A Fork And A Suitcase

The weather reports were calling for rain all day but when I got out of bed and leisurely walked onto the terrace, I was greeted with this stunning view.          After a lightening fast breakfast we ran to the gondola station which was very close to the hotel.  We got off at the Schwartzsee stop with the plan to hike down to Zermatt.  Unfortunately, this was the best of Matterhorn for us, that cloud stayed there the entire day. The path was clearly marked for the most part, only once did we feel that we were not on it.  The hiking path is either a dirt road, rocky at times or a paved road for a bit. We heard these cows 15 minutes prior to seeing them, their bells accompanied us as we walked and were the only sound to break the silence of the area.   About two hours after beginning our hike we stopped for lunch at Zum See, a great mountain restauran...

With the threat of inclement weather looming, we were out the door within minutes after checking into our hotel.  The train goes from the Gornergrat Bahn station in Zermatt to Gornergrat which is the last stop.  Since it was very cloudy and going to the top did not make sense, we got off at the Riffelberg stop (8,471 ft). The views were wonderful but we could not see any of the taller peaks, they were obstructed by clouds.  We hiked around for a couple of hours enjoying the scenery and the cool, crisp weather.  We took the train back to Zermatt and after a bit of rest went out to dinner.  The hotel owners recommended restaurant Schaferstube. So the funny story about this restaurant is that my husband and I walked inside, looked around for a few seconds and walked out.  We deemed it too touristy.  After standing outside for a bit and trying to figure out where to eat, we went back inside since we were starving.  ...

We drove to Zermatt from Geneva and it took us a little over three hours, with a couple of stops for photos and gas.  Zermatt, like Murren, is a car free town, all visitors must park their cars in Tasch.  There are 2100 covered parking spots in Tasch and an additional 1000 that are offered by private companies and hotels.  A nice train shuttle which runs every 20 minutes took us to Zermatt.  The ride took 12 minutes.   As with everything in Switzerland, the lot,  the train station and the train, are clean, well lit, and organized.  At the train station in Zermatt there is a board with the names of all the hotels and a phone receiver attached.  When called, the hotel sends a car to pick up the guests and the luggage.  I booked our hotel a couple of months in advance since Zermatt is a very popular destination and hotels fill up fast. I chose Coeur des Alpes simply because I liked the design and the reviews were glowing....