+2600 Zermatt
"Everything normal in Switzerland is an exception, even for Europe"
Adolf Muschg
We arrived in Zurich quite early - at 12 o'clock, borderline. control, suitcases and here it is - the long-awaited exit to the country of high mountains and accurate watches!
Immediately a small digression - very surprising for Europe and just as convenient for tourists - the presence of left-luggage offices on the railway. train station at Zurich airport. As you know, in Europe they are practically nowhere left in view of the increased threat of terrorism. To be honest, we had to use it for the first time - this time we were waiting for a train trip, with an obligatory couple of hour visit to Zurich with its many amenities! Therefore, in order not to lug around with suitcases (and with ours this is simply not possible - they are gigantic), it was decided to leave the ski bags in the storage rooms. On the plane, before visual acquaintance with the storage room, I had doubts that my “baby” simply would not fit into it. I was worried in vain - judging by the size of the cells, there are people who travel with a wardrobe on wheels.
By the way, about the railway. train station: it is very convenient that it is located not only in the center of Zurich, but also, as in many civilized countries, directly at the airport itself.
Station, a long line for tickets (which, I would like to note, passed in 10 minutes), train, 15 minutes and we are in Zurich. Bahnhofstrasse with its shop windows, Sprungli's favorite patisserie, a bit of shopping - that's it, the beginning of the fun...
A couple of hours later, with suitcases and half-kilogram slabs of chocolate, we boarded the train that was supposed to take us to Zermatt. Everyone ate how unnoticed these 4 hours would fly by playing cards, chatting and periodically taking a nap.
But with our happiness... I was immediately alerted by this deathly silence in the car and the availability of so many empty seats....As it turned out later, we got into the wagon for the “dumb”, of course, it had some kind of decent German name, but we named it that way. I must admit, in my own idiocy, but we didn’t immediately understand where we were: we didn’t look around and didn’t read the signs. This “later” came when all the neighbors began to hiss, clatter and say something in German. It turned out that it was impossible to speak even in a whisper in this cute trailer... After such a discovery, it became clear that it would not be possible to go silently... The drowsiness was taken away! Of course, we tried to be silent - we switched to gestures and facial expressions. This method of communication turned out to be much more fun and diverse: we played cards and were indignant that people were not allowed to open their mouths and even managed to agree to go into a human carriage and all this ALMOST in silence! Granny began to boil - she didn’t like our “almost”, the men went to look for places in the human carriage. The inspector came… it’s clear who has the tickets – not with us… the boyfriends left their phones on the spot…. and the grandmother does not doze off - she actively betrays us. The guys have come. Phew. They showed me the tickets (otherwise I was already imagining how they were dropping us off under escort at the nearest station), found and somehow took places in a human carriage, even near the bar (which is not unimportant on our long journey)... we had already begun to gather... but here the granny, silence, everything is so dear... we thought and decided to stay...
Already at the foot of the mountains, we made a transfer and boarded a panoramic train (with huge windows and a glass ceiling - absolutely useless advantages at night), which was supposed to take us to Zermatt. The city itself is high + 2600 meters above sea level, the main mountain is the Matterhorn +4478 meters, here is the longest ski season - snow lasts from late autumn to mid-spring.
We arrived in Zermatt late, at 9 o'clock. We took a "taxi" - here it is a horse-drawn carriage: there are no usual cars in the city, their functions are performed by cabs or electric cars. The entry of cars into the city is prohibited. Zermatt is considered one of the most environmentally friendly places in Europe.
The only car I've ever seen was a garbage truck. . . though maybe it's also electric. . . ?
From the station, the Grand Hotel Zermatterhof is a 5-minute drive along the narrow, paved Bahnhofstrasse.
Externally, the Grand Hotel is fully consistent with its name. Large, important, beautiful, very similar to most of the Grand Hotels in Europe, was built and opened to guests in 1879. A small reception, designed to serve 1 guest, a hall with several tables and a black piano; well-trained, moderately smiling and not in a hurry staff, deathly silence - in general, everything is very disciplined... you stop talking and laughing loudly - the situation is not conducive (or karma is like that today... ). We were fairly quickly settled in a room with a view (and hearing) of the city chapel . . I don’t remember if the chimes sounded every hour, but I clearly remember that they beat every day at 6 in the morning... )) I must admit that after an active day and a fun night I slept great and the ringing didn't bother me at all. Quite spacious room in terracotta tones with a reception area, a French window and access to the terrace. Absolutely unremarkable bathroom. . . I LOVE hotel bathrooms: white, huge, luxurious, with windows. . . there are hotels in which you want to live in a bathroom. . . and in this one you want to quickly wash up and go to the terrace. One morning, we were served breakfast on it: a city flooded with the morning sun, bright snow, the Matterhorn in the haze and breakfast in blankets on the terrace… at the Grand Hotel Zermatterhof you want to live on the terrace or in the smoking lounge on the ground floor, here Porto is delicious…
Let's move on to the report.
