It was time to leave the hotel in the charming mountain town of Unterbaech in the Canton of Valais in southwestern Switzerland. Well into our second week in Switzerland, we had enjoyed all those fine dinners and the breakfast buffets that go with hotel stays. The selection of cheeses, fine breads, and the European custom of serving warm milk with coffee is a civilized way to live.
We had postponed our trip to view the Matterhorn for a day, hoping for sunshine. That decision by our tour guide, Hans Bernet, paid off. It was a gorgeous, bright, sunny day as our bus left the hotel, passing through a street so narrow that the buildings on each side of the bus were within arms' length.
Then it was down the one lane, winding mountain road to the Rhone Valley, and the town of Taesch. At Taesch we switched to a train and the trip to the south end of the Matter Valley to Zermatt.
To prevent air pollution that would obscure the view of the Matterhorn, with the exception of emergency vehicles, combustion engines have long been banned in Zermatt. Essential commercial vehicles are battery-driven and nearly silent.
Zermatt, famed as a mountaineering and ski resort, was once predominantly agricultural. Following the first attempt at climbing the Matterhorn in 1865, there was a rush on mountaineering, leading to construction of tourist facilities. (Only three of seven climbers survived that 1865 climb.)
Today on this bright, clear, crisp autumn day, the view of the Matterhorn is spectacular. But there is more to come. The Gornergrat is a rocky ridge south of Zermatt that affords an even more spectacular view. To reach the Gornergrat, we take the Gornergratbahn, a steep 30-minute 9 km Cog railway ride to reach the viewing area.
In the clear, crisp air with a cloudless sky, tourists enjoy the unobstructed view of the Matterhorn, perhaps the most photographed iconic symbol of Switzerland and the Alps in general. The mountain derives its name from the German words matte, meaning "meadow," and horn, which means "peak." It is located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 14,690 feet, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps.
The Matterhorn is on the watershed divide, separating drainage to the Rhone and to the Mediterranean Sea; and the Po River that drains south into Italy and into the Adriatic Sea.
The Matterhorn has a pyramidal shape with four faces, toward each of the four compass points. The most familiar view of its distinctive shape is that visible from Zermatt and the Gornergrat, the north and east faces bisected by the sharp northeast ridge. Its pyramidal shape, great height, and isolated location cause weather patterns producing condensation and cloud formations that often obstruct a clear view of the mountain. Visitors cite frequent trips to the Matterhorn without the pleasure of a clear view. We are very fortunate to have enjoyed such a clear view.
After a leisurely, pleasant session on the Gornergrat, with plenty of pictures, we again board the cog railway for the descent to Zermatt. A hiking trail roughly parallels the cog railway track, affording the opportunity to hike all or part way back down to Zermatt in the bracing Alpine air.
Back in Zermatt, we wander around, having a snack and perusing the souvenir shops. The streets are filled with tourists, but not so much as during the height of the summer tourist season. Then it's back on the train, down to Taesch to board our bus toward our next destination, Interlaken.
Once again in the Rhone Valley, we head east, upstream. If we had thought we had seen unique beauty spots in Switzerland, we were to see yet more. In the bright, sunny afternoon, each village in the valley seems more picturesque than the previous. Artistic Swiss chalets dot the hillsides. Cattle graze contentedly on the green pastures between groves of trees. This seems that it can't be real - it has to be staged for the benefit of photographers. However, it is real and has to be experienced to be believed.
Interlaken is on the other side of the high mountain range to our left, as we are traveling east. Therefore, we have to go north to go over one of the passes to get to the other side. Our driver, Urs, chooses the Grimsel Pass. We leave the Rhone at the town of Gletsch and ascend the winding road to the top of the pass.
As we near the top, we are shrouded with clouds. We stop at the top at a restaurant and tavern, both to grab some coffee or, for some of us, a beer, and also because Swiss law dictates that bus drivers take periodic breaks. So it's a winning situation for all, our driver, the restaurant, and for us as tourists desiring another Swiss beer.
The top of the pass is on the high ridge of the Alps that is another watershed divide, in this case, the continental divide. Continental divides are interesting. Raindrops falling on the south side of the divide find their way to the Rhone River and eventually into the Mediterranean Sea via southern France. Raindrops falling only a fraction of an inch to the north eventually find their way into the Rhine River and into the North Sea.
At this altitude, there is some residual snow along the road remaining from the previous day's snowfall. A couple of us make a few snowballs and toss them into the cold mountain pool along the road.
