Well, I thought I would share some more impressions from our trip. The trip was great, obviously. But I was very surprised by the amount of graffiti in Switzerland as we traveled by train. That was the only disappointment of the trip. We went down to Zermatt through Baden and Bern down to Brig, but came back to Zurich going through Gletsch, Andermatt and Lake Lucerne. The trains were really on-time. We bought five bags of luggage with us and the train system was so efficient we were worried several times that the train was going to depart and the luggage was going to go to Zurich and we were going to be left behind. I always liked trains and think they are a great way to travel.
Zermatt was a lot of fun and a step back in time. We skiied a bit. In a funny side bar, we spent about $400 USD getting Jennifer all outfitted to go skiing. She skied 45 minutes, and then rejoined, "I don't want to ski anymore... um, ever." That made me laugh. I said,"Well, OK...no problem. But can I get a run in at least"? Jennifer liked the toboggoning quite a bit though. It really is amazing how fast you can go and you simply toboggon from town to town. An aside: Swiss children make the run completely in the dark, with only a headlamp to light their way. The fact that they do it in complete darkness (and those things go fast too) was a sight to behold.
About Zermatt: Zermatt is incredibly serene, beautiful and peaceful...a valley surrounded on both sides by monutians. NO car traffic. They have a little cemetary where people who have tried to climb the Matterhorn and have not quite succeeded are buried there. All in all, a quaint mountain village that emits a robust and jovial spirit. There is a little village above Zermatt called Winklematten... and talk about an incredible view at night: the Matterhorn in the background...the lights of train windows passing high in the mountains behind me, the warm lights of houses dotting a gorged valley with a charging stream running through it below... and all defined by just total stillness. Every sound was amplified. It was so incredibly nice. I just sat, all by myself, over the gorge bridge taking it all in (Jennifer gets too cold for that type of stuff)... for about three hours straight. It was a very awe inspiring three hours.
As far as the food: I tried horse steak for the first time. Tastes like venison. Really wasn't a big deal. The Kasefondue was very good, but the raclette is definitely an experience. It is a specially melted cheese served with potatoes, pickled onions and gerkins. Along with Rosti, which is a Swiss grated potato pancake, it definitely gives much needed constitution to face the cold. Also, I did get my hands on some good Kirsch for my own fondues. Finally! I bought two bottles... the Etter, which I use for making fondues and the Dettling Reserve... which I am reserving for tasting. We had friends over the other night and I tried the Dettling for the first time. It has a strong cherry flavor and it is quite good. The Swiss breakfast is very spare. They use real full cream milk, which definitely makes your museli cereal taste richer! A simple selection of cheese, salami, bread and jam typically rounded out our morning eating session.
Upon our return to Zurich, we took a journey off the Obnammanstrasse, near the bahnhof (train station) and we came across this little coffee cafe named Cafe Felix. Talk about the most intensively decorated place on the planet. Everything was covered from head to toe in Christmas decorations. Including the ceiling. It looked like a Christmas jungle. And the one time we didn't have a camera (sigh), but I would have loved to get that shot. It was memorable.
All in all, I have always been fascinated with everything Swiss. Even to the point that I brushed up a bit on Swiss history. I think they are a great people. My travels there reinforced why I am so enthralled with country and its people. Switzerland is definitely a place we will revisit soon. The goal is to make Europe a stop every two years. One goal I definitely hope to live up to!