Morning of the first day: ski rental, ski room at the hotel, electric car, lift train to Gornergrat (+3089), and here they are - white expanses, wide flat pistes, SUN (we were very lucky with the weather), ice bar (on track 37 , it is not possible to miss it, but we succeeded - we made a couple of circles before we realized which side to call into it). One more lap and we, if we hadn't found it, would have paved another road to the bar - we really wanted Williams (pear vodka). Williams, again slopes, lifts and we are on Rothorn - one of the peaks of the Materhorn. A wonderful viewing platform, a restaurant (of course, on the street) in which there are surprisingly few people, and here we decided to have lunch. Having had lunch, we felt that it was enough for the first day (for such skiers as I am sure) and it would be time to go down (another hour and a half or two down), I will not list all the tracks we rode, I want to pay attention only to one - No. 3, at the end of which a puzzzz awaits you - “Cervo aprè s-ski”. An amazing open-air establishment: wood and stone, in the style of an expensive Swiss chalet, with an outdoor fireplace, comfortable sun loungers, cushions on benches, with an almost Michelin-star assortment of drinks and snacks - one of the most luxurious and enjoyable aprè s-ski I have ever been to... 40 minutes in a sun lounger, with a glass of something tasty and an unbuttoned jacket, because it’s HOT on skis and you understand: that’s it, that’s all for today, you don’t have the strength... you don’t even want to move, that’s how you would sit here....
Gathering yourself together (you have to go to the hotel, get some rest in order to catch the evening spree), you start looking for things that you managed to take off and put on the tables. Without forgetting anything (glasses, a hat, gloves), you go down to the abandoned skis, find them in the same state in which you left them for joy, give them to your boyfriend, take the sticks yourself and wander down to the taxi... By the way and thanks - only our men carry the skis of their young ladies. The Europeans, on the other hand, cheerfully turn back to look at their own: “is everything in order”, read - has it collapsed yet, carrying all the ammunition.
When you reach the room and see the bed, you understand that if you lie down, you won’t get up in the next hour, so a shower, a bathrobe and a SPA with all possible saunas and grottoes... fees for the evening. As always, you don’t know what to wear, even if you clearly understand that this is still a ski resort and you will go in leather boots and jeans... but there’s still nothing to wear!
In the evening, traditionally dinner, a walk around the city and all kinds of lounges along the way. I must admit that in Zermatt everything is very good with hotels - there are quite a lot of good designer 4 * with an amazing interior, in which there are delicious restaurants, cozy lounges, good SPA areas. Take the same cozy Alex Hotel, Hotel Albana Real with a delicious restaurant of Japanese and Thai cuisine Fuji, a separate story from the Hotel Post - a miracle of miracles!
So, if you decide to relax and sleep quietly, you don’t have a place in the Unique Hotel Post. This is a 24-hour entertainment hotel: there are always a lot of people here, the hotel has several restaurants (where you can never find a free table - book at least a day in advance), a pub (with windows open to the street and a complete lack of seats even at the bar), a lounge with a terrace on the 2nd floor (where there is a hum of voices periodically diluted with laughter), a disco on the basement floor and a smoking lounge in the same place (where champagne flows like water and you can’t get to the bar counter) mmm... how I love this place... at 12 life just begins, at 2 the night is boiling, later - I don’t know, I didn’t finish watching this wonderful revelry - I surrendered to Morpheus and we went to bed...
Morning of the second day: mirror. I'm burned out, I have a red nose and circles from my glasses. I have to go to the pharmacy for a protective cream and apply not only cream but also powder (it’s stupid to use cosmetics on skis, to be honest), but with such a nose it’s just not decent to ride - it’s the brightest element in my appearance. Then everything goes according to plan: a ski room, an electric car, ski lifts (on Schwarzsee) and my instructor (it’s a common procedure for me - with him I drive calmer, more correctly, I don’t fall, so I don’t freak out and don’t whine). With him we went down to Cervino (Italy)…. mmm what a blessing, what wide slopes! The Italian side is flatter than the Swiss side, you travel light, delight! How I love such mountains as the Matterhorn: climbed in Switzerland, descended in Italy - it's a miracle! I went down and immediately to a bar by the mountain - the meeting place cannot be changed, here I meet with those who skated “like a god” without me, drink mulled wine (of course I like Williams more, they don’t have it in Italian bars, they drink mulled wine here). Instructor, lift and transfer back to the Swiss side, having reached the nearest restaurant (I don’t remember the name or number of the track) - rest and lunch... Yummy! Ordinary sausage or schnitzel, but how delicious they are in the air, under the sun and sparkling white snow!
A couple more hours of skiing and we go down, aprè s-ski (already different, some more familiar, where everyone is standing and yelling music), hotel, rest and evening festivities...
During these days, the slopes, restaurants, aprè s-ski and lounges changed, I fell and ached 100 times, smeared my nose every morning, every half an hour lips that cracked in the wind, visited the sauna more than in the last six months, on the last day I gave up - went down down on the lift, because my legs could not hold, they no longer belonged to me... and how wonderful it all is and how I want more...
Yana Shabatina
