Day 15: Zermatt, Switzerland - Leaving Chamonix, Arriving in Zermatt

Saturday, July 15, 2023

Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland

The next morning, we were up early, finishing packing, cleaning, and getting ready to leave for our next location.  We were saying goodbye to France and saying Hello… again… to Switzerland!  It was going to be a big travel day, so I insisted we stop for coffee before we left Chamonix.  Most of the time, this works out really well, but there are times, I should probably let it go and move on with our travels.

We rolled our luggage to the train stop and took the train one stop and walked to Moody, to get coffee.  The coffee was great, but I miscalculated our departure itinerary and we missed our train.  That just means we had an hour to send Alina to pick up some croissants.  

Once we boarded the train, we settled in for our long trip.  The multi-pass still got us free passage to the French border, but we need to buy a brief ticket to get to Switzerland and then a longer ticket, so we could utilize our Swiss half-fare pass (50% off all travel).  

During these long train rides, I do my best to catch up with this blog, but to be honest, it’s hard to maintain a blog when you travel with family.  All day we’re moving and making memories and in the evening, we’re exhausted and I don’t feel like writing. BUT… long trips on the train are golden for blogging.  For example, I’m now writing this in the future, as we fly 11.5 hours from Zurich, Switzerland to Los Angeles.  Again, long trips = blogging gold.

We switched trains at Martigny and again at Visp.  We took the train South and it climbed slowly in elevation until we reached, Zermatt, Switzerland.  Zermatt is known for the large looming mountain with iconic slopes you would see on a swiss chocolate bar and at Disneyland in California.  The mountain’s name is Matterhorn. 

As we rode the train, we passed through St. Niklaus.  A distant memory surfaced in my mind like a mountain peak breaching a rain cloud.  It was the end of the Haute Route, a 110-mile trail that took my dad and me over the French, Swiss, and Italian Alpine mountains for 12 days in 2013.  

We were finally coming down the mountain after a long day of hiking and as usual, I went ahead of my dad and found a place to wait for him.  I remember ordering a soup, as the weather turned cold and drizzly.  I was starting to worry about him, but he eventually made his way down the mountain and we hiked the rest of the way down into the small village of St. Niklaus.  There, we found a restaurant that was open and we ordered fondue.  It was so good and we were so hungry that we consumed it and ordered another.  

Mountain Sheep, Above Saint Niklaus, 2013

Descending to Saint Niklaus, 2013

Mountain cow, Above Saint Niklaus, 2013

Helicopter Landing, Above Saint Niklaus, 2013

Vegetable soup, Above Saint Niklaus, 2013

Final descent, Above Saint Niklaus, 2013

Wandering the streets of Saint Niklaus, 2013

Fondue, Saint Niklaus, 2013

Now we passed St. Niklaus as if it were just another place on a map. 

As we rode the train closer to Zermatt, I told the story to Jonas.  The story of Bobu and Daddy finishing the hardest, longest hike of our lives.  Leaving St. Niklaus and slowly making our way up the valley.  I pointed out bridges and dirt paths we had walked on.  Memories that might be fun to hear for Jonas, but for me… they stir something deeper.

We finally arrived at the Zermatt train station.  Out in the city square in front of the Bahnhofstrasse, the streets were teaming with tourists.  This was by far the most busiest place we had been to.  We found a Coop (grocery store) across the street and bought just enough food for 2-3 days.  We wouldn’t be staying here long.  

Jonas and I waited outside the store admiring the poster art.  

In Zermatt, the city is car-free, and for good reason. I couldn’t imagine this already crowded city with cars added to the chaos.  Tiny hotel taxi cars and public buses are allowed to transport passengers. Public transport is free, so we found our bus stop and took it further South of the city center, up steep, winding streets until we got off close to our next Airbnb.  

We hauled our extensive luggage to the apartment building where we would be staying.  We struggled with the directions to find the lockbox for the key but managed in the end.  At the entrance, we were so thankful to see an elevator and took it to the 3rd floor.  We went into our apartment and were totally blown away by the space and cleanliness.  We looked out the window and there was a beautiful view of, what would be the Matterhorn, but it was covered in clouds.  

As we unpacked, we had the pleasure of enjoying a brief thunder storm and opened the windows wide to receive the cool, moist, refreshing rain-scented air. 

We ate dinner outside on the patio.  Salad, calzone, chicken meatballs, and bread were on the menu. 

After dinner, Jonas and I wandered up the neighborhood street to a playground and enjoyed the evening.