May 26-28, 2024

There are many things to comment about driving in Switzerland. First, it is extremely mountainous. The roads are curvy, with tunnels blown through the mountains. There are more round-a-bouts than anywhere I’ve ever seen. Driving from Chamonix to Zermatt was no exception and poor Kenna got a little car sick. We stopped at a gas station to pee and get her a coke. Rel bought some candy. She liked it so much. She continued to search for it throughout the trip to bring back home. We saw TT about 20 miles from Zermatt. We stopped on the side of the road. We snapped a few photos and said hi. The last few miles were straight up. They were so narrow that you had to wait at lights. One way could go before the opposite way. We followed the GPS, which was a big mistake. We flew by the Matterhorn train terminal in Tasch without as much as a glance. We completely missed the signs. We did not realize that public driving is not allowed beyond that station. We drove straight into the town of Zermatt. A woman literally snarled at us as we went by. Then another woman waved at us frantically. We stopped and rolled down the window. She said “driving in the village is strictly forbidden. There is a very expensive fine!” So I turned around, pulled over and called the hotel. They told me to go back to the train station, park the car and take the train into town. By the grace of God, we did not get stopped by any police. We made it back to the train station. As it was leaving, we raced over and barely caught it by squeezing into a cargo area. It’s a very short 10 min ride. When you arrive on their public phones out in the square outside the train station, call the hotel. Then they send a mini cargo-looking electric van to pick you up. Kenna was thrilled about this unique electric van. She told us she really wants one to drive around in Draper. Right as we pulled into our hotel (Hotel Daniela), TT arrived on his bike. He shocked us by not stopping and flying right past us. Naturally, we tried to chase him down. We found out that he had seen us. He was close to reaching the 100-mile mark, so he kept going. He crossed that number. He told us the last 20 miles were brutal! I’ll bet!! It was brutal for us too, just in a more anxiety producing way. After we got check in and settled, we headed out to explore. We wanted to check out the peak. Sadly, the clouds were covering the Matterhorn. Good thing we were staying a couple days. We found an Italian restaurant that was really delicious, especially the desserts.

Once again the beds in the hotel are the hardest I’ve ever slept on. What it is with Europeans affinity for discomfort? We went to breakfast and then rented E-bikes. We headed up the mountain on a gravel road. We went all the way to the base of the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn was still covered in clouds. We cruised by an empty ski resort. It felt a little bit too much like the Shining IMO. It was empty of people and hard to get to. Kenna was a little bit sick with a sore throat. We stopped in the weirdest, tiniest little village. It had zero cars. We were shocked to find a restaurant that had just opened three days earlier for the summer crowd. We took a big gamble and Wowza was the food great and fresh! Spaghetti, carrot and ginger soup, caprese salad, homemade bread and hot chocolate. The bike ride down the mountain and back into the village was breathtakingly beautiful. Once we got back to the village, we shopped around a bit. The hotel in Chamonix broke my small suitcase extendable handle. So, I bought a new one. Then, I bought a new periwinkle-ish silver-ish puffy jacket. I love it so much that I can’t wait for Winter to wear it.

Once we got back to the hotel, I went to shower and wash my hair. I only then discovered a frustrating packing error. There were two shampoos and no conditioner, and the hotels there don’t provide any. The kids went to find the pool and hot tub. And they also found a creepy and fascinating Himalayan salt walled meditation space in a grass filled coffin.

We went to dinner at a very mediocre place called Luna. Then the skies opened up, and it poured on us while we walked back.

The weather made it up to us. The next morning, the clouds parted briefly. We managed to capture a few too many photos of the peak of the Matterhorn. We absorbed the moment. We hung out on some cool partially reclined benches. They were specifically for contemplating the amazingness of their mountain. Pretty sure Walt Disney must have been inspired by spending some time right here.

Off on another biking adventure, TT changed and headed off for our next stop, Grindewald. The girls and I packed up, got a ride to the station and caught our train. About halfway through the ride, a girl passed out her chair and slipped right onto the floor. Rel sprang into newly minted RN action to help her. She came to pretty quickly and told us she was early pregnant. We gave her a bottle of water. Then she started throwing up into a canvas bag her friend had brought along. We helped clean her up with tissues as Rel was fanning her. As this was happening, we saw TT biking past the train out on the road. We were worried to leave the girl but glad she wasn’t alone. We packed up our belongings and got into the car. Then, we set off, anticipating the next GPS disaster. It would hopefully guide us to our next amazing destination.

Guest Blogger Rel:

My favorite memory of Switzerland was when we were in Zermatt. When we first arrived, we were driving into the town. We immediately started getting dirty looks. We were confused until a lady stopped us. She said, “no car town, you must turn back, no cars.” Take note: if you ever go to Zermatt, you cannot drive your car into town. You have to take the train in. Lesson learned haha. The first morning we were there, we rented E-bikes. We used them to explore the town. Then we went up the mountain towards the Matterhorn. The hills of the town were so hard to bike up and we got lost finding the trail. Once we started on the trail, it was so beautiful. There were so many sheep and it was soooo green! The trail was like straight up but it wasn’t so bad because of the E bike. We went through some tunnels. We went over bridges. We got to the top where we would’ve seen the top of the Matterhorn. Sadly, it was a wee bit too cloudy. We started riding down. We passed through the little town of Z’mutt. You can only get to it by biking or hiking. It was such a cute little town with little buildings. We stopped at the restaurant Z’mutt for lunch which we didn’t have high hopes for. Boy, were we wrong about that! This meal was to die for. I would go back just for this meal. We got soup, fresh bread, tomato and mozzarella with balsamic. We also had hot chocolate and some type of freshly made spaghetti. Two older guys made everything. It was amazinggggggg and I dream about this meal often. After that, we rode back down. The next day we saw the Matterhorn clearly. It was sooo cool!!!