Struggling to Find the Matterhorn

From the outset of planning our Swiss visit Theresia had strongly advocated a trip to the mountains – specifically the Valais (Wallis) area around the Matterhorn. Although the area boasts the ten highest mountains in Switzerland (all over 4000m) it is the Matterhorn itself, standing 4478m high, that has become the symbol of all things Swiss (most noticeably on the cover of every Toblerone chocolate in the world!) and which Theresia felt was an unmissable attraction. Naturally we agreed and so she planned an awesome road trip for Denise and I as well as Paul, Armin, Adolfo, Neyran, and herself.

So it was that on Saturday Adolfo and Neyran joined us at Theresia’s apartment. Denise and I joined them in their very stylish BMW coupe whilst the others rode in Theresia’s Audi. Using the in-built GPS (with which I instantly fell in love!) we tracked our progress around the shores of Lake Geneva via Montreux (site of the famous annual Jazz Festival) to the small town of Täsh – base station for the funicular railway that climbs the foothills to car-free Zermatt, the town closest to the Matterhorn. The weather was quite cloudy and the trip was interspersed with patches of light rain which added great atmosphere to the climb through the picturesque mountain passes. The warming influences of the lake meant that we only really started feeling the cold in Täsh and, of course, in Zermatt itself. As you probably recall Denise and I did not bring much in the way of really warm clothes on the trip so we were quite glad to have the spare jackets loaned to us by Theresia.

Living the High life in the Swiss Alps

The village was really quaint – pretty much everything you would expect from an alpine setting, complete with log-cabin-styled buildings and even the obligatory St. Bernard dog! What we couldn’t see was the Matterhorn – which was shrouded in low-lying cloud and mist. You won’t find many ‘normal’ stores or buildings here – every second plot is a hotel, a restaurant, a boutique, or a ski-shop (many offering ‘extreme’ options like helicopter-drop skiing). We walked around the town getting our bearings and checked into our hotel (see separate review) after which we returned to the bratwurst stand we had spotted on the way in to grab a quick sausage snack. Our further wanderings took us past the picture-perfect church, the local museum, the poignant grave-markers of those climbers whose lives have been claimed by the mountain, and the crystal-clear river that rushes through the centre of the village. We quickly realised that the local eateries had stopped serving lunch a few hours earlier – a fact that was alarming to some of our group who had chosen to skip the bratwurst. Fortunately we found an exception – a chalet-shaped restaurant with a warm and cosy wooden interior. Sharing a platter of local smoked meats, some wine and hot chocolate it was a good breather.

After a welcome ‘power-nap’ back at the hotel I realised that Denise was missing from our room. After a brief search I found her in Adolfo and Neyran’s room sharing a very tasty bottle of Muscat wine. Meeting up with the others in the lobby we decided to pose a few ‘faked’ photos with the large black and white picture of the Matterhorn hanging on the wall of the entrance – which as it turned out was the only really clear view we had of the peak so it was probably a good move – the manager even got in on the act helping us to get the right angles!

Our dusk walk took us back to the village centre and for about an hour we tried to shift the clouds hanging over the peak by sheer force of willpower – and for a few moments the layers did thin and the outline of the Matterhorn was visible, a cause for some celebration! Dinner was at a typical traditional Swiss eatery with live folk music (accompanied by a very talented local dog who barked at all the right places) and some great cheese fondue, white wine soup and a ‘Farmer’s Rosti’. Theresia introduced us all to the ‘religious’ – the crusty bits of cheese left at the bottom of the finished fondue pot, which when scraped out have by far the most intense and enjoyable flavour. The meal and our chatting extended late into the night, and by the time we left, half of the group was really tired and headed off to bed. Denise and I joined Adolfo and Neyran at the ‘T-Bar’ nightclub – gotta hate countries that still allow smoking in clubs! It was a strange mix of quite outdated music, with a few fun tracks, but it was good fun just to be out and dancing in the middle of the Alps!

Sunday dawned but sadly still no mountain – the rain seemed set to stay so we decided to leave a little earlier and rather use the day to explore some of the other areas around Lake Geneva. After a nice breakfast we checked out and headed down the mountain to our cars. A short ride later we got to the small town of Sion with its hillside castle. After parking we walked into the Old Town, dodging large numbers of families on bikes (it was, apparently, Swiss Cycle Day). After another quick chat we decided that Montreaux would be a better stop, with more to see and do. It really was…what a stunning town!

Set right on the shores of the lake it has an almost unreal beauty. Parking at the station we walked down to the shore where a very high-class flea market was underway. Walking to the famous statue of the late, great, Freddie Mercury (he had a recording studio here and called Montreaux his second home) we stopped for a bite whilst Paul stripped down to the waist and plunged headlong into the icy waters! Whilst he swam we grabbed deep-fried lake perch (not really tasty). After Paul had towelled off we all walked about an hour along the lake shore to the striking Chateau de Chilton (the most-visited historical building in Switzerland) built on a mad-made island in the lake. Taking the bus back into town we said our farewells to Neyran and Adolfo who had to head back to Lake Constance and transferred our luggage to Theresia’s car for the drive back to Geneva. When we got back we stopped briefly at the Jet d’Eau (which this time was working!) and then back through some heavy rain to Theresia’s apartment for warm drinks and food.

All in all it was sad that we didn’t get to see the Matterhorn in all its glory, but the trip was still great fun and definitely worthwhile – made more so by the awesome alpine and lake scenery…and even more so by the great company of some super friends.