We board the bus and begin our descent toward the Aare River, tributary to the Rhine, and the area known as the Bernese Oberland. This is another region of Switzerland that has special significance for our area of southern Wisconsin as so many of our ancestors are from this area.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
We had postponed our trip to view the Matterhorn for a day, hoping for sunshine. That decision by our tour guide, Hans Bernet, paid off. It was a gorgeous, bright, sunny day as our bus left the hotel, passing through a street so narrow that the buildings on each side of the bus were within arms' length.
Then it was down the one lane, winding mountain road to the Rhone Valley, and the town of Taesch. At Taesch we switched to a train and the trip to the south end of the Matter Valley to Zermatt.
To prevent air pollution that would obscure the view of the Matterhorn, with the exception of emergency vehicles, combustion engines have long been banned in Zermatt. Essential commercial vehicles are battery-driven and nearly silent.
Zermatt, famed as a mountaineering and ski resort, was once predominantly agricultural. Following the first attempt at climbing the Matterhorn in 1865, there was a rush on mountaineering, leading to construction of tourist facilities. (Only three of seven climbers survived that 1865 climb.)
Today on this bright, clear, crisp autumn day, the view of the Matterhorn is spectacular. But there is more to come. The Gornergrat is a rocky ridge south of Zermatt that affords an even more spectacular view. To reach the Gornergrat, we take the Gornergratbahn, a steep 30-minute 9 km Cog railway ride to reach the viewing area.
In the clear, crisp air with a cloudless sky, tourists enjoy the unobstructed view of the Matterhorn, perhaps the most photographed iconic symbol of Switzerland and the Alps in general. The mountain derives its name from the German words matte, meaning "meadow," and horn, which means "peak." It is located on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 14,690 feet, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps.
The Matterhorn is on the watershed divide, separating drainage to the Rhone and to the Mediterranean Sea; and the Po River that drains south into Italy and into the Adriatic Sea.
The Matterhorn has a pyramidal shape with four faces, toward each of the four compass points. The most familiar view of its distinctive shape is that visible from Zermatt and the Gornergrat, the north and east faces bisected by the sharp northeast ridge. Its pyramidal shape, great height, and isolated location cause weather patterns producing condensation and cloud formations that often obstruct a clear view of the mountain. Visitors cite frequent trips to the Matterhorn without the pleasure of a clear view. We are very fortunate to have enjoyed such a clear view.
After a leisurely, pleasant session on the Gornergrat, with plenty of pictures, we again board the cog railway for the descent to Zermatt. A hiking trail roughly parallels the cog railway track, affording the opportunity to hike all or part way back down to Zermatt in the bracing Alpine air.
Back in Zermatt, we wander around, having a snack and perusing the souvenir shops. The streets are filled with tourists, but not so much as during the height of the summer tourist season. Then it's back on the train, down to Taesch to board our bus toward our next destination, Interlaken.
Once again in the Rhone Valley, we head east, upstream. If we had thought we had seen unique beauty spots in Switzerland, we were to see yet more. In the bright, sunny afternoon, each village in the valley seems more picturesque than the previous. Artistic Swiss chalets dot the hillsides. Cattle graze contentedly on the green pastures between groves of trees. This seems that it can't be real - it has to be staged for the benefit of photographers. However, it is real and has to be experienced to be believed.
Interlaken is on the other side of the high mountain range to our left, as we are traveling east. Therefore, we have to go north to go over one of the passes to get to the other side. Our driver, Urs, chooses the Grimsel Pass. We leave the Rhone at the town of Gletsch and ascend the winding road to the top of the pass.
As we near the top, we are shrouded with clouds. We stop at the top at a restaurant and tavern, both to grab some coffee or, for some of us, a beer, and also because Swiss law dictates that bus drivers take periodic breaks. So it's a winning situation for all, our driver, the restaurant, and for us as tourists desiring another Swiss beer.
The top of the pass is on the high ridge of the Alps that is another watershed divide, in this case, the continental divide. Continental divides are interesting. Raindrops falling on the south side of the divide find their way to the Rhone River and eventually into the Mediterranean Sea via southern France. Raindrops falling only a fraction of an inch to the north eventually find their way into the Rhine River and into the North Sea.
At this altitude, there is some residual snow along the road remaining from the previous day's snowfall. A couple of us make a few snowballs and toss them into the cold mountain pool along the road.
We board the bus and begin our descent toward the Aare River, tributary to the Rhine, and the area known as the Bernese Oberland. This is another region of Switzerland that has special significance for our area of southern Wisconsin as so many of our ancestors are from this area.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
