[CR Switzerland] Day 06

September 22, 2006
ZERMATT - KLEINE MATTERHORN

Breakfast Call: 7.00 * Departure: 8.00

It was a day of leisure for everyone not on the optional; for the rest, an early breakfast to catch the early cable cars up to the Kleine Matterhorn. We piled into the little electric taxis and were buzzed up to the cable car station. As we were waiting, the rising sun was putting a golden sheen over the Matterhorn - and until that moment, I had never imagined that I would want to take so many pictures of any one mountain! The woolly cap, gloves, and Baguio scarf that I had packed finally saw the light of day, and very grateful I was for them.

Once the group was gathered together, we crossed a short bridge to the waiting area for the first stage of our ride up to the peak. Elmar had explained how the cable car trip would take three stages, using small 4-seater bubble cars for the first stage and boxcar type cars for the 2nd and 3rd stages. Needless to say, the views on the way up were worthy of every superlative ever used to describe them.

During the third stage, while we were packed like sardines in the huge cable car, we were the captive audience to the commentary of the Tour Director of a totally different group. After she finished with her admin details, Elmar asked her to make it clear that those instructions were for her group only, and not all of us in the car - since we already did our washroom stop on the second stage.

At the top, the view was literally breath-taking. After all, we were about 4400-plus meters above sea level - walking through the tunnel from the cable car station to the viewpoint over the glacier, I could feel how much thinner the air was here than at Zermatt. Thanks to the blessing of clear weather, we could see all the way to Mont Blanc, just over the French border. Much oooh-ing and aah-ing from the group. Come to think of it, that was the signature sound of the group from the moment we laid eyes on the mountain country. :)

Elmar then pointed out the way to the Ice Palace, which my parents promptly knew they would *not* negotiate. One had to make one's way from the relatively flat area past the little cafeteria, over a short slope of snow-covered rock, bare in some places, to get to the door of the Ice Palace. The spooky part about it all was that there was no rope railing to hang on to, and no rubber mats to guide you down. I made my way down by the expedient of literally following in other folks' footsteps; placing my feet in the footprints of those who had made it down safely.

So I stowed the parents in the cafe, and carefully picked my way through to the Ice Palace. It was exactly like entering a freezer. Not a surprise, since the place is hewn out of solid rock and ice. At least here in the tunnel, rubber mats were laid down and guide cables were attached to the walls to help people keep their footing. One could really feel the thin nature of the air with every breath. Plus, if you have the claustrophia, or don't like feeling closed in? This is definitely not what you want to do; that said, if you can conquer the feeling, it is worth it to see the ice sculptures when the tunnel opens up into a fairly large ice cave.

Despite all precautions, however, one of the tour members, Gary, managed to scare us all by slipping on the ice, but he didn’t sustain any serious or lasting damage, thank God! There was a nice man behind a wine counter (some promotional thing) who dashed up to see if he could help, then slipped on the ice *himself* going back to the counter - but he too, recovered quickly, without serious or lasting damage either. In fact, he was able to joke about it!

Wandering about the Ice Palace took about 30-45 minutes. Once we emerged, we were directed up to the elevator to the peak. The view...the view defies description; all those mountain peaks glittering in the morning sunshine, clothed in snow, and a 270-degree view of the entire range. I was huffing somewhat, not used to the air - and then I spotted yet *another* set of stairs up to the real top of the mountain!

Of course I climbed those stairs. Never mind that the thin air set my heart pounding, there were landings where I could stop and catch my breath, and I knew there was time to spare. At the second landing, I literally came face-to-face with what I knew later to be the Breithorn peak, and had to pinch myself to make it real, that I was actually looking at snow-capped mountains for the first time ever..

It was SO WORTH IT once at the top landing…it was feeling like the world was literally at one’s feet! We were incredibly blessed with the weather, which held steady throughout the entire time that we were on the mountain.

All too soon, we were all rounded up and packed into one of the boxcar cable cars for the ride down to the second station, where we were to have lunch and our “class picture”. Now, I’m not sure why or how it was that an optional tour was chosen as the best venue for the group picture - it seemed such a shame not to have everyone on board - but the Matterhorn was definitely *the* mother of all backdrops. We were all entitled to one 8x10 picture of the entire tour group and a free 5x7 picture of individuals, as the nice young photographer with the British accent explained, once we were set up on the benches.

The definite star of the show was Heidi the St. Bernard, such a love of a dog! Ma and I turned into puddles of fangirl goo yet again, and Heidi let herself be petted before settling into her role as professional model for the shoot. I now see how perfect such a dog is in such a setting, and how comforting it would be to see such a sweet face looming above one's half-frozen body in case of an accident on the slopes.

While the others were having their individual pictures taken, I repaid Elmar the small change he lent Dad at the third stage coffee shop - Dad not having changed money at the hotel, oye. I claim dereliction of duty, having been in charge of the Swiss francs, but forgetting in my excitement to ask if the parents needed money. Ah, well. All's well that ends, and we were able to go to lunch with a clear conscience.

Lunch. Mmmm, lunch! Piping hot barley soup and thick bread. It certainly filled the hollow parts inside me. By the time Elmar called out for those who needed cab rides back to the hotel (others would be walking through Zermatt on their way back), we'd seen the washrooms at least twice and were among the first in line. I now recall that this was where I turned into the lift operator, which was fun.

Housekeeping had just gotten to our room when we arrived, but they were quick about getting the beds and and bath settled - not more than ten minutes for fresh sheets and a quick vacuuming, while we waited in the living room area and watched CNN. With the sun high up, I proposed that while the parents rested (waking up early nearly every day was starting to get to them), I could pop down into the town to wander about until it was time to fetch the pictures.

First stop was at the hotel reception with the intent to change money; I frowned at the exchange rate and decided to take my chances in finding a bank, which usually improved on the exchange by a few cents at least. So off I walked, to the end of Zermatt’s main street and converted dollars at the Kantonalbank when it opened at 2.00 PM.

(How is it that the Swiss can have 2-hour lunch breaks and be so efficient with the day, while in Spain they have 4-hour lunch breaks and still seem…um…”laid-back”?)

Popped into the photo store and picked up the group shot and the additional 5R photo, both of which were beautiful. As the photo store was in the main square, there was lots to see when I came out - including the lovely barouche sent down by the Palace Hotel to pick up guests from the rail station. One of those missed "Kodak moments", to be sure! As in Villars, I bumped into fellow tour members coming and going; at one point, heard Elmar’s voice ringing across the square in animated German conversation, looked over my shoulder and smiled at another "Kodak moment".

Naturally I browsed through nearly all the souvenir shops that I was brave enough to step into. But previous shopping experience reminded me to stick to my resolution to do the bulk of the souvenir shopping in Lucerne, where the main Bucherer store is located. For the moment, I just bought a number of small items: a blusher brush, change purse, keychain, and a mini-whisk to stir soup with (next time must really remember to pack metal utensils).

One of the best things about Zermatt was finding a reflexology clinic run by a German doctor and his wife. It was in this little mini-mall in the COOP building. I went down, and inquired about the sign I had seen in the window about the clinic's services, and ended up having a restorative 30-minute foot massage. It was the. best. thing. ever.

By now, it was getting on for dinner, so back to Wally’s Grill for those sausages, and soft drinks to go with them from the COOP. Got back to the hotel just as Ma was getting ready to go into an anxiety attack over my lengthy absence, and all was well. Laid out the food, made up arroz caldo from our packets, and we made another good dinner out of it all.

After washing things up and checking on the state of the laundry, I settled down to update the journal while all the observations were still fresh in my head. I really ought to have brought the PocketPC, like I did in 2000 for the European Grandeur tour. With an early wake-up call tomorrow, I've got to finalize the arrangement of my suitcase and carry-on bag, so that it will be just a matter of grab-and-go when the time comes.