Tuesday, June 14,2011

We have had the most amazing two days!!! The weather is variable but yesterday, our travel day, it was rainy with low clouds. Today when it mattered, we had sunshine!!! In fact, today was the first day in three weeks that the Matterhorn has been clear. I think we have horseshoes!!!

Back to yesterday. It had numerous stages of travel so quite fascinating. First we drove in the bus for about an hour past many lakes which were turquoise in color. Picture doesn't look too great here -- taken through the bus window.

 We stopped at an attractive small town to visit a wood carver's shop where we finally chose our cuckoo clock. Next stage was about 45 minutes to a town called Interlaken (between two lakes). We wandered around there for awhile then had lunch (more of a dinner type menu). Then it was on to a train station where the bus went on the train!!! Boy what a tight fit and the drivers had no mirrors (folded in) to see where they were. No scrapes. I could see about 4 or 5 inches on my side. They had to drive about 1000 feet this way. So we then went via train, sitting on the bus, for 40 minutes -- through a tunnel under the mountain. This saved 2 hours. When we got to the town of Taesch -- about 30 minutes later -- we transferred to a real train. Rode for about 30 minutes, through more tunnels to Zermatt. This town  doesn't allow busses or cars so everything gets left at Taesch. The taxis that run around town are like glorified electric golf carts. Cute, quiet and non polluting.Zermatt is an awesome town tucked into the bottom of a narrow mountain valley. We could barely see the Matterhorn because of the clouds.

Today, Tuesday, we woke up to shinshine!! We took another cog railway -- longest in the world, I think, to the top of a ski mountain -- 10, 132 feet. The Matterhorn was awesome. I must have taken a dozen pictures of it on the way up and then at the top. No pictures for you to see right now as the computer has stopped allowing me to download them onto the blog. Keeps giving me a security alert. It was cool up there but no wind so quite comfortable. We had a group picture taken with two Saint Bernards then just us with one of the dogs. We didn't walk around on any trails as running shoes weren't suitable for the snow. After coming down we spent a number of hours around town. So pretty and so nice not to have a bunch of cars whizzing by. Just had to keep an ear out for the electric ones.

Here the houses have slate roofs -- large pieces of slate about 3/8" thick and about 2 feet wide. Not a lot of flowers on balconies. That is predominately an Austrian or German custom.

Gas is about 1.70 to 1.79 Swiss Franks per liter.Add 20% for Can $.

We have noticed how very clean this country is. No garbage on the streets, houses painted, rivers clear except for the glacial ones. In Zermatt we are in evergreen forest, mostly larch. The roads and railways go some incredible places. Many switchbacks and no thought of 4 laning! There is never broken pavement. Don't know how they keep the frost heaves out.

All for today. Hope to try the pictures again.