The Matterhorn

Today ranks high on the list of the greatest travel experiences I've had anywhere in the world.  I left Bern this morning and headed south to Zermatt, a small alpine town at the base of the Matterhorn.  From there I took a mountain railway up to Gornergrat, an area more than 10,000 feet about sea level which provides amazing views of the Matterhorn and the other mountains and glaciers nearby. 

I'm not sure I've ever seen a more impressive view in my life.  The snow and mountains and clouds seemed to go on forever, and I'm afraid to count how many pictures I took.  I met an American couple who had been in the area for 4 days, and they told me that this was the first day since they'd been here that they could see the mountain.  I cannot imagine coming all this way and leaving without taking in this amazing sight.  Any rain I've had on this trip so far was a worthwhile trade off for the weather I got today.

The town of Zermatt is equally amazing.  Aside from the Matterhorn views, the town is beautiful everywhere you look, full of traditional Swiss chalet-style buildings.  To top it all off, there are no motorized vehicles in Zermatt, and people can only get here by train.  This all makes for one of the most peaceful places I've ever been.

My hotel room here is hands down the cheapest of any room I have booked on this trip, yet it's the nicest I've had so far.  The decor is fantastic, the staff is beyond friendly and the room is both spacious and really nice.  The complementary robe and slippers are really the icing on the cake.  And the robe will come in handy as the temperature has dropped below freezing here tonight (the high today was 42 degrees).  Better still, I was starting to develop a nagging cough and the reception desk conveniently offered a big bowl of Ricola - I'm now a convert, because they really do work.

I have enjoyed every day of my trip so far, but there is something about this place that makes me especially sad to leave it behind.  Over the years, a small handful of places have stuck with me as places that I really connect with and could see myself living.  It's hard to imagine a place more different from New York than this place, but there is a small part of me that is fantasizing about leaving the frenzied city life behind and completely disconnnecting and disappearing to a place like this.  I want to be like Heidi, living in the Alps - only a modern-day Heidi, with internet so I can still talk to people.  But enough deep life thoughts for today.

Tomorrow I am spending the day on "the slowest express train in the world."  My aching legs and feet are thanking me already.  Untill then, there's a robe and slippers calling my name.