Woke up at 05:30, had a look out of the window to see it had been snowing, not much but enough to cover the trees. The hotel was next to the train station and there were a few people getting off plus several people wandering around the main road. They get up early here. Not me, I went back to sleep.
Got up at 07:30, got ready and went for breakfast. Unless breakfast is included in the room cost we don’t eat at the hotel but find a local cafe, but there’s nothing in Tasch so we had to pay for it at the hotel – about $28 each.
If you ever want to do a budget holiday don’t come to Switzerland.
The weather wasn’t the best for the cable car, but unless you stay for a few days to try and catch a sunny day, you’re stuck with it. Tomorrow is supposed to be clear, so we might miss out on the best views today, but nothing we can do about it. The cable car goes from Zermatt to the ski slopes, then in 2023 they joined up with the Italian side so it goes to a village in Italy, stopping several times on the way to let the skiers off. We’re not skiing, but we have to get off and switch to other cars because most of them just go up and down the same section on a loop.
Went down for breakfast, which was terrible; cold sausages, cold scrambled eggs and bacon, which at least was warm. They had bread and jams but no toaster and I decided I wouldn’t risk the coffee. They had some mini croissants which I had with jam which were passable. We decided we wouldn’t have it tomorrow, we’re doing a train trip and we ordered lunch.
Went to the station next door and bought the ticket to Zermatt, and also a beanie because it was still snowing and my head was cold.
Got to the shuttle station, it’s a 12 minute trip to Zermatt, quite a few people waiting. The shuttle runs every 20 minutes, but the scheduled time came and went. The official came out and said there was a problem with the electrical system and she didn’t know how long it would be so we should wait inside. We decided to get a taxi, there were loads of places so we popped into one. The guy said there had been an avalanche and the roads were closed. Bugger. This didn’t sound good, it could mean that we might not be able to get the cable car today, and we get the train first thing in the morning. We went back to the station and saw some guys loading ski gear into a taxi minivan, Song said we should ask if he could take us to Zermatt, I said he was probably taking them back to their hotel because the previous guy said the roads were closed. Turns out this guy didn’t get the memo, and said yes he could take us. 1 minute later we were hurtling up the mountain towards Zermatt. Got there 5 minutes later, no roads closed and no signs of an avalanche so not sure what the other guy was on about. Asked how much, the driver said 20 Euro for both of us (the other guy quoted 36 so we did well, although we’d lost out on the shuttle ticket).
Zermatt town doesn’t allow cars, so we were dropped off just outside and decided to walk the 15 minutes to the cable car station through the main town. A lot different from Tasch – lots of high end shops (Rolex, Omega) and hundreds of people with skis and helmets heading towards the cable car. There were also little taxis and hotel courtesy buses, the only vehicles allowed.
Finally onto the cable car after the initial hiccup at Tasch, we were joined by a Swiss couple who weren’t skiing, like us. There was cloud and fog above, but as the car climbed there were great views of the snow covered hills with the occasional group of skiers below us. Had a chat with the couple, then got off the car only to realise it was where the skiers got off, the Swiss couple must have thought we were idiots or have just invented the new sport of skiing without skis – or falling, as it’s also known.
The cabins weren’t heated, and as we went higher it got colder. The cable car goes to the ski slopes, but also carries on going across the alps to Italy, which is where we were headed. We had to change a few times, sometimes we had the car to ourselves, other times several skiers crowded in – they put their skis in receptacles outside the car then clamber in with their poles. As we ascended, I couldn’t imagine the effort involved in building this thing – some of the sections were really steep.
We arrived at the main stop, the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Paradise was pushing it, there was an ice palace (closed), a restaurant (didn’t look) and the ski slopes. As soon as we stepped off the car, I felt a bit dizzy and light-headed, and a bit short of breath. We were at 3883 M above sea level.
There was a viewing platform (the highest in the Alps) which was reached by a lift. A very crowded lift. We went up, crammed in and surrounded by people kitted out with helmets, gloves, goggles, boots. They left the skis or snowboards outside the lift. Got out of the lift, then up some steps to the platform. Unfortunately it was cloudy on one side, which happened to be the Matterhorn side, so we couldn’t see it, but in bright sunshine on the other side was the Breithorn mountain, very spectacular. Still feeling dizzy, and also starting to feel the cold – it was -8C – we headed back down in the lift and onto the next stop.
We had a car to ourselves, it seated about 20. It started to descend, we could see loads of skiers heading down the mountain. At the next stop a load of them crowded in, and we set off again and the car started to go up. We got off at the next stop to switch cars only to find ourselves back at the main stop – we (I) forgot to get off when all the skiers got on; I’d forgotten it wasn’t a train, these things went back and forth between the same places. Went down again and this time remembered to get off. This stop had a toilet and a cafe, so we went into both. The cafe had a stove going, so we stood by that for a few minutes to warm up.
We got into the next car, heading down. The dizziness had gone, but it was getting colder. It was also cloudy, and visibility was about 10M, so nothing for us to see. We carried on, debating whether to go all the way to the end or to just go back, but decided that since we’d come all this way, and we’re not coming back, we may as well.
As the car descended further into the Italian side, we broke through the clouds and had some good views of the hills and village. Once we reached the end, we decided that we wouldn’t look around, we’d head back. We were now both starting to feel the cold – my toes were cold and my fingers were getting a bit numb – we hadn’t brought gloves, I thought keeping my hands in my pockets would be enough (it wasn’t). I can’t remember feeling as cold as this. Not a lot we could do, so we just headed back, getting in and out of the cars. When we got back to the main stop, we thought we’d better have another visit to the viewing platform because it seemed sunnier than before. So despite the cold, we crammed into the lift again.
Luckily the cloud had shifted, and we now had a view of the Matterhorn. Photos were taken. It was covered with a little cloud, so not completely clear, but well worth the trip.
Back down again, and finally after a few car swaps, arrived back in Zermatt. We decided to go into the nearest cafe to warm up and have a hot drink. We found a nice one and I had a coffee, we both had vegetable soup even though we didn’t intend to eat. As Song said, if you’re cold and there’s soup on the menu, you have to have it. I also had a chocolate croissant. Came to 42 Swiss Francs ($75) and worth every penny. Actually it wasn’t, but we were cold and just wanted to be somewhere warm.
The shuttle was running again, so we got that back to the hotel where we relaxed, almost forgetting how cold we were only about an hour before.
We’re glad we got to see the Matterhorn, in the morning it was looking as if the day would be a washout, then we got to Zermatt, then it looked as if the weather would be too bad, but we had a bit of luck.
Tomorrow we get the Glacier Express from Zermatt to Chur.
This part of the trip was amazing. The Swiss Alps are spectacular, the mountains incredibly steep – I can’t fathom how people could climb the Matterhorn, it looks impossible.