Weekend in Zermatt

Matt and I spent the weekend in Zermatt. It’s about a 2 ½ hour drive from our town. The main attraction there is the Matterhorn, which is absolutely stunning to see in person. We’ve seen a lot of mountains while in Switzerland, so I wasn’t sure this one would be any different, but it was. The town of Zermatt is a little on the touristy-side, but we really liked it. It was so quiet there. The only sound we could hear at night was the nearby river. Cars are not allowed in town, so you need to park in a nearby town and take the train or a taxi. Everyone gets around by foot, bike or over-sized golf cart in town. They use the golf carts like a taxi or bus. They kind of sneak up on you as they are very quiet, so we considered the weekend a success as neither of us got pegged by one. As we were walking through Zermatt on one of the nights, we had a special treat – a trio of alphorn players. I’ve been waiting to see these guys and there they were playing on the street. They looked just like the ones in the Ricola cough drop commercials.

Matt found a beautiful hotel in town that opened last month. We really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Phoenix. The owner was very friendly and helpful and our room had a nice view of the Matterhorn. Here’s the website if you want to check it out: http://www.hotelphoenix.ch

We spent Saturday and Sunday hiking around the area. There are several different ways to get up to see the Matterhorn and other surrounding mountains and glaciers. On Saturday we took an underground funicular up to a viewing area. We took pictures of the Matterhorn’s reflection in a glacial lake right along with the Japanese tourists. How do they always know where the best photo opportunites are? Then we hiked over to a town and caught a train up to another viewing area. We hiked back down to a different town for lunch – sausage filled with cheese and rosti (a Swiss speciality that is a lot like hashbrowns). We went for a three hour hike on Sunday as well. We had beautiful views of the Matterhorn the entire time as our trail meandered through the Swiss countryside.

Millie made the trip to Zermatt, too. I love this take your dog anywhere thing in Europe. She thoroughly enjoyed the hiking, especially chasing marmots. She was on the hunt for the little critters (they look a lot like overgrown prairie dogs to me).

Hot!

We’ve had a very hot week in Switzerland. It’s 35 degrees Celsius right now at 19h00 (7 p.m.), which converts to 95 degrees in Fahrenheit. The humidity is 38%. (I’m not sure exactly what that means, all I know is that it’s hot!) This kind of weather makes our apartment on the top floor feel like an oven, and we don’t have air conditioning. No air conditioning at work, either, so we get pretty sweaty and stay that way all day. I made a trip to the beach on Monday with my friend, Jen, and her three kids in an attempt to stay cool. It helped some. Matt bought a fan to use at work in his attempt to stay cool since they don’t have AC in his office. We’re headed to Zermatt this weekend to see the Matterhorn (described as the most recognizable mountain on the planet). It should be cooler temps there, so we’re looking forward to it after the heat this week.

Beer Run

Matt and I made a beer run to Germany last Saturday. Matt said we needed more beer because I have some girlfriends visiting soon. Not sure if I completely believe that one, but okay. Our drive there was uneventful. It took a little over two hours. We went to a small town just over the Swiss border and had a nice lunch in a little village. Matt had Rinder-something or other and I had Schwein-something or other for lunch. Ah, the joys of not knowing a language. I knew my meal had something to do with pork but that’s all I knew for sure. Matt ended up with the better of the two lunches. His entrée was beef.

After lunch we headed to the Getrunkmarkt. That’s where they sell the beer. You make your own cases, so you can mix and match different kinds of beer. It’s just like the variety packs of pop that my dad used to make for me in college. Matt enjoyed himself at the Getrunkmarkt and had a hard time deciding which beers to buy. I thought it was interesting that they had a little girl about eight or nine years old running the cash register. She knew her beers, too. I guess they train them young in Deutschland. We weren’t so lucky with our drive back home. We sat in traffic for quite a while to get over the border, which was our own fault. Our GPS (we named her Brenda after Matt’s high school girlfriend) told us to go a different way but we ignored her. It took us an extra hour to get home. The lesson learned: sometimes you should listen to the old girlfriend and not the wife.

Home Sweet Home

Matt and I had a wonderful time with family and friends while home in the US. Matt returned to Switzerland at the end of July, and I stayed in Minnesota for an extra week and a half. We were busy, busy while home, but it was all fun. We came back exhausted from all of the activities. Not as exhausted as Millie, though. She did not make the big trip to the US, but instead spent her time at a dog kennel near Lausanne. It was her and 20 other dogs in Monsieur Fahrni’s house. (His house!) Matt said she slept for two full days after he picked her up because she was so tired. She didn’t have the energy to even go potty. She didn’t pee for 22 hours according to a frustrated Matt after he picked her up, so he came home during his lunch hour to try to get her to pee. Twenty two hours! That’s longer than she had to hold it when she flew over to Switzerland last year!

Matt and I were very strategic about packing for the trip. We came home with almost empty suitcases so that we could stock up on supplies: spices, brown sugar, chocolate chips, press n’ seal saran wrap, taco and chili seasonings, Frank’s red hot sauce, frosting, etc. We also did quite a bit of clothes shopping. Clothes in the US were inexpensive compared to what we pay here. We were able to catch up on all of the foods we missed, too: pizza at DeMoris and Roadhouse, Mexican food, fast food, steaks, corn on the cob, hamburgers and more hamburgers.

I had a chance to meet new babies while home: Jemma’s son, Keane, Amy’s little girl, Ingrid and Anne’s little guy, Marty. I even had a chance to see our Switzerland friends, Jen and Dan, who were visiting Dan’s family in Eagle River, Wisconsin.

We had a great trip home! Matt and I are so thankful for the love and support we get from all of our family and friends.