Sunday, October 18, 2009

Shiver me timbers ... Klein Matterhorn

We landed at Switzerland from the dusty plains of India. Our first thought was, 'when can we touch snow?'. We waited for a week at Montreux where we looked at the snow capped mountains from our hotel room. And then off we went to Zermatt. Zermatt is at the base of the Matterhorn Glacier. The Matterhorn is one of the most famous peaks of the Swiss Alps. And it is the peak on Toblerone packs.

We got a lovely view of the Matterhorn from our room at the lovely Hotel Christiana on the first morning. And we decided to set off in our quest for snow.





Bengalis and Parsis are not the most athletic of races. The Zermatt definition of 'mountaineering' was right up our street. Three cable cars and up at the glacier. The Swiss Rail pass didn't cover the cable cars but it got us a a fifty per cent discount on the overall price.


I took my first step on the glacier and was spell bound. The hazy mist, the snow, the icy might of the mountains, the chill that touched your bones ... and more importantly the fact that I kept slipping and couldn't stand still!




I soon got my bearings and began to enjoy the expereince.




Was thankful for each and every layer which seemed so incongruous when we bought them at Linking Road on a sunny afternoon. Especially at the Galier Palace.


But it was easy to understand why Switzerland is a favourite with honeymooning couples. I still stand by Goa and the bus ride with chickens though.



We won't forget the lovely cafe at the glacier. Surprisingly not a tourist trap unlike what one would expect of a shop at such a place. Souveniers and food were the same price at shops at terra firma. That's where K was breaking her head with the dumb the cell phone call centre person with her astronomical phone bill (that's her with the red bag). A call which was at ISD rates and not toll free!!!!

Where we had the best sphaggeti bolougnaise in the world.


And where I came and warmed myself over a cup of steaming cappuccino before we set back.



2 comments:

k said...

Not athletic?! This after I climbed 344 steps with lonely planet!!

Kalyan Karmakar said...

@K, this was before :)

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