Every Travel is a little madness!!
It liberates me like a bird getting out of a cage.
Geography: Zermatt is in the middle of Swizz alps. Nearest airport is in Geneva. It is 3.5 hours train ride from Geneva.
Language: German, French, English
Currency: Swiss franc
Getting There: You need to take a train to Visp. From Visp get on the bus that goes to Tasch. From Tasch its a 10 min train ride to Zermatt. Sometimes you get direct train to Tasch from Geneva. This is the route: Geneva->Visp->Tasch->Zermatt.
What’s famous here: Matterhorn, Gornergrat.
My Story:
Me and my travel buddy, our bags and our shoes, our tickets and maps..off to Geneva.
Zermatt is 3.5 hours ride from Geneva. The route from Geneva to Visp already started to arrest us with its massive mountain ranges, lakes and colorful vegetation. We continued the journey to Tasch from Visp in a bus.
Humongous chain of mountains, fairy tale bridges, alpine trees, river streams running in parallel to us, a scene beyond expectations laid out to be absorbed by us. A short 12 minute train got us from Tasch to Zermatt.
We got down from train with smiles. Zermatt is a no cars village, so you experience pureness of nature with no dilution. Started to walk in the direction of the hostel. Such pleasing views escorting us all along as we crawled from one street to another.
And suddenly our first sighting of Matterhorn happened.
Majestic and Gorgeous.
Dropped our bags in hostel and freshened up to get out. Chalet houses, colorful balconies, small roads, artistic shops, the village seemed just too perfect. It is impressively naive to any sort of disturbance.
We had early dinner and started to roam again. There's something very heartwarming and intimate about Zermatt, a tiny little place in the shadow of Alps. It's like the place hugs you when you arrive. It's a wonderful feeling.
It got dark, we literally covered every single street in the ville, explored tiny roads that were leading nowhere. When lights are lit Zermatt has a different look all together, beautifully glowing in between alps. Some streets gave us an entirely different view in the dark. I can recall a street where we were greeted by a huge mountain in the dark, we stood there staring at it.
In a place like Zermatt, the relation between time and space becomes less relevant as it tends to freeze and you feel infinity. We were not far from experiencing it. Chit chatting our way back to hostel late in the night awaiting the next rotation of Earth.
Sunlight through the window, sight of fall colors of Swizz before breakfast. We had picked up few spots from our previous day's exploration to check them in light. To simply stand there and absorb the meaning that place tries to convey is magical. Streets and tiny ascends, grass and cogwheel tracks, we covered them all.
It was close to 11 AM and my friend, she had to return due to an emergency. Zermatt and me were disappointed to continue and missed her for the remaining of the trip. Anyways, there are plenty more to come cos 15, 20 years later we would be chatting that the lunch in Zagreb is the best or buses in Capri are perhaps are the cutest....someone who steals window seat from me all the time and who won't flinch when I propose craziest of ideas.There are mountains and oceans waiting for us.
I purchased ticket to Gornergrat in cogwheel train. The plan was to reach the top of the ridge and stare at Matterhorn and come back half way in train and hike down the rest.
Train started to stammer and steadily pick pace to ascend Alps. This stretch is one of the highest cogwheel routes present in the entire world, the views are incredible. Got down at the top of Gornergrat to witness 32 mountains surrounding me.
The mere relevance of me in that place and at that time, tamed my soul.
Moved around the top to explore different views, to simply inhale the air, to simply see everything around. I decided to hike the entire path from the top instead of half.
I met Riffelsee Lake that got Matterhorn stunningly close through its reflection. Unreal sight.
God has sprinkled magic all over this place, I could see snow capped hills behind me, lake on my way, waterfalls somewhere far to my left, chain of mountains to the right and colors of fall when I see down from the top.
It was 12 kms from the top to the foot of Zermatt, I deserved a heavy meal. And I did find one.
Next Morning was as bright as you can imagine, pristine as much as it could be. I knew I had half a day to find the corners I had not been to and to hike as much as I can brushing shoulders with breeze. I decided to reach the opposite side to where I had been the previous day.
There is something about mountains that seduces me, I love to simply trek every single hill or mountain I see. If it's a disease, I hope there's no cure for it.
I started climbing one such hill, after one hour I reached a flat spot where there were centuries old stable. i walked past and had indescribable views.
I stood there, I sat there and had tears looking at what was around me.I had no reason, i felt nothing at all, it was a state beyond satisfaction, beyond content where my conscious mind could probably recognize but could not grasp the feeling. I felt so lucky to be standing, breathing in a place like this. For a brief amount of time I felt, this is it, is this the adventure I was waiting, it was question and answer at the same time.
I came down from the other side of the hill, that showed me another track to hike, I continued.
I walked until I looked into my watch that yelled at me to return to train station.
I'll be continuing the Alps affair from Zermatt to Chamonix.
Zermatt is special, It has raised purity of my conscience.
It has increased my hunger for travel. Travel!! initially it might just be like old vacation, but as you go further you start discovering a new world, a world that we only read about or listen about and you start realizing where you are. You realize you have nothing but it is only now that you have everything.
Tips:
-UR
uday.s7@gmail.com
It liberates me like a bird getting out of a cage.
Geography: Zermatt is in the middle of Swizz alps. Nearest airport is in Geneva. It is 3.5 hours train ride from Geneva.
