Mountains.74
Mountains.72
We could also title this post “37 Views of the Matterhorn,” because these should be the last 37 views of this beautiful mountain that you’ll see for now. I arrived in Zermatt after dark on the 30th of October and posted my very first Matterhorn shots the next morning, so today is precisely three months from when I posted the first of many Matterhorn shots. I did many long and wonderful walks / hikes during my three full days in Zermatt, as well as sitting on benches drinking tea in the morning while waiting for the sun to peek around the facing mountains to shine directly onto the peak on at least one morning. So these show the mountain as seen from various directions and elevations. I’ve edited out quite a few, but find these that remain so lovely each in a slightly different way that I’d feel I’m failing to share the joy of beauty if I didn’t post. And Steve always reminds me that folks can glance quickly and then move on if they want. Hugs & may the coming month bring love, joy and some mountain tranquility to your daily life.
Mountains.70
All these shots come from the viewing platform at the top of the building into which the gondolas arrive, and from which skiers ski down year ’round, because indeed up here there’s year-round skiing, though when I was there only as far as the middle station. In the right-hand shot with me just above, I’m pointing at a mountain I sort of thought might be Mont Blanc because of how big it is both in height and mass. I couldn’t get anyone to solidly confirm or deny my idea. And yes, that pyramidal mountain on my other side is the Matterhorn seen from the southeast and not too far below its peak. On the left, notice the sign showing which mountains are which. As I recollect, the similar sign on the other side was weather-worn enough that one could not definitively confirm or deny my hypothesis.
From the Air.70
Mountains.69
You’ll have noticed how much I loved everything I saw in Switzerland. These are just about all the remaining shots from my first day there, at least 🙂
Lake Living.58
This is the closest I got to the actual mountain; as you see, it’s actually starting just across this lake. The last “From the Air” claimed I was posting all the remaining gondola-ride photos from the trip up to the “Little Matterhorn,” which may be technically true, but then there was also the ride back down, from which you’ll see one shot below and likely more in future iterations of “From the Air.” In any case: during that ride up, I stood just next to a rather strikingly red-headed chap with whom I struck up a conversation and turned out he lives in San Diego, a city I know fairly well. Since we were both solo travelers, he and I then shared our explorations up top, and then decided we’d jointly wander over to this lake just downhill from the bottom of the first transfer station going down. He’d packed beer and snacks with the hope of having his photo taken drinking beer in the snow, but up top there weren’t good spots so we found a suitable spot with just enough snow here, lower down. You’ll see the pics he took of me enjoying one of his beers lower down, as well as a gallery of air bubbles trapped in ice around the lake as well.
Mountains.68
With some apologies, I’m going to throw a large post with a ton of photos at you. These are all the remaining photos that I took during my trip on the very expensive but quite remarkable Gornergrat Bahn, which connects from Zermatt in the valley below, to Gornergrat where (one of?) the highest hotels in the alps sits on a rocky ridge with views to the Gorner Glacier and more. Truly, I edited the photos down but felt each of the many I’m still sharing with you explores a different aspect of this particular journey and afternoon. Or maybe I just want to show lots of photos to make myself feel I got a lot out of the trip, given that the ticket was more expensive than what I’d pay to go from A’dam to Brussels…
From the Air.68
Last of the photos taken while dangling in a gondola on my way up to the Little Matterhorn and Glacier Paradise on November 1st :-). Definitely not yet the last of our Zermatt photos, which I am in fact still paring down for quality and duplication-reduction reasons. But you gotta admit, it’s a pretty spectacular region, eh?
Country Canals.88
The stream above gets channeled into the pond below, and I believe becomes part of the water source for surrounding villages including Zermatt. But not sure.
Mountains.67
From the Air.66
(so much world, so little time....) 