^TM

Spontaneity – the Spice of Travelling

Zermatt, Switzerland

By Christy Wagnon

The one thing that I have learned from travelling is that I usually have the most fun when I act spontaneously. A friend and I were changing trains in the Swiss capital, Bern, on route to Venice. As we hustled along the concourse, Jenn’s attention was caught by a poster of the Matterhorn, one of Switzerland’s highest peaks. Right then we decided that Venice could wait.

Zermatt is the epitome of Switzerland. It is a little village on the Swiss-Italian bordered nestled in a deep valley and encircled by a ring of mountains all towering above 13,000 ft (4000m). Standing at 14,692 ft (4478m), the distinctive pyramid of the Matterhorn dominates the horizon. Zermatt is peaceful. No cars are allowed. This means no traffic and no air pollution, just fresh alpine air and the sound of the river rushing through the center of town. In such a small town and having arrived unexpectedly, accommodation might have been a problem. Thankfully, the Matterhorn Hostel was far from full and we claimed a set of bunk beds and set out to explore.

Zermatt is beautiful; sun burnt chalets with large balconies and multicoloured flowers cascading from the window boxes reside on the ancient cobbled stone streets. We decided to splurge on a fancy dinner at an expensive restaurant. This is not typical backpacker behavior, but after eating summer camp food for four months, our taste buds needed a change. We had a five-course meal and toasted the start of our vacation with some German Eiswein. After dinner we booked an 8 A.M. gondola (sky lift) ride to the top of the Klein Matterhorn viewing platform mainly because the 8 A.M. ticket promised us a “mountain breakfast.”

We leisurely strolled down the winding path to our hostel. When we got back to our room we found strange men sleeping in what we thought were our beds, and found out the hard way that not all hostels have separate accommodations for men and women.  Upon further inspection we discovered that we were the only girls in the place. We had no choice but to sleep on what was essentially a full size bunk bed. Being single we should probably not complain, but I must admit that there is something awkward about pillow talk with a complete stranger. 

“So, where are you from?” the man lying next to Jenn asked. I was so glad that my bedfellow had already fallen asleep. Jenn’s guy proceeded to tell her that his name was Liam, from Ireland, and he and his “mates” were in town to do some extreme mountain biking. His Irish brogue was enough to help me relax and put me to sleep – very careful to stay on my side of the bed. 

The next morning we attempted to be very quiet so as to not wake up our roommates.  The noisy lockers made this impossible and everybody was roused before we left. 

“Why are you lasses up so early?” asked Liam.

“We are heading up to the Matterhorn,” said Jenn. She completely left out the part that it was via gondola because they seemed so impressed by our extreme backpacking skills.

On the way up to the top we noticed a blonde woman wearing a hot pink ski jacket and tight black pants, with black hiking books with hot pink laces. She even had a hot pink hair band in to complete the ensemble. Her partner was wearing a matching neon blue ski jacket and tight black pants. His hiking boots were black with neon blue laces.  We noticed them, not only for their fashion choices, but because they seemed to be yelling at a man we determined was their guide. He had on a black ski cap and a little more practical hiking attire. It soon became painfully obvious what we were seeing – a couple, who only speaks English trying to communicate with a guide who only speaks German. 

“We are from Colorado, so we are used to the altitude,” the woman screamed. “We have hiked to the top of most of the 14ers (14,000 ft mountains) in Colorado.” As she was speaking, she acted out hiking like she was playing a game of charades. And we wonder why Europeans sometimes think poorly of Americans.

When we finally got to the top, we stepped off into snow. Coming from Florida, I am always excited by snow because I never see it. I was even more fascinated when we actually got to walk inside an ice cave. Blue lights illuminated the ice and we admired the ice sculptures of penguins and igloos. I looked at a thermometer lodged in the ice and it was –10 degrees centigrade.  Looking for a place to get warm, we ventured back out into the sun to the top of the viewing platform. What a view! Snow peaked mountains as far as the eye can see, including nine of the ten highest peaks in Europe.  We could see people, as small as ants in brightly colored climbing outfits slowly making their way up the sheer rock face of the Matterhorn, and watched people race down the slopes next to the highest ski lift in Europe. 

By now we were hungry and headed back down in the gondola to enjoy the “mountain breakfast” consisting of croissants and hot tea promised to us by our tickets. As we watched the sun continue to rise above the mountain peaks, discussing the next leg of our journey, we decided that spontaneity really is the spice of life, even if you have to spend the night with an Irishman!

Back to TravelLady Magazine