2 years and 77 days since the start of the 1st lock down in March 2020
As John and Caroline forecast yesterday, there were a few showers first thing in the morning which explains the lack of a stunning sunrise on the Matterhorn and I did indeed go and check at 5.15am and 6.30am as I had difficulty sleeping.
We had a slow breakfast as on advice we decided to take the Gornergrat railway a little later in the morning to avoid the crowds. When we got there for the 11.12am departure, by chance we met up with John and Caroline again. They are a really nice couple and it is always nice to talk toothed people when its as just been the two of us.
As usual with all the Swiss trains we have been on, it departed bang on time to take us up the cog railway to the summit of the Gornagrat mountain. The views were stunning and got better and better as we got higher and higher. I missed a marmot sighting which I was annoyed about.
John and Caroline got off a few steps early as they planned to walk some of the way but we decided to stay on until the top. Views were amazing over not one but at least three glaciers. All the while the Matterhorn is there and everyone is hoping that the peak will be revealed from its little hat of cloud. We were at around 3,200 meters and we felt the effects of the altitude despite take the Diamox tablets. We walked a little to take a closer look at the snow line and then headed back to the restaurant for a lunch of rather nice goulash soup and a roll followed by a shared apple strudel.
Back outside again (I was not tempted by anything in the shop) and we too decided to take bit of a hike and rather than pick up the train from where it stopped, we headed down to the next couple of stations. It was hard work with the thin air and my knees were really painful when tackling the steep track down. The alpine flowers were stunning - a mix of different types of blue gentians, alpine buttercups and purple violas - and those are just the ones I actually can name. We used to excuse of takin photographs to catch our breath until we finally reached the small glacial lake near the station where we planned to catch the train from. Sometimes there are amazing reflections of the Matterhorn but the slight breeze causes too many ripples so not today.
We were definitely flagging at this point so it was a relief to get to the platform and a chance to take a few more ‘winding train shots’.
We sat towards the back of the train and we had it almost to ourselves and so could open all the windows and hand out of them for photo opportunities. Colin spotted the first marmot on the way down and I spotted another two withe flighting or playing. I took a definite ‘radish’ shot of the two of them. We were soon descending back down to the treelike and views over Zermatt.
It was a lot easier breathing once back down and it was out usual shop at the Co-op for dinner before heading home for the evenings task of working gout how the washing machines work by translating all instructions in German on my phone! Clean clothes at last and a final few photos of the Matterhorn at sunset as the cloud cleared and we had the best view we have had of it all day.
