Growing up in a fishing village, it was a luxury to eat toblerone. People who lived abroad or whose family did, usually received this addictive melts-in-your-mouth chocolate with bits of almond nougat. If we're lucky, we would also get some. 🙃
I never knew that pyramid on the chocolate packaging is a real mountain, until years ago (don't judge me). In fact, it is the inspiration for Toblerone's prism shape. Who would've thought that such a mountain with an almost perfect pyramid and sharp edge exists, for real.
I have always dreamed about going to the alps and rolling like a barrel on the green fields; all the more when I knew about the Matterhorn on the internet.
Fortunately, Kevin let me plan our recent trip to Switzerland, even though it meant he had to drive about 5-7 hours between accommodations. We started in Vaduz, his hometown, and set off to stay two nights in Iseltwald, where I also blogged about here. We traversed the Grimsel mountain pass from Iseltwald to Brig. It was still autumn but the highest point was already covered in snow and with low visibility; the roads luckily were still passable.
We reached Brig about two hours later; there was still enough time to relax at Thermalquellen Brigerbad AG, a thermal spa with large outdoor pool and water slide. We made sure we were rested, parked the car, and took the train for Zermatt; yay, we were getting closer to the Matterhorn!
There are many ways to get to Zermatt. Most people take the Glacier express marveling the views from the train's wide windows. Private cars are not allowed to enter Zermatt. Along the way, I got lost at the wonderful sceneries of the ice capped mountains. But they were just the icing on the cake, of what awaited us.
The moment I saw Matterhorn while onboard the train, my heart skipped a beat. I could not believe it, for many years I dreamed about seeing it in person, and there it was, right before my eyes! Kevin, even when less enthusiastic about European mountains (because he saw them a lot, growing up), just smirked, but could not not fully hide his amusement too.
We arrived in Zermatt a little bit after 4pm. First thing we noticed were the unique electric buses taking hotel guests back and from the train station. One was waiting for us too.
The next day we took the early cog railway train towards Riffelsee, a mountain lake at 2757m. It was a known spot to see the sunrise over the Matterhorn. I was crossing my fingers for two reasons: 1- hoping the weather would cooperate and give us a good view, 2- that we would not miss the train. And, voila! Goodness gracious! We were not just in time, the morning sky was perfectly clear. Then began the series of spectacular display of nature.
It was a dramatic couple of minutes; we were speechless. If this glorious mountain looked magnificent in the photos (I tried my best), how much more if you're actually standing there at the almost frozen small lake while the morning sun bathe it with golden rays.
Despite the thin air, we were energized like little kids at play.
We then took the train and continued towards Gornergrat, the highest and last stop of the cog railway. There we could see a panoramic view of the Gorner glacier along with other highest peaks of Switzerland. Here's the thing with me, I am scared of high altitude, especially if I am not hiking to acclimatize. Gornergrat is at 3089m. But you know what, I totally forgot about that. The view was hypnotizing, it felt like the time stood still up there.
I would never eat toblerone the same way, lol.
Leaving Zermatt to go to our next destination, we took the famous James Bond Goldfinger's mountain road, the Furka Pass, listening to Dire Straits' Sultans of Swing. Kevin loved driving on the winding road, while I got a bit dizzy and holding on to my seat on every curve. I was glad I did not play hardstyle music on the car.
It was indeed a memorable trip, one of the best we did. More meaningful because we both saw that beautiful sunrise together. If there will be an opportunity to go back to Zermatt, I would really love to hike the famous lake trails around the area during summer and pet the lambs. Of course, that's after watching the sunrise over and over again. But for now, let me just reminisce once in a while. xoxo
