Wednesday, June 17, 2012
A new day and a cold mist covers Murren. We’re off early to catch trams, gondolas, and trains on our way to Zermatt.
Early morning Murren
The village at Zermatt
Our Zermatt hotel is located next to the tram that heads up to the best viewpoint of the Matterhorn. We can see the mountain from our room. Lying in bed, or taking a bath, our windows frame the mountain. You can watch it all day since the weather conditions change frequently and give it a completely different look minutes apart. It’s tempting to stay in bed all day and watch the mountain.
Cogwheel train climbing to Gornergrot
Arriving in Gornergrat
Early afternoon we boarded a cogwheel train to climb up to Gornergrat. We could feel the altitude change as the train slowly climbed, revealing different views of the Matterhorn. The surrounding view from Gornergrat is spectacular. The view inspired Gregory to declared this as a ‘game changing experience’.
Gornergratt station
The Matterhorn in all is majesty
Matterhorn and some glaciers
There are numerous glaciers, many within hiking range, including a series of huts along the way for shelter and food. Speaking of glaciers, several centuries ago, one of the villages above Zermatt was repeatedly washed away by flood water from one of the glaciers. In hearing about this, the then-Pope gave the village a special blessing and asked the villagers to devote one day a year in prayer and festivities to stop the glacier from growing. The constant growth and subsequent melting, caused the flooding. Guess what? A more recent Pope reversed himself and asked the village to pray for the glacier to grow, because it was beginning to impact the availability of water in the villages. In the last few days, the current Pope urged everyone to address global warming. Who said the Catholic church can’t change over several centuries. I guess some of our current political leaders are slower than the Pope. The reality is that these glaciers are melting at an ever-increasing rate, moving back up the mountain several hundred feet per year. Some have disappeared.
Mitchell’s Birthday in Gornergrat
Gregory’s and Mitchell’s artistic interpretation of the Abominal Snowman
We also celebrated Mitchell’s 18th birthday. His celebratory birthday sweet was an ice cream cone. His one wish was to take a selfie with one of the milk cows. It hasn’t happened yet. He is continuing on this quest. As an aside, it has become clear, these two boys are ‘shoppers’. They love going to souvenir shops. What will they bring back as gifts? That’s the mystery at this point.
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