Switzerland

ZERMATT: July 28, 2000 - August 1, 2000

Saturday, July 29, 2000

"COME AT ONCE!" replied Poppy to our e-mail taking her and her boyfriend, Bill, up on their offer for us to visit them in the Swiss resort town of Zermatt where they are working at the moment. We met Bill and Poppy while at Petra, Jordan in the Middle East. While we only spent a small amount of time with them, we instantly knew that we liked them. They are very down to earth and a lot of fun to be with. Bill and Poppy are originally from Australia, but they have taken up residence in Zermatt to work and ski over the past year. So here we are in Zermatt.

"DO NOT TAKE THE TRAIN. IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE. TRY TO HITCH-HIKE UP TO ZERMATT FROM VISP. WE DO IT ALL THE TIME" explained Poppy. While Rich was leaning towards paying the 70 Swiss franks (close to $50 usd) to take the one hour train ride up to Zermatt, I thought it would be fun and wise to go with Poppy's advice. So before we knew it, we were out there on the side of the road in the quaint little Swiss town of Visp. I was out there smiling, with my hand out (not the thumb--that is too tacky) waving down cars that may be going up to Zermatt. There was one big problem. 90% of the automobiles contained cute little children in the back seats. Needless to say, their intelligent parents did not pick up two vagabonds with huge back packs from the side of the road. Finally, a young man stopped. He asked us where we needed to go. We told him Zermatt. He apologized and said that he was not heading in that direction. However, within minutes, he drove by and said that he would take us in just a few minutes. We were a little suspicious. Why would this young man just drop everything to take us one hour up the mountain. Nevertheless, we hopped in when he returned. He was a nice young German man. We tried, with partial success, to carry on conversations as he took us all the way up to Zermatt. He would not accept any money when we reached our destination. He was just a good Samaritan.

Above: The hitchhiker and the good Samaritan

"WELCOME TO ZERMOTT! WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO DIRECTLY TO OUR STUDIO OR STOP OFF AT THE PUB?" greeted Bill and Poppy. Of course, we opted to stop off at the pub first. Poppy and Bill introduced us to all of their friends who were spending the late afternoon together at the pub. Life is very relaxed here in Zermatt during the Summer. The tourists are few in numbers and the weather is good. Furthermore, there is not much skiing to be had here during the Summer, so they have to spend their energy (and money) somewhere.

After a short time at the pub, we headed up the hill to Bill and Poppy's studio apartment. It is a neat, chalet like apartment with a fabulous view of the Matterhorn. Standing at 4,478 meters, the Matterhorn is a beautifully shaped mountain which stands out of the already breathtaking Swiss Alps. Bill made us a delicious chicken curry dinner and we relaxed.

After a wonderful night of sleep in a nice cozy bed that Bill and Poppy made up for us, we woke up this morning and went out for a pleasant hike to the small village of Zmutt and enjoyed a picnic just above Zmutt. This little Swiss retreat is exactly what we needed.

Tuesday, August 1, 2000

Today makes our fifth day in Zermatt. The fine Australian hospitality of Poppy and Bill continues. Rich and I woke to Poppy's singing in the shower. It was adorable. She was singing The Lady in Red. After her performance and our eventual rise out of bed, we ate a fine Swiss breakfast prepared by Poppy consisting of the Swiss potato dish, Rosti, scrambled eggs and baked beans.

We have had a lot of fun with our new friends. The other night we had a late night out at the pub. It began with a few innocent drinks at the Pipe and ended with dancing on a barrel at a cheesy dance bar called The Brown Cow. The next day we slept in until past noon...I kid you not. I do not think that I have ever slept in that late in my entire life. However, when you return home at 5:00 a.m., what do you expect? We managed to make the most out of that day, however, when we did a hike up to Edelweiss and enjoyed views of Zermatt from above.

Yesterday, Rich and I went for a wonderful 8 hour hike in the mountains. We hiked up 5,000 feet to approximately 10,000 feet above sea level. The scenery was spectacular. We climbed to Gornergrat for views of the snow capped mountain peaks and the glaciers below. Our hike reminded me of how much I love to be in the mountains. If we could stay here in Zermatt for weeks, I would be fine. There is so much to do here: Summer skiing, paragliding, hiking, mountain climbing, etc.. Unfortunately, we have neither the time or money to take full advantage of these opportunities. I do not feel cheated by my Zermatt experience, however, as we have had such a great time with Bill and Poppy, and we have been able to relax and take in the fresh, cool mountain air for five days. What more could one ask for?

Wednesday, August 2, 2000

Well, I spoke too soon. Today, Rich and I went up to 12,000 feet for sommerskiing--summer skiing. It was so wonderful to be up on the mountain at that level and to see the glaciers and the other mountain peeks so close up. The weather was touch and go, however. We experienced everything from sunshine to clouds to icy snow to fog to complete white-outs. There was one point that we were on top of a mountain and we could not see more than 2 feet in front of ourselves. We had to still ski down, as we did not know how long the conditions would last. We could not even differentiate between the ground and the air. Everything was white. When we made it down, I felt like I really accomplished something. Soon after that, the sun came out and we were granted a spectacular view of the glaciers and the surrounding mountains. I truly felt like I was on top of the world.

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