I am having internet problems tonight, but hopefully I can get this posted someway…sometime. Let me start by thanking those of you who have sent messages to us through the blog and e-mail. It is good to hear from each of you, but we simply don’t have time to answer each of you individually right now.
After breakfast this morning we left our host, Walter, but not before he posed for a photo for my blog. He is a remarkable gentleman, and we enjoyed our stay at his small hotel high in the Alps.
We took a lift, train, and another lift to get to the valley floor to catch the train in Lauterbrunnen. We are actually learning to make out a few words in German, but have learned to speak “train” very well. We managed to get a rather complicated schedule from Gimmelwald to Zermatt figured out and completed with no problems. Hooray for us!
We decided we needed some fresh fruit this morning, so we purchased some apples at a small market. We quickly learned that apples are heavy in backpacks. Next time we may throw nutritional caution to the wind and select something light-weight like potato chips! We solved this problem by eating several of the apples as we rode the trains on the way to Zermatt. I am not sure this is a good thing. Now the weight of the food is on our bodies instead of in the packs on our backs!
The train system here is unreal…quiet, smooth, and on-the-minute punctuality. We got off one train and within 3-10 minutes were able to board our next train. We went from Lauterbrunnen, changed trains at Interlaken, changed trains again at Speiz, changed trains again at Visp, and finally arrived in Zermatt!
So now we are in Zermatt. Several years ago Matt Lauer did a segment of the “Today Show” from Zermatt and when I saw the views he showed, Zermatt sort of got on my “bucket list”. Tonight we are staying at the ultra-expensive Grand Hotel Zermatterhoff. The hotel is beautiful, and our room is luxury all the way. We have our own balcony that overlooks the picturesque church and part of the city.
Now that you are impressed, I will tell you that this room rents for between $300-$600 per night, but somehow I managed to find it through an internet connection months ago for $45 for the night…including breakfast, of course! What a bargain! Olen told me he did not think they would honor our reservation when we got here, but the receptionist did not blink an eye…except when she told us our luggage would be delivered to our room and we replied, “We don’t have any.”
After checking in the hotel we walked down the street for our first view of the famous Matterhorn. Unfortunately, it was in partial cloud cover this afternoon, so hopefully I will be able to take another (better) photo in the morning before we leave.
We spent the afternoon walking around the little town. At one point we were entertained by a group on the street playing music. They advertised themselves as a “quartet” (according to the sign in front of them). I took their picture. Am I the only one who thinks this is unusual?? Quartet should indicate four musicians in any language, don’t you think?
So today we went from a remote Alpine village hotel with bare-bones accommodations and a bathroom down the hall, to a large exclusive hotel in a busy tourist area…and tonight’s stay is less expensive than the previous night. Go figure!
We are still treasuring each moment. This is a beautiful world God has made for us. Enjoy your portion of it today.
After breakfast this morning we left our host, Walter, but not before he posed for a photo for my blog. He is a remarkable gentleman, and we enjoyed our stay at his small hotel high in the Alps.
We took a lift, train, and another lift to get to the valley floor to catch the train in Lauterbrunnen. We are actually learning to make out a few words in German, but have learned to speak “train” very well. We managed to get a rather complicated schedule from Gimmelwald to Zermatt figured out and completed with no problems. Hooray for us!We decided we needed some fresh fruit this morning, so we purchased some apples at a small market. We quickly learned that apples are heavy in backpacks. Next time we may throw nutritional caution to the wind and select something light-weight like potato chips! We solved this problem by eating several of the apples as we rode the trains on the way to Zermatt. I am not sure this is a good thing. Now the weight of the food is on our bodies instead of in the packs on our backs!
The train system here is unreal…quiet, smooth, and on-the-minute punctuality. We got off one train and within 3-10 minutes were able to board our next train. We went from Lauterbrunnen, changed trains at Interlaken, changed trains again at Speiz, changed trains again at Visp, and finally arrived in Zermatt!
So now we are in Zermatt. Several years ago Matt Lauer did a segment of the “Today Show” from Zermatt and when I saw the views he showed, Zermatt sort of got on my “bucket list”. Tonight we are staying at the ultra-expensive Grand Hotel Zermatterhoff. The hotel is beautiful, and our room is luxury all the way. We have our own balcony that overlooks the picturesque church and part of the city.
Now that you are impressed, I will tell you that this room rents for between $300-$600 per night, but somehow I managed to find it through an internet connection months ago for $45 for the night…including breakfast, of course! What a bargain! Olen told me he did not think they would honor our reservation when we got here, but the receptionist did not blink an eye…except when she told us our luggage would be delivered to our room and we replied, “We don’t have any.”After checking in the hotel we walked down the street for our first view of the famous Matterhorn. Unfortunately, it was in partial cloud cover this afternoon, so hopefully I will be able to take another (better) photo in the morning before we leave.
We spent the afternoon walking around the little town. At one point we were entertained by a group on the street playing music. They advertised themselves as a “quartet” (according to the sign in front of them). I took their picture. Am I the only one who thinks this is unusual?? Quartet should indicate four musicians in any language, don’t you think?
So today we went from a remote Alpine village hotel with bare-bones accommodations and a bathroom down the hall, to a large exclusive hotel in a busy tourist area…and tonight’s stay is less expensive than the previous night. Go figure!
We are still treasuring each moment. This is a beautiful world God has made for us. Enjoy your portion of it today.
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