The trip to Zermatt from Lausanne takes about two and a half hours, but you can’t drive the whole way since cars are prohibited in Zermatt. As a result, you have to park in nearby Täsch and then either take the train or a hotel shuttle the rest of the way. Here are a couple of pictures taken in Täsch while waiting for the shuttle. At the time, the weather was actually okay, thus providing a (largely false) sense of hope for the balance of the day.
While Zermatt is car-free, there are nonetheless a number of small electric “cars” driving through the streets. They’re basically large, enclosed golf carts that are used to transport both people and goods throughout the town given the prohibition of cars. There are also a couple of public shuttles that take you to / from center of town and the ski-lifts at the base of the mountains.
We arrived at the hotel around 11am and were fortunate in that our room was available for early check-in. Here’s a photo of the room itself – needless to say, it definitely had the fresh smell of wood and an alpine feel. There was also a personalized note on the T.V.
Here are some pictures from the balcony as well, with the weather still appearing promising…
The half-day lift tickets started at 12:15pm, so our timing worked out well. After getting settled at the hotel, we headed to the Gornergratbahn, which is a train that takes you to up the middle of the ski resort. It’s about a 20 minute ride and is pretty neat as you have great views and go through some tunnels that reminded me of the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland.
By the time we arrived at the Gornergrat ridge and got of the train, there was only a limited amount of sun poking through the clouds. Here are some pictures that I took.
On the lower part of the mountain, the conditions were somewhat slushy due to the mostly sunny weather in the morning (before we arrived, of course). Thus, we stayed at higher elevations for the most part, where the snow was much better.
By mid-afternoon, a snowstorm arrived and it turned into a bit of a white-out. While this led to some pretty poor visibility, it also resulted in a lot of fresh powder in a short period of time. Here’s what it looked like…
Despite the deterioration in the weather, we skied until the lifts closed as the slopes were a ghost-town and the fresh snow was a lot of fun. Fortunately it wasn’t too cold.
The hotel where we stayed had a spa facility with a pool, indoor / outdoor Jacuzzis, steam rooms and saunas. We made full use of it for a couple of hours after spending most of the afternoon skiing in a snowstorm. The weather completely cleared while we were in the outdoor Jacuzzi, which was great, though I would have preferred the clear weather while skiing and the snowstorm after we finished.
Similar to the spa in Adelboden, we got our fair share of nudity from the fellow hotel guests who were (once again) much more comfortable “letting it all hang out” so to speak. I came to realize that the “nude” demographic is a fairly narrow one, consisting almost entirely of out-of-shape, middle-aged (or older) men. Not a pretty picture.
Perhaps inspired by the proximity to Italy, we decided on an Italian restaurant for dinner. The food was good – nothing special, but you definitely left full and that was all that I was looking for after a long day. Plus, the waiters were a crack-up as all of them were Italians with a ton of personality.
While Zermatt is car-free, there are nonetheless a number of small electric “cars” driving through the streets. They’re basically large, enclosed golf carts that are used to transport both people and goods throughout the town given the prohibition of cars. There are also a couple of public shuttles that take you to / from center of town and the ski-lifts at the base of the mountains.
We arrived at the hotel around 11am and were fortunate in that our room was available for early check-in. Here’s a photo of the room itself – needless to say, it definitely had the fresh smell of wood and an alpine feel. There was also a personalized note on the T.V.
Here are some pictures from the balcony as well, with the weather still appearing promising…
The half-day lift tickets started at 12:15pm, so our timing worked out well. After getting settled at the hotel, we headed to the Gornergratbahn, which is a train that takes you to up the middle of the ski resort. It’s about a 20 minute ride and is pretty neat as you have great views and go through some tunnels that reminded me of the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland.
By the time we arrived at the Gornergrat ridge and got of the train, there was only a limited amount of sun poking through the clouds. Here are some pictures that I took.
On the lower part of the mountain, the conditions were somewhat slushy due to the mostly sunny weather in the morning (before we arrived, of course). Thus, we stayed at higher elevations for the most part, where the snow was much better.
By mid-afternoon, a snowstorm arrived and it turned into a bit of a white-out. While this led to some pretty poor visibility, it also resulted in a lot of fresh powder in a short period of time. Here’s what it looked like…
Despite the deterioration in the weather, we skied until the lifts closed as the slopes were a ghost-town and the fresh snow was a lot of fun. Fortunately it wasn’t too cold.
The hotel where we stayed had a spa facility with a pool, indoor / outdoor Jacuzzis, steam rooms and saunas. We made full use of it for a couple of hours after spending most of the afternoon skiing in a snowstorm. The weather completely cleared while we were in the outdoor Jacuzzi, which was great, though I would have preferred the clear weather while skiing and the snowstorm after we finished.
Similar to the spa in Adelboden, we got our fair share of nudity from the fellow hotel guests who were (once again) much more comfortable “letting it all hang out” so to speak. I came to realize that the “nude” demographic is a fairly narrow one, consisting almost entirely of out-of-shape, middle-aged (or older) men. Not a pretty picture.
Perhaps inspired by the proximity to Italy, we decided on an Italian restaurant for dinner. The food was good – nothing special, but you definitely left full and that was all that I was looking for after a long day. Plus, the waiters were a crack-up as all of them were Italians with a ton of personality.
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