of the trip so far. Cars can drive up to the edge of town and by the gondola base, but there are no cars beyond that. The hotel I am in is at the far end of town – about a half mile from the bus stop. They do have an electric cart to pick you up, if need be.

Tuesday September 16, 2025

Grachen

The hotel also offers free rides on the cable car across the valley. You need to get there, but it was 7 francs for a round trip bus ticket. I enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast, then walked the half mile to the bus stop. Once in St Nikolas at the bottom of the hill it was a short walk over to the cable car. It was built in 1980 and I think its only purpose is to give access to the small village of Junger. On the fare schedule there are listed rules for transporting livestock on the cable car. Besides walking up 2,800 vertical feet on a steep trail, the cable car is the only access to the village. It is scheduled to run every half hour. The ride is only 6 minutes long. I got there at 35 minutes after the hour, so a 25 minute wait. Three women showed up 5 minutes later, so since we had a full cabin, the operator sent us up. They were French speaking Swiss. They spoke some English, but no German.

You can see in the pictures the village is on the side of a steep mountain. The cable car starts at 6AM, so I guess you just take it down the hill if you go to work. All the homes in the village seemed well maintained.

I had in my head I would walk uphill for 60 minutes, then turn around. Part way up I saw the British Bricklayer coming toward me. We chatted for 5 minutes, then each moved on. I ended up walking for 90 minutes before turning around. The scenery continues to be amazing. The trail wasn’t too bad, lots of switchbacks. I ended up gaining 1,600 vertical feet. I had a snack, then turned around. I saw the 3 Swiss ladies as they were on their way up. I stopped in the village at the restaurant and had a great blueberry coffee cake. It was over $10 for 1 piece. I then decided the hip felt good enough to keep walking down. It was a total of 4,400’ from where I turned around down to the village.

Part way down I walked across a bridge over a stream and looked down at the water. Standing there was a young Ibex. I am pretty sure those were what I saw a few days ago from the cable car. This one was not scared. I was talking to him for probably 5 minutes. He ended up laying down and I continued walking. I did hear tons of marmots again today, but no sightings.

My hotel stays have tended to include dinner, it a set menu with very little options. Tonight I walked back into town to get a Swiss pizza. I had a French and Italian pizza this trip, I figured I should try a pizza from every country I visit. I got a traditional salami pizza. The waitress brought out a hot oil to put on top. The oil was very hot, but I really enjoyed it. The pizza was excellent. I am in Zermatt for the two nights, I may have to try again to confirm the Swiss make an excellent pizza. The Matterhorn is on the Italian border, so I am not too far from Italy, but it is quite a drive.

Wednesday September 17, 2025

Zermatt

This morning I caught a bus, then a train to Zermatt. I am here for 2 nights, then on to Zurich and fly home on Saturday. As soon as I arrived in town I walked the .4 miles to my hotel. Zermatt is another car free town. With all the bikes and electric carts you need to be careful while walking on the streets. I asked the front desk for suggestions for me to do today. He asked if I liked to hike? Yes, I would say so. Great, the 5 Lakes hike is a great loop up on the mountain. I took a Funicular Railway up to a gondola which dropped us off at about 8,500 feet. The funicular railway is a very steep “train”. We boarded from a staircase (see photos). It was underground the entire way up, an elevation gain of 2,200 feet. This is where the real skiing begins. From the top of the gondola the loop starts by gaining several hundred feet, even though the trails ends at the bottom of the gondola, a net loss of about 1,000 feet. Anyway – the terrain is beautiful. The Matterhorn is visible for much of the hike, or would be if the clouds weren’t hiding the top. I still posted lots of pictures. Tomorrow is supposed to be clear, so hopefully better mountain views. I stopped at a restaurant and had my first authentic Apple Strudel. See pictures below for the rest of the hike.

I boarded the Funicular to go down. Basically, there are little cabins that hold 6 people. Five women my age or older got in and were speaking American English. I asked where they were from. All 5 were from Vermont, where I was born and raised. I told them I now lived in Arizona. One of the woman said she worked at the University of Vermont (UVM) for 15 years. So, I asked if she knew my brother in law who just retired from the university. Two of the women said yes and a third said she knew his wife and the Parkinson family. (His wife is my sister.) I looked at the woman and said I am a Parkinson. She said “Oh my god, are you Gary? I’m Faith”. Wow, small world. We haven’t seen each other in probably 40 years. Our dad’s were best friends from before she and I were born. She is 1 year younger than me. Our families were very close when we were kids.  Faith has stayed in touch with my two sisters and was close to my mom, right up to when mom passed away last year. What a cool random meeting. So many things clicked – first they had to get into the same cabin. I asked where they were from. The one woman randomly said where she had worked, so I asked about my brother in law. Then, Faith said she knew the Parkinsons. I had told the woman who said she worked at UVM, that I had graduated from there with a Mechanical Engineering degree. I think Faith’s subconscious realized she knew me from talking with my mother. Once she said her name, I recognized her instantly as my mom had shown me recent pictures as well. Crazy fun.

Zermatt is quite busy. It is truly a world wide attraction. The trains arrive every 30 minutes. Our train was standing room only mid morning on a weekday.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzue