Zermatt, Switzerland

May 12-13, 2002

Zermatt is famous for having the Matterhorn, which is really the only reason you would come to Zermatt in May. The place is virtually closed down until the summer season begins. But since we were so close we just had to see the Matterhorn. So we decided to drive up from Lake Como. Ugh ! The trip from hell. We thought it might take some time to get there, but little did we know that we would get stuck in a 2 hour 30 minute traffic control jam. We were going to go through the worlds second longest motorway tunnel, San Gottardo, 17km long (about 12 miles), that Switzerland is known for. Due to all the bad traffic accidents they have had in major tunnels recently they have started controlling access to the tunnels. So, just before the tunnel, they installed some traffic lights over each of the lanes. To get everyone down into single file and not too many cars in the tunnel, about 5 cars from the left lane would be let through. Then about 3 minutes later, about 5 cars from the right lane would go through. So, 150 minutes later, we were on our way again. Needless to say, we weren't too fond of Switzerland anymore.

But wait, there's more. We were going to take the Ferkapass over the Alps and into Zermatt. But it is still closed due to snow, along with every other alpine pass in the region. So now, after that 2 and a half hour wait, we still couldn't get through to Zermatt. So, just after thinking about bailing out of this portion of the trip and heading for a big city like Zurich, we get lucky and find a train that carries cars over the pass, the Furka train. It was only 20 minutes and about 20 dollars, and it left in 10 minutes. Perfect. So we paid, drove on the train, and 20 minutes later emerged on the other side. 

It still took another 2 hours of driving to get to Zermatt. The drive in was actually very pretty and somewhat pleasant after the ordeal of getting there. Everything was green, the Alps were still capped with snow, sheep were all about, and the wild flowers were in bloom. Zermatt is actually car free. So you park in a town called Täsch and take either the train or a taxi into Zermatt. So the ordeal wasn't over yet. Luckily for us, the train was just about to leave. We made it on time and a short 10 minutes later we were finally in Zermatt.

Then it started to rain. We don't hold much hope for actually seeing the Matterhorn, but perhaps the next day the skies will clear. We can't believe we went through all that and still may not see the damn rock. Oh well. Zermatt is a pretty little town, full of Swiss chalets and looking exactly like what Americans think a Swiss alpine town would look like. We haven't seen anyone yodeling in lederhosen yet, but the trip isn't over yet.

Yeah !! Some good luck. The next morning was beautiful and we could see the Matterhorn from our hotel. Here is the proof.

There is a train that takes you from Zermatt to a place called the Gornergrat, which is viewing area for the Matterhorn. It has a very large chalet at the top and the views on the 45 minute ride up are astounding. The first picture is Patti and the boys with the chalet in the background. The rest are of us with the mountain in the background.

Here are some of the views going up to the Gornergrat.

There is the usual tourist picture guy at the top, but he had some St. Bernard dogs and we could not resist. So here are the photos we bought.

Here are some pictures of what the town of Zermatt looks like in May, when the snow is almost melted, but not quite.

After Zermatt it was time to leave for our last night in Montreux, Switzerland. It ended up being a very nice stop. 

Last Updated Monday May 20, 2002 16:29 CET