Just in case you thought you were done seeing pictures of the Matterhorn
Two more days complete in Switzerland, one hiking and one riding on a panoramic train. This is one seriously scenic country!
Our second full day was spent hiking, but a much more modest hike than day one. Instead of climbing up a few thousand feet, we took an underground tram well up the mountain and then a cable car further up. From there we started a four-hour hike back down, passing five lakes along the way. We stopped for our picnic lunch at one of the lakes, and I even went for a reasonably quick swim.
Here we are starting out on the five-lake journey. It’s all downhill from here….
Lake #1
This was lake #3, Grünsee, if I’m not mistaken. It was the prettiest of them all and so we stopped for a picnic lunch and a swim.
The last half of the hike was a pretty easy trail through beautiful forests
We were definitely enjoying this part of the hike
One of the things that amuses us about hiking here is the amount of money people spend on clothing and gear. It seems as though a significant majority of people use hiking poles, even on paths that are really easy. Mark & I have both tried those polls and find them far more trouble than they’re worth. Even worse, though, is the specialized clothing that people buy. Apparently Patagonia and North Face and those kind of brands have done a great job of convincing people that the shorts and t-shirts you wear normally just wouldn’t work for hiking in mountains. We saw lots of fancy duds up there.
One last shot of the Matterhorn, with Zermatt spreading out at the foot. The town is a *lot* bigger than when I was here in 1976.
Today was a long train ride, some eight hours from Zermatt to St. Moritz. The Glacier Express is one of those “must do” experiences here, so we did it. The difference between this and a normal train is primarily the huge windows so you can enjoy spectacular views all day long. When you’re not drifting off to sleep, that is, or reading. It was really a great way to see Swiss mountains and villages and rivers and all that stuff.
This is looking through the curved windows that reach to the roof, so you could see the really high stuff
Our neighbors enjoying the view through the huge windows
This was what we were looking at over and over again for eight hours. That’s a reflection of our less-than-friendly French seat-mate in the window.
One last view from the train. Summer in Switzerland – nice!
Tomorrow we’re off on a hike in the mountains again.
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