Day Nine

The Mountain That Wasn't There

I don't know if these pictures are out of order, but here are a few more pictures of Champéry.

The front of the Hôtel des Alpes, with wet flags. The center two windows and the left balcony on the first floor were our room.

Alex drove us to the train station in Täsch after breakfast. From there we took a train to Zermatt. The train was a little crowded and we all had to stand up, but the ride was less than ten minutes. Once we got to Zermatt we were free for a few hours.

Zermatt is in Valais, the same canton that Champéry is in, but it's in the German-speaking part. Although it wasn't all that far from Champéry, the German feel was much stronger there. There are no cars in Zermatt; the only vehicles are small and electric-powered, like golf carts, and animal-drawn vehicles. As a result, it's a lot quieter on the streets. Of course, it's easier for golf carts to sneak up on you, too, since you can't hear them as easily, but it's nice being able to walk down the middle of the road.

We looked for souvenirs for a bit and bought some pastry from a bakery. I had apple strudel, because it seemed like the only logical choice. Around noon many of the shops closed, so we took that opportunity to get on the little train up to see the Matterhorn. The train was underground, on a very steep track, and it was cold. After a few minutes we were at the top, ready to see the glory of the Matterhorn.

Here's the thing about summer in the Alps: sometimes it rains. And when it rains in Zermatt, there is no Matterhorn. All we saw was clouds, fog, and sheep. It was a little disappointing; you expect to see one of the most famous mountains in Europe, all pointy and majestic, and instead there's nothing.

It should be right behind the sheep.

We waited at the top for a while to see if it would clear up, but alas, we were not so lucky. So we headed back down and I had to buy a bunch of postcards of the Matterhorn since I didn't get to take any pictures myself. I also bought my brother a Swiss army knife and had it engraved with his name. There are really a wide variety of sizes of knife; there are the tiny pink ones for girls who like pink things, and then there are the three-inch-thick, five-inch-long ones with the corkscrew and the tire pressure gauge and the satellite antenna and whatnot. I really should have gotten a knife for myself, and my parents. That's one of the things that I regret about the trip: I didn't get enough cool stuff. I thought it was more important to spend my money judiciously, and I ended up having a lot left over when we came home. But it wouldn't have hurt to have gotten more Swiss army knives in Switzerland. And I should have taken more pictures. Guess I'll just have to go back with a better camera. So anyway, here's a scan of a postcard I bought of what the Matterhorn apparently looks like when the sun's out and you can actually see it.

The thing in the middle of this picture is actually a river. In person it was more of a silvery-grey than white. We saw a few rivers like this in Switzerland and Austria; they're that color because they're glacial water. I've never seen anything that looked colder than that river.

On the train on the way from Zermatt to Täsch we got to sit down, and then it was back into the bus with Alex. Back at the hotel we had dinner, and got in a little trouble because some people decided not to come to dinner and then others left early, which, although they didn't intend it to be, was rude; but we were allowed to go to the party that the town was giving us.

There was a little band at the Centre Sportif, with a trumpet, clarinet, accordion, and drums. They also had traditional Swiss instruments, like an alphorn; and they let some of the kids try it. Of course, some fool kid blew on the alphorn and said, "Ricolaaaaaaaa." Totally cliché and unoriginal. Then they taught us to polka, which was fun. We all did the polka and the chicken dance. Later, when we went back to the hotel, my dearest darling roommate took our one room key, locking me out for a while. I ended up joining some friends in their room, which wouldn't have been a problem, but people of the opposite sex were not supposed to be in the same hotel room at once, and we were. And, once again, it wouldn't have been a problem, except for room check. Luckily for us, it was our director who checked that night; so when four of us were in the bathroom, three hiding and the other running the water to muffle our snickering and, on my part, shushing, our director fairly obviously knew we were in there, but let it slide. I think he was secretly amused. After he'd gone, the three of us checked the hallway, and seeing it clear, booked it down the stairs to our rooms. Although it was slightly terrifying at the time, I have since come to view it as a growth experience: how to make the best of a situation, without getting caught.

Tomorrow: Liechtenstein and Austria