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| nuthatch | profile | all galleries >> Alpine driving loop >> Zermatt, Switzerland | tree view | thumbnails | slideshow |
 after the rain in the Bernese Highlands, water is flowing everywhere |
 approaching the Grimsel pass, the scenery is disappearing into fog |
 hmmm... we can't see the Grimsel See |
 over the top and heading down, the curves come into view again |
 quite the zigzag heading toward Gletsch |
 now heading southwest down the Rotten valley, the architecture is changing also |
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 a hint of what's to come... |
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 in Täsch, we pick up the train to Zermatt |
 arriving in Zermatt, a familiar icon awaits |
 service and residential buildings unique to Valais... |
 ...and making up nearly all of the Hinterdorf |
 the stone disks are to keep out rats... |
 ...but there are other ways |
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 a wide variety of stone-shingled roof styles... |
 ...of old and new vintage |
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 heading up to the Anglican Church... |
 ...surrounded by graves of climbers lost on surrounding peaks |
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 but there's fun to be had as well, for local kids |
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 even the town library is in traditional style |
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 and birdhouses too! |
 Tom and Marla greet a resident |
 and later we discover what edelweiss is all about |
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 in the Matterhorn museum, for a history lesson about Zermatt and its dominant peak |
 there are reconstructions of buildings and furnishings from the past... |
 ...and examples of the progression of equipment design over the years |
 this is the rope that cost four lives in the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn (1865) |
 local soapstone has been shaped into useful objects for thousands of years |
 this should be a shrine: cheesemaking! |
 a well-known foreigner visits Zermatt for some park ideas |
 and the locals amuse themselves with their own twist on a game |
 we leave the museum to visit the Catholic church's mountaineers cemetery |
 over 500 people have died on the Matterhorn... |
 ...and many more nearby... |
 ...something to think about as we head to our lodging for the night |
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 the next day, we head up the cable toward the 'glacier paradise' |
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 breaking through the morning clouds |
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 there's our destination |
 it's a high-alpine environment: wind-swept and austere |
 glaciers all around |
 nearby Breithorn, a favorite hiking destination... |
 ...for insane people |
 but it's really quite beautiful, so the insanity is not hard to understand |
 Tom on the ice at the top of the lift |
 hikers preparing to head off |
 and others having fun near the lift station |
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 Jay hasn't been here since 1977 (and never this high here before) |
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 heading down now, toward the Schwarzee |
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 a short hike from the Schwarzee station, for views and to explore the flora |
 it's very hard not to keep taking pictures of this mountain! |
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 interesting adaptations to the altitude and climate |
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 heading back down to Zermatt... |
 ...to catch the cog train up to Gornergrat |
 the rails are at times crazy steep... |
 ...but the views from the top are amazing |
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 near the top, a whimsical set of cairns, or steinmänner, or ometti |
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 a last view out and down at the glaciers |
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 back in town, an alphorn concert seems a fitting end to our stay in Zermatt |
 panorama: Breithorn |
 panorama: from Klein Matterhorn |
 panorama: from Gornergrat |
 panorama: from Schwarzee |