Zermatt
I honestly was not familiar with Zermatt, Switzerland before some close friends invited me and some of my skiing friends to their annual trip, which overlapped with my work trip to Barcelona. I love skiing and was excited to see a new place, and the home of the Matterhorn, which I had only experienced as a ride through a manmade imitation of this incredible mountain as a child at Disneyland. Not to mention the IKON ski pass I recently purchased covered many U.S. locations and Zermatt!
With a stopover in Paris , I took a 6 hour train to Zurich, and connected at the Zurich airport to a 3.5 hour train to Zermatt. Arriving at later in the evening to the small village of Zermatt where the only cars are electric buses to cart people to and from their hotels and the tiny train station in the middle of town. Our hotel was a short walk, however it was snowing like crazy!
Fleurs de Zermatt Alpenhotel
Fleurs de Zermatt Alpenhotel was a great choice! Reasonably priced boutique hotel with spacious, lofty rooms good for 3-4 travelers. Views of the Matterhorn right from the windows, small outside balcony, incredible breakfast buffet with a juicer and all the fruits and vegetables you may want to juice to start the day of healthy! Expresso coffee machine with every variation your heart desires from lattes to cappuccinos and more. Excellent variety of food. We were very impressed. Pool and Spa area was also very classy , steam and sauna, indoor pool that opens to an outside section. Loved this place and would stay again! There was a very convenient locker area for ski’s on your way out to the snow. The ski rental companies were also great about drop off and pick to your hotel which made it extremely convenient.
Zermatt Village
Walking through the quaint village at night alone felt very safe and the lights on the trees and building was enchanting. Not to mention I found a great spot below an Italian restaurant called Grampi’s for live classic rock music, full of life into the late hours of evening with dancing and great musicians. Went back every night! There was also excellent restaurants through the town including a Teppanyaki spot called Fuji of Zermatt, that I highly recommend, and a Fondue spot inside the majestic Grand Hotel Zermatt called saycheese!. This village, nestled at the bottom of these incredible mountains with a river running through the middle of town is so special, and almost like an unreal fairy tale.
Getting up the Mountain
Getting your lift tickets in town was easy. There were several ways up the mountain and they sold the lift tickets at those spots. Sunnegga Station had a Funicular, but the Train, Gornergrat Bahn became my favorite , as it was so spectacular winding up the snowy mountains with an ongoing view of the Matterhorn and ending at the top , at Gornergrat Station. From there you can start your day on the slopes connecting to lifts and cable cars. Due to weather I wasn’t able to take the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise , The highest cable car in Europe at 3,883 m takes you past the highest mountains in Italy, France and Switzerland and the views are breathtaking. The ski area on the Theodul Glacier is open 365 days a year.
Iglu-Dorf
I had done some research before arriving and found out about Iglu-Dorf. An incredible igloo hotel in the middle of the mountain. I was so excited to check it out and I was not disappointed! We discovered that for those visitors not brave enough to stay the night on an ice bed, there was a full bar for an Irish Coffee stop and place to get a simple lunch and enjoy the view. There was also small igloos the visitors could climb inside and hang out in. There was also classic rock music playing which just added to the awesome scene .Seeing the lobby area from the outside, I was so impressed by the creativity and pure fact it was built from snow. The woman behind the bar let me know she and the other employee helps rebuild it every year when the snow comes in. One of the hotel rooms had its own jacuzzi with a view of the Matterhorn. I only got to see that in photos.
The Glorious Mountain
My entire 3 days of skiing, I never could get used to the breathtaking beauty all around me. It was actually an emotional experience to be surrounded by these incredible mountains. I was so impressed by nature’s creation. The first day was the clearest view of the Matterhorn, which was very lucky! But on the cloudier, cooler days it was completely beautiful in its own way. I also absolutely loved the character and look of the old wooden huts that were strewn throughout the mountain.
The Windy Path Down
At the end of the second day I discovered there was a windy path you could ski all the way back down into the village. I loved it! It was narrow but not too steep and coming down with a view of the village getting closer and closer, was spectacular.
Ski up Champagne Bar
A very cool surprise, the Champagne Ski Bar! Never saw anything like this either. At the right of the path into town , not to far up was this adorable spot! More music, a nice glass of champagne to relax at the end of the day and just a fun buzz of interesting people , easy to talk to as you sat and drank.
Zermatt is quite a journey to get to, but it’s one of the most special places I’ve ever been and I cannot wait to go back!