- Zermatt …. days 8 & 9
- Stay 2 nights in the stunning village of Zermatt with of the mighty Matterhorn
- Visit Lauterbrunnen in the magnificent ‘Valley of the Waterfalls’
- See the thundering Trummelbach Falls inside a mountainside
- Experience the spectacular scenery of ‘Le Valais‘
- Enjoy a day to explore the chic mountain resort of Zermatt and surrounding areas
______________________________________________________________________________
Zermatt
Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
It lies at the upper end of Mattertal at an elevation of 1,620 m (5,310 ft), at the foot of Switzerland’s highest peaks. It lies about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the over 10,800 ft (3,291.84 m) high Theodul Pass bordering Italy.
Zermatt is famed as a mountaineering and ski resort of the Swiss Alps. Until the mid-19th century, it was predominantly an agricultural community; the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 was followed by a rush on the mountains surrounding the village, leading to the construction of many tourist facilities. The year-round population (as of December 2017) is 5,643,[3] though there may be several times as many tourists in Zermatt at any one time. Much of the local economy is based on tourism, with about half of the jobs in town in hotels or restaurants[4] and just under half of all apartments are vacation apartments.[5] Just over one-third of the permanent population was born in the town, while another third moved to Zermatt from outside Switzerland.[6]
Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
It lies at the upper end of Mattertal at an elevation of 1,620 m (5,310 ft), at the foot of Switzerland’s highest peaks. It lies about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the over 10,800 ft (3,291.84 m) high Theodul Pass bordering Italy.
Zermatt is famed as a mountaineering and ski resort of the Swiss Alps. Until the mid-19th century, it was predominantly an agricultural community; the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 was followed by a rush on the mountains surrounding the village, leading to the construction of many tourist facilities. The year-round population (as of December 2017) is 5,643,[3] though there may be several times as many tourists in Zermatt at any one time. Much of the local economy is based on tourism, with about half of the jobs in town in hotels or restaurants[4] and just under half of all apartments are vacation apartments.[5] Just over one-third of the permanent population was born in the town, while another third moved to Zermatt from outside Switzerland.[6]
A number of our group of 26 people were sitting on a train seat waiting for a train.
A couple in our group of 26 people were led by this wonderful man Reinhard as the third person. He was Austrian by culture and knew the areas so well …. overall and in the detail. He was excellent with people and even observed that I was three quarters of the way through a book I was reading. Our tour group of 26 people was also driven by a wonderful bus driver Michel for three weeks.
Hotel Units: there were many, many units and apartments in Zermatt. Our group came in the summer time when there was no snow. Zermatt is famed as a mountaineering and ski resort of the Swiss Alps. Zermatt is well known in Europe as a ski resort. Read about Zermatt on the website.
Outside in winter time, there could be a metre of snow and certainly snow over the mountains.
This was a view from our hotel ….. there was a small creek that ran down beside street. Small periodic bridges enable you to cross to the other side.
Zermatt and in the towns we visited in Switzerland, had a common feature: the frequent use of window boxes used on most apartment levels. Window boxes used a red / pink hardy plant like a geranium. This gave layers of red around the whole town. This would require a lot of work as they would all have to hand watered on a frequent basis.
This could work in a town like Zermatt with a cool climate but it wouldn’t work in Brisbane, Australia where I come from. The subtropical climate would cause the plants to dry out very quickly.
The small creek that ran down beside street …. in more detail.
Electric cars and trucks are in the streets of Zermatt. There are not petrol or diesel driven vehicles. It is a very quiet town.
A hotel with a nice restaurant and eating area outside. The area is very attractive with the basic eating tables covered with a nice tablecloth and their wrought iron garden seats, the arm chairs with padded seats, the garden cart of flowers (petunias) and the window boxes of petunias near the eating area and up on each level of the apartments.
______________________________________________________________________________
A sign for paragliding.
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure.[1] The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing. Wing shape is maintained by the suspension lines, the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing, and the aerodynamic forces of the air flowing over the outside.
Despite not using an engine, paraglider flights can last many hours and cover many hundreds of kilometers, though flights of one to two hours and covering some tens of kilometers are more the norm. By skillful exploitation of sources of lift, the pilot may gain height, often climbing to altitudes of a few thousand meters.
See the website: Paragliding
In another previous location, one member of our team of 26 people went paragliding for two hours over ranges which lead into the Matterhorn. Cathy said it was an awesome experience !
Electric bus for the Hotel Astoria.
Sign for the restaurant Viktoria.
Electric taxis waiting to pick people up.
The layers of red are very apparent !
Pavement cafe for quiet stop to eat or drink.
______________________________________________________________________________
The Hotel Where We Stayed For Two Days ….. Days 8 & 9:
Ken in the downstairs eating area.
If you walked out on your back balcony, this is what you would see. Mighty mountains and the Matterhorn! The Matterhorn is 4,478 m = 4.5 kms high (14,692 ft).
The Matterhorn – mystical, majestic, the mountain of mountains. No one can escape its fascination. Neither locals nor guests.
Triangular. A cragged rock “tooth” ranging into the heavens. Standing alone on the horizon. A magnet for alpinists, aesthetic emblem, mountain with ideal proportions. Rugged rock with magical light. Playing in a sea of clouds and horizontal colouring. Seeing enough of the Matterhorn? Not possible!
Matterhorn: The Jewel of the Swiss Alps
At 4,478 metres, the majestic Matterhorn – certainly the most famous mountain in Europe – looms over the breathtaking Alpine panorama. This Switzerland landmark is at the border of the western Swiss canton of Valais between Zermatt and the Italian resort of Breuil-Cervinia, and offers a paradise for all nature-lovers looking for peace and quiet. Its symmetric pyramid shape, the rocky tooth reaching the sky and the light reflections of the nearby Stellisee make the Matterhorn’s landscape a unique natural spectacle in Zermatt.
_____________________________________________________________________________