Switzerland: Matterhorn

The next day I got up early again to go back to the mountains!


This time I was headed for Matterhorn. It was about a 3 or 4 hour train journey, so I got up early again.

After many trains, I made it to Zermatt. I had originally planned to go on a long hike around some lakes, but it turns out I didn't have time to even get to the trailhead, so I had to change my plans a little. First thing I did was buy some sunscreen, because there was not a cloud in the sky, so I would definitely have gotten sunburned.

The next thing I did was buy tickets for the ski lift. I went up to just above the snow line and got a pretty great view from the cable car.

Unfortunately, the real view was blocked by a crane.

A little bummed, I went down to the next lowest cable car stop and got out. I knew there wouldn't be any views of the Matterhorn, so I just walked around.

I found a really cool bridge with a great view, so I hiked up the mountain a bit to get to that.

I found a shady spot on a rock nearby and ate my lunch, then I headed down towards Zermatt. I walked for about an hour and a half, stopping every few minutes to take pictures.

Towards the end of the hike, I turned back for the first time and got this amazing view of the Matterhorn! That was definitely a highlight.

I'm glad I walked down the mountain, because it was sunny and warm and hiking was one of the main things I wanted to do in Switzerland.

After getting back into town, I pretty much got on the train and made the long trip back to Basel.