Room 128, Hotel Derby, Zermatt
12 hours later and I'm back in the German region of Switzerland, this time in Zermatt in the canton of Valais.
As expected, we reached Zermatt around 1.30 p.m. Once again spent a long time checking the proximity of hotels to the train station at the large hotel information board. Chose three and settled for the first one we came across.
After getting a room, we set off immediately for the railway station to Gornergrat. We were in luck; the hourly train was just due to leave. A hefty entry fare later, we were moving along past wooden chalets, and eventually up the mountain path.
There were quite a number of stops before we reached the top, and the whole route seemed to offer endless views of the Matterhorn in the distance - so obviously I ended up with lots of pictures of the picturesque peak from different directions and distances!
Strangely enough, there was nothing much to do at the top (3089m), other than admire the view, eat at the café and shop at the little giftshop.
I'd had enough of seeing all that snow and the Matterhorn, so I popped into the giftshop. The stuff there was pricier than in Zermatt and I only managed to purchase a nice postcard with a "piece of the Matterhorn" attached, as well as a magnet.
Then it was back to the train and the ride down without being able to touch the pristine white snow. :(
Back in Zermatt, I made a beeline for a large souvenir shop with a huge selection of postcards outside. After deliberating a long while, I settled for eleven postcards featuring Zermatt, the Matterhorn, Alpine flora and Swiss dogs. Then it was off to the supermarket for drinks.
Well, to elaborate there are as many little shops in Zermatt as there are Swiss chalets - and that's a lot!
Passed by watch shops and clothing shops and gift shops. I entered almost every giftshop in search of an affordable, reasonably large-sized Saint Bernard stuffed toy; the cheapest that I found cost CHF21.
While deciding whether or not to get it, further up ahead I stumbled upon another giftshop offering stuffed toys at the "lowest prices", so I happily walked away with my new friend, Fritz, for CHF19.80. (Fritz is a German name meaning "peace")
Since I had already gotten what I was looking for, I could explore the rest of the town at my own pace.
Around 6 p.m. we'd finished walking the whole stretch, so we returned to our hotel room before heading for the hotel restaurant half an hour later.
The restaurant was a nice cosy place, but the day's dinner was even nicer: delicious broccoli soup (tastes much better than it sounds), appetiser consisting of penne pasta with tomato herb sauce, followed by the main course of roast veal with a generous amount of whipped potato, and finally...dessert of vanilla ice cream drenched in hot chocolate sauce. Oh, and I had salad and a big bottle of water too...
...needless to say, I was full on the verge of exploding!
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