Language: German, French, English
Currency: Swiss franc
Getting There: You need to take a train to Visp. From Visp get on the bus that goes to Tasch. From Tasch its a 10 min train ride to Zermatt. Sometimes you get direct train to Tasch from Geneva. This is the route: Geneva->Visp->Tasch->Zermatt.
What’s famous here: Matterhorn, Gornergrat.
My Story:
Me and my travel buddy, our bags and our shoes, our tickets and maps..off to Geneva.
Zermatt is 3.5 hours ride from Geneva. The route from Geneva to Visp already started to arrest us with its massive mountain ranges, lakes and colorful vegetation. We continued the journey to Tasch from Visp in a bus.
Humongous chain of mountains, fairy tale bridges, alpine trees, river streams running in parallel to us, a scene beyond expectations laid out to be absorbed by us. A short 12 minute train got us from Tasch to Zermatt.
We got down from train with smiles. Zermatt is a no cars village, so you experience pureness of nature with no dilution. Started to walk in the direction of the hostel. Such pleasing views escorting us all along as we crawled from one street to another.
And suddenly our first sighting of Matterhorn happened.
Majestic and Gorgeous.
Dropped our bags in hostel and freshened up to get out. Chalet houses, colorful balconies, small roads, artistic shops, the village seemed just too perfect. It is impressively naive to any sort of disturbance.
We had early dinner and started to roam again. There's something very heartwarming and intimate about Zermatt, a tiny little place in the shadow of Alps. It's like the place hugs you when you arrive. It's a wonderful feeling.
It got dark, we literally covered every single street in the ville, explored tiny roads that were leading nowhere. When lights are lit Zermatt has a different look all together, beautifully glowing in between alps. Some streets gave us an entirely different view in the dark. I can recall a street where we were greeted by a huge mountain in the dark, we stood there staring at it.
In a place like Zermatt, the relation between time and space becomes less relevant as it tends to freeze and you feel infinity. We were not far from experiencing it. Chit chatting our way back to hostel late in the night awaiting the next rotation of Earth.
Sunlight through the window, sight of fall colors of Swizz before breakfast. We had picked up few spots from our previous day's exploration to check them in light. To simply stand there and absorb the meaning that place tries to convey is magical. Streets and tiny ascends, grass and cogwheel tracks, we covered them all.
It was close to 11 AM and my friend, she had to return due to an emergency. Zermatt and me were disappointed to continue and missed her for the remaining of the trip. Anyways, there are plenty more to come cos 15, 20 years later we would be chatting that the lunch in Zagreb is the best or buses in Capri are perhaps are the cutest....someone who steals window seat from me all the time and who won't flinch when I propose craziest of ideas.There are mountains and oceans waiting for us.
I purchased ticket to Gornergrat in cogwheel train. The plan was to reach the top of the ridge and stare at Matterhorn and come back half way in train and hike down the rest.
Train started to stammer and steadily pick pace to ascend Alps. This stretch is one of the highest cogwheel routes present in the entire world, the views are incredible. Got down at the top of Gornergrat to witness 32 mountains surrounding me.
The mere relevance of me in that place and at that time, tamed my soul.
Moved around the top to explore different views, to simply inhale the air, to simply see everything around. I decided to hike the entire path from the top instead of half.
I met Riffelsee Lake that got Matterhorn stunningly close through its reflection. Unreal sight.
God has sprinkled magic all over this place, I could see snow capped hills behind me, lake on my way, waterfalls somewhere far to my left, chain of mountains to the right and colors of fall when I see down from the top.
It was 12 kms from the top to the foot of Zermatt, I deserved a heavy meal. And I did find one.
Next Morning was as bright as you can imagine, pristine as much as it could be. I knew I had half a day to find the corners I had not been to and to hike as much as I can brushing shoulders with breeze. I decided to reach the opposite side to where I had been the previous day.
There is something about mountains that seduces me, I love to simply trek every single hill or mountain I see. If it's a disease, I hope there's no cure for it.
I started climbing one such hill, after one hour I reached a flat spot where there were centuries old stable. i walked past and had indescribable views.
I stood there, I sat there and had tears looking at what was around me.I had no reason, i felt nothing at all, it was a state beyond satisfaction, beyond content where my conscious mind could probably recognize but could not grasp the feeling. I felt so lucky to be standing, breathing in a place like this. For a brief amount of time I felt, this is it, is this the adventure I was waiting, it was question and answer at the same time.
I came down from the other side of the hill, that showed me another track to hike, I continued.
I walked until I looked into my watch that yelled at me to return to train station.
I'll be continuing the Alps affair from Zermatt to Chamonix.
Zermatt is special, It has raised purity of my conscience.
It has increased my hunger for travel. Travel!! initially it might just be like old vacation, but as you go further you start discovering a new world, a world that we only read about or listen about and you start realizing where you are. You realize you have nothing but it is only now that you have everything.
Tips:
- Best time is undoubtedly fall. There is nothing like it, a very small enclosed yet so humongous place.
- If you are planning for Chamonix from here, there is train from Martigny to Chamonix called Mont Blanc express. Martigny is few stops after Visp when you are returning to Geneva.
- Just hike to any hill you see, any path you see, any lanes that you see, it will not disappoint you.
-UR
uday.s7@gmail.com
