| Jul 26, 2007 - Zermatt
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 | | show all 8 | | The Matterhorn from Zermatt | | The famous Matterhorn | | the tourist throngs in downtown Zermatt | | |
| Hello from Zermatt, home of the legendary Matterhorn. The town itself is basically one big tourist trap, but it is surrounded by some pretty amazing scenery. The views of the Matterhorn are spectacular. I have been lucky, as the weather is beautiful and the mountain is crystal-clear today without a cloud in the sky. I know many who have come here and never seen the peak due to clouds. I arrived about dinner time last night and immediateley set out checking out the town so I could update the book and have some free time today to go up one of the lifts and do a little hike. I got up bright and early and went up to the 'Rothorn' which has the best views of the Matterhorn. First you take a funicular through a long tunnel, then change to a gondola, then a cable car to the top. The air was a little crisp but oh so clean and fresh. As I was sitting there gazing at the Matterhorn in the distance, not a cloud in site, breathing in the fresh, mountain air, a big group of Japenese tourists showed up with cameras clicking and cigarettes blazing. Why do people come out to such a pristine place and immediatley light up a smoke?
I don't understand the smoking, but I must admit that I was just as picture crazy as the Japanese. Throughout the day, I took over 50 pictures of this mountain. I did a short hike part of the way down, and then had to go back to work, checking out the rest of the chapter in the book. It was a nice day to walk around, and some of the hotels listed are pretty nice, including one of the youth hostels, which is about the only cheap place to stay here and has some amazing views of the Matterhorn from the rooms. Now I need to update the chapter files but the computer in my hotel isn't working today and all the internet cafes I have been to either don't have Microsoft Word (which I need to edit the book files) or don't allow me to plug in my thumb drive. Oh well, what can I do? It really is a pain having my laptop out of comission. |
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