Gornergrat

Moving to Zermatt

I had a relatively late start today, taking the train at 0730.  It was a treat to have hotel breakfast this morning to start the day.  They cater well to travellers by starting at 0600!

Having completed my hike yesterday, I was able to hop on one of the few direct trains to Zermatt taking only 1h30.  I had allowed time for hiking here today, in case there was weather or other issues yesterday, requiring an indirect train service later in the day.

Going up to Gornergrat

I was at the Alphubel Hotel in Zermatt around 0900 to drop my bag off.  Zermatt, like Wengen is carless but it’s a much larger town.  I was fortunate to be really central and was able to make it to the 0915 cog train up to Gornergrat.

The ride took about 40 mins up, with a good view of the Matterhorn from the right in the earlier parts.  At Gornergrat, there was viewpoint and a restaurant building.  I spent longer than I needed to kill time as it was only about 1000 and the hotel doesn’t officially check-in till 1430.  And I was waiting for the stubborn swab of cloud to move off the peak of Matterhorn.

Inside the building I found a virtual reality facility which allowed me to experience paragliding around Matterhorn.  The first feature was a panoramic ride whereas the second allowed me to control and navigate myself.  It was pretty cool for my first VR experience.

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Around 1130, I took the train part-way down to Rotenboden where it was a short walk to Riffelsee.  I waited a little longer but the clouds weren’t budging.  I managed to get a picture of Matterhorn in the lake (or pond); it wasn’t the best shot but will have to do!

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I continued down around 1230 and reached Zermatt around 1300 where I bought my lunch at a local chain of lunch bar called Fuchs.  I learnt that there is a potato quiche (with pear and apple) in the region that’s called “Cholera”!  It was invented during the cholera epidemic and the name has been kept on.  Surprisingly the lunch bar was cheaper (and better) than from the supermarket. Time passed easily eating in the park and then exploring the town.

After yesterday’s exertion, my body called out for a second lunch soon after I checked into my room. While out getting that, I also took the opportunity to get dinner from the supermarket so I could settle in for the day.