Zermatt and the Matterhorn

I've had a 'crush' on the Matterhorn since first riding the ride at Disneyland with my brother in 5th grade.  Seeing it in person has been an item on my bucket list and one thing I was very excited to do on this trip.  There's something amazing to me about the fin-shaped dominance of the mountain.
But during the week of rain, I had let go of my expectations and decided that seeing it would have to be a bonus, since we had so much cloud cover.

We left Riederalp and took the train South to Zermatt.  The usual anticipation (in spotting the famed peak) that might have held passengers on this ride was lost in the clouds.  But it was still a beautiful train ride, with waterfalls all around.

We arrived in Zermatt around lunch time, hungry and tired.  We weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves, since we couldn't check into our room until 4pm but we had all of our bags and the girls were tired.  After some delays getting organized at the train station, we caught a taxi up to our hostel.  Grandma was kind enough to stay with the kids in the lobby while they played in the play room and Jason and I went out to explore.

We walked around town and enjoyed the swanky village.  The clouds were covering the Matterhorn itself so there seemed to be no point in going up to view it on a gondola.  So... we decided to go play in the high ropes course/zipline course.

For those of you who don't know, Jason and I basically met each other on a ropes course in Breckenridge, CO.  He was (and is still) completely fearless and comfortable in a harness.  I am scared of heights but determined to get better, so I am slow and cautious in the air but enjoy the idea of it.

The Swiss Cheese element (one of the easiest)

So we clipped in and started the first route.  It took us over an hour!  It just kept going and going!  I was exhausted by the end and glad to have my feet on the ground.  Jason did another more challenging route before we did a very high zipline route.  As much as it was fun and I'm glad I did it, there was one high tightrope walking element just about had me in tears.  The zip lines were fun, though, once I got started, and I'm more confident about zip-lining some more in the future.

Anyway, we came back to the hostel laughing and grabbed everyone for dinner.  We took the bus down to the main strip and enjoyed a patio dinner with a nice view.  The Matterhorn peaked out to look once in a while, making it all worthwhile for me.

Apparently these stairs are a bike path

Looking up at the Matterhorn

Slate rock roof

Flags, church, Matterhorn above

Man and son having obviously done some mountaineering up high

Walking around the town of Zermatt was fun.  There were rich people in heels who had probably never hiked or skied.  There were mountaineers donning ropes and ice picks in town.  There were expensive shops, snooty restaurants, beautiful buildings, and a lovely park and river.

The Great Britain ski team was also staying at our hostel

We stayed the night in our room, which had 3 bunk beds and our own bathroom.  When we booked accommodation, this was one of the only rooms left in town, so we grabbed it.  We made Ava a little bed on the floor and we all had a decent sleep.

After the girls went to sleep, Jason and I snuck out to walk around town and had a lovely crepe.  We were so lucky to have Grandma watch the girls for us so we could do those kind of things.

Many cool trails to my right... might have to explore them another day

The Matterhorn was still cloud-covered when we left the next morning.  We said good-bye to Zermatt and boarded the famous 'Glacier Express' scenic train ride to start our journey back to Zurich.