2004 Europe

Bonhof Strassa - Zermatt, Switzerland



June 2 - Up early this AM to take the Gornergat cog railway into the Alps. Zermatt (above) is at about 5,000 feet and the train will take us to Gornergat station at about 11,000 feet. The track has a rail down the center that has large teeth on it (below). The train’s engine has a cog on the bottom with teeth that mesh with this track preventing it from sliding backward when the rails are wet or the grade is steep. The cog turns in unison with the wheels and drives the train forward without regard to the conditions of the track. If the engine should fail the cog locks in place and keeps the train from sliding backwards out of control.



The Swiss are a punctual lot and the train departed right on time. It makes 4 stops on the way to the top to drop hikers off at various trailheads and one stop is at a large hotel at about 8,000 feet. Gornergat (below) is way above the tree line and there has been snow up here in the last few days. The top layer is quite soft and makes a good snowball.



It’s quite cloudy again today and the Matterhorn is not in sight. We can see Mt. Duforspitze clearly. It’s actually taller than the Matterhorn at 14,942 feet but lacks the latter’s unique shape. It’s actually a rather lumpy looking mountain that is probably much easier to climb because the slope is so gradual. Despite the fact that the Matterhorn was completely shrouded in clouds, I have a picture of the group with the mountain clearly visible behind us. There’s a photographer at Gornergat Station that has two large (are there any other kind?) Saint Bernards. He takes pictures of groups with the dogs and then, if necessary, digitally adds a very clear image of the Matterhorn in the background. Pretty much proof that the mountain is often not visible. The picture looks very convincing and we all swore an oath of secrecy with regard to the photo editing (Oops!!).



I had some vegetable, wurst soup and it was very good. There were two kinds of sausages in it and the vegetables were very finely cut, almost like pea soup. Diana had the same soup without the wurst. After stalling around quite a while, waiting for a clear view of the Matterhorn we reboarded the train for the ride back to Zermatt.



I decided to take a walk through Zermatt to see if there was anything to buy. I need to replace my clip on sunglasses, as I am sure the sun will be out again some time and I’m looking for some decongestants, as I’m out and my sinuses are still going crazy. While I was walking up through town I stopped to admire a church and when I walked out on the church’s porch, there was the Matterhorn staring me in the face. It was quite windy across the mountain and the clouds had cleared from one face. The ridge running down the mountainside was so sharp that the wind was eddying there and creating clouds in the disturbed air. No matter how hard the wind blew the newly created clouds just continue to stream off the ridge and flow to the right. It looked like the mountain was smoking (below). It was really spectacular to watch. Having seen the Matterhorn, my day was complete and I returned to the hotel just in time to join Diana in the lobby for a fashionable, 4PM, cup of tea. By the way, I did get replacement sunglasses and just in time too. The sun was out in force when I came out of the church.



One more night in Zermatt and we’re off to Stein am Rhine our last stop in Switzerland.

(c) 2004 Rod Longenberger