Travel Date: August 2020
2020 has been a year for reducing interaction, for minimizing contact, for sitting at home, for short breaks if conditions permit, for respecting boundaries and borders, for eschewing the exotic and exploring one's home...
Thankfully, the over 41,000 sq. km of Switzerland provide plenty of options for parents to stretch their legs and for the kids to run around. Also, there's nothing quite like the vast expanse of the mountains for some natural social distancing.
So it was that the summer break took us to the Mattertal and Saastal valleys in canton Valais, for a week in Zermatt and Saas-Fee.
Logistics
Trains from Zurich to Zermatt take anywhere between 3 and 4 hours, with all trains stopping off at Visp and the faster trains adding a stop at Bern.
However, with a focus on minimizing interaction, we avoided the normally superb Swiss public transportation and packed a suitcase and 2 kids into a sleepy 7am car.
Zermatt is a car-free village which meant that our drive took us to Täsch, a 12-minute train ride away from Zermatt. There are 3 driving routes from Zurich to Täsch, 2 of which involve driving the car onto a car transport.
On a pleasant day, we decided to avoid the car transport and drove the Furka Pass - a winding road along moss-coloured mountains, passing by a lake (Grimselsee), a reservoir (Oberarsee) and a little town (Obergoms) where we stopped for lunch at the Hotel Grimsel Obergoms.
Our home in Zermatt for 3 nights was the Naco Aparthotel - a spa apartment (yes, there apparently is such a thing) with a heated pool, breakfast and a 5 min walk away from the Zermatt train station and the Gornergrat Bahn that would take us up toward the Matterhorn.
Having arrived in Zermatt early evening, we spent the rest of the day walking around and taking in the children's playground in the center of the town. Say what you will about Switzerland, but they do playgrounds right!
Things to do in Zermatt
1. Take the Gornergrat Bahn for a Matterhorn view
The Gornergrat bahn has been in operation since the late 19th century and was the first fully electric mountain cog railway in the World. Located at a height of over 3000m, Gornergrat provides a panoramic view of the highest peaks in Switzerland - the Dufourspitze at 4634m and Matterhorn at 4478m.
Gornergrat is also the starting point for a hike to the Riffelsee, a mountain lake overlooking the Matterhorn. A little over 2km and an hour's slow walk, it features a a path that wanders alongside the Gornergrat cog line and has views of the Matterhorn throughout. The Riffelsee lake is a few minutes downhill walk away from the Gornergrat bahn stop called Rotenboden, the first one down from Gornergrat, and can be seen at the end of the video.
Walking with a 6-yr-old and a 3-yr-old is quite a challenge and features slow progress and lots of stops for Gummi-bears and sugar but I wouldn't change it for anything.
At Riffelsee, you will find place and space to sit down on the grass, maybe spread out a picnic blanket and watch the clouds roll by. While I wouldn't recommend letting the kids run around, there's grass, flowers and on a good day, perfect sunshine and a spectacular view.
It is quite possible that the Matterhorn is obscured by clouds and the much-photographed shot of the Matterhorn reflected in Riffelsee doesn't quite turn out how you planned it in your head. However, clouds move quickly in these parts. The air is fresh and clean and the views are nothing less than stunning, so perch yourself on a rock, take in the surroundings and give nature a few minutes...
Depending on your appetite for a trek, it is possible to continue walking all the way back down to Zermatt via the Gornergrat bahn line down past Riffelberg then Riffelalp and Findelbach before finally getting down to Zermatt - a total trek of just under 12km.
2. Trek along the River Gorner in the Gornerschlucht
The Gornerschlucht (gorge) is just under a 2km walk from the Zermatt train station through the center of town. It is a ravine through which winds a section of the Gorner river.
The gorge itself is not very long but has wooden walkways and plenty of stairs everywhere (and no ramps) to get around and get views of the raging river and the forested surroundings.
While we had the option of returning the way we came, given the short distance of the gorge itself, we chose instead to do a cliff-top walk through a forest, through the town of Blatten and then back down hill to Zermatt. This is about a 2km trekking loop again, making our entire walk a little shy of 5km.
At Blatten, a stop at the Bergrestaurant Blatten is a pretty good idea. They do a pretty good soup and a terrific rustic alpine Rösti.
Another fairly common and constantly amazing fact about Switzerland is that every mountain town set in a location popular among tourists also has a wonderful play area for children. Blatten is no exception.
The slopes behind the Bergrestaurant also has a Ricola herb garden with several of the herbs that go into the Ricola lozenges that are so popular today. The kids had fun running around and taking in the different fragrances of the different herbs.
From Blatten, the trail eventually heads sharply down the mountain towards Zermatt. There are multiple signs all of which indicate routes back to Zermatt but the one leading straight down the mountain is the fastest of the lot.
3. Grab a bite at the Vegistube in Hotel Pollux
In summer, Zermatt can get very busy and most restaurants tend to be completely filled for dinner by about 7pm in the evening. The only chance of a table is to have a fairly early meal or make a reservation.
In the center of Zermatt and along the main street running to the train station is the family run Hotel Pollux, which has 3 restaurants - a restaurant serving local Valais cuisine, another alpine restaurant with Mediterranean fare and the 'Vegistube' - a vegetarian fine dining restaurant.
Apart from being wonderfully warm on an evening where it was starting to rain and tastefully decorated, Vegistube has probably the best Italian dish I have ever eaten in my life...
A "Home-made cranberry gnocchi with mushrooms, radish and grilled vegetables".
Summing up
Zermatt is exceedingly touristy. There are bars, restaurants and stores all over the main street running through the center of town.
But there is a reason why the tourists come.
Zermatt's sights and mountains are stunning, even for Switzerland where stunning mountain-scapes are so common. And, at the end of a day of taking in the sights, the restaurants beckon. A glass in one hand, the Matterhorn in the background; tired but thankful.
Those are the ingredients of a perfect vacation day.
Comments
Post a Comment