Zermatt, The Matterhorn!

One thing I did not get to do last time I was in Switzerland was see the Matterhorn. Actually, I think the last time around we were so excited to be in Europe and everything was so new to everyone that we spent more time traveling other countries than we did exploring this one. I personally have enjoyed seeing parts of Switzerland I had not been to (and seeing a few more for the second or third time around). Well, I figure the Matterhorn is the most recognizable peak in Europe, perhaps in the world, and probably a big part of the image people conjure up in their minds when they think about the Swiss countryside, along with Heidi and cows and cheese and chocolate and all that. More on the chocolate later.
What can I say about the Matterhorn? It looks exactly like Disneyland, only bigger, higher, and no wire off the top for Tinkerbell to fly down after the fireworks are over. There are mountaineers, but they are not dressed up as Mickey or Goofy. Why is the Matterhorn so famous? (Besides the Disney connection anyway...) Well, it was one of the last great peaks of the Alps to be summited in 1865. Being just at the border with Italy, there was a bit of a race between the Swiss and Italians to summit. It was accomplished by the Swiss, in view of an Italian team close behind who promptly gave up and went home. However, four members of the party died on the descent when one fell and the rope broke. (They accidentally used the oldest rope). The story was of course sensationalized in the media of the time. Between then and now 500 people have died on the Mountain. So the little town of Zermatt has become famous, all for its location in the shadow of this peak.
Seeing the Matterhorn is a matter of luck for most tourists. Switzerland can be very hazy, and even here in Lausanne on a sunny day it might be difficult to see the Alps just across Lake Geneva. On a cloudy day you cannot see it at all. Many people travel to Zermatt and do not even get to see the mountain as it is hidden behind the clouds and haze. My first few weeks here were rainy and gray, and finally the weather has gotten hot and sunny. I found a daily webcam which shows the view of the Matterhorn each day. Almost every day this month the photo was nothing but clouds, then suddenly it was perfectly clear, so we checked the weather for the next day and decided now or never. It was a three hour drive through the mountains, mostly small backroads. There are no cars in Zermatt, you actually have to park at a nearby town and take a train in. No views on the train as it was basically through a tunnel. So we arrived in Zermatt, a town based entirely off of tourism which is based entirely off of one mountain. Still couldn't see it for the buildings. We had to walk a bit of a ways, but it paid off, the day was clear and the view was perfect. We ate lunch on the terrace of a cafe and enjoyed the view.
There are several gondolas you can take to get a closer view. By this point it was a bit late in the day so we did not get to the best viewing spots, but we did get to the closest one. The gondola took us up to about 8500 feet, where there was a mountain lake, a small church and hiking trails.
So we hiked around a bit, enjoyed the views with the others in the area before heading back down to Zermatt and enjoying some coffee and ice cream at the cafe again.
I would have liked to get to a higher elevation and really enjoyed the panoramic views of the Alps and the glacier, but I was not disappointed with our day. Of the other "Swiss" things to see, I have already seen the cheese factory, so we decided another day to head to Maison Cailler, the oldest operating chocolate factory in Switzerland. That was by far the dumbest, cheesiest tour I have ever seen (and we thought the cheese factory was bad). However, we did get to sample lots of chocolate, so maybe that made up for it (a little bit). Apparently there is also a Heidi village somewhere out in the mountain. Sounds like the worst tourist trap ever, but Mom really wants to go. We'll see... Tomorrow we leave for Bordeaux for a weekend of wine tasting!