Zermatt, eternal alpine snow and a glimpse of Switzerland
Mont Blanc prides itself on being the highest Alp. However, one of the most photographically reproduced is the Matterhorn with the town of Zermatt at its feet.
When I first saw the Matterhorn from the ground, it felt like I was looking at a solidified burning flame. A native who saw me looking at it in amazement said, “You can climb it,” as if it were nothing. I laughed … not at him but at me. I wouldn’t dare think about trying that.
In Zermatt, as well as elsewhere, the locals show their skill by the number of times they have climbed the Matterhorn; although, many do fall on numerous occasions. A local had climbed it more than 300 times. His wife shrugged: “It’s useless to say how many times,” he said. “The mountain does not go anywhere. It stays there and only those who do not work (it also means that they are worthless) climb.”
There are no cars in Zermatt. Transportation is possible using the rack railway and horse-drawn sleighs. Sitting in a horse-drawn sleigh with a lap robe, which is a little folded blanket, with eternal snow around it is one of the most romantic things.
Zermatt has narrow streets, hotels and inns with a laid-back air of history, sports shops, boutiques, jewelers, and rows and cases of the world’s best watches. One wonderful thing in Zermatt is the food. No matter how big, small, cheap or expensive the cafe or restaurant we stopped at, the place was immaculate. Everything was spotless and clean with flowers on every table. The food was of a very good quality and some Swiss wines were at least on par with the French. Most of the native food at lunchtime consisted of soup, salad, sausage and potatoes and, of course, “Bier” in long, thick cups covered with thick foam.
Unlike the other small towns that I have known from previous visits, Zermatt has a large tourist population throughout the year, with a good number of young people. You have to be young and agile like a mountain goat to dare to climb anything.
People in Switzerland are not just mountain climbers. They also enjoy Alpine festivals, William Tell plays, yodeling, Swiss wrestling, beer sausages, but they carry out direct democracy with 25 sovereign states and enjoy great diversity from town to town. In some parts of Switzerland, the language is French, as there are places where the language is German. In a canton in the Italian Alps, Italian is also spoken. Don’t worry though, most Swiss know several languages and some of them are fluent in English.
Winter in Switzerland is a fairy tale, especially at night. Falling snowflakes blur any other light as they accumulate everywhere, even on steep rooftops. Everything is smoother, more magical and gentle.
Like the snow that covers mountains, rocks, boulders, ridges and crags, perhaps people also need to deal with and work with hard, sharp, puzzling things, to soften the nervousness inside, especially when the magnetic attraction of a mountain attracts them more and more. deeper, and forces them to create something, anything for a feeling of exhilaration and pride of accomplishment.
That is why Swiss women must have created such fine laces and embroidered clothing while their female companions were engaged in watchmaking in Switzerland as they counted time while it snowed. Someone had to tell something in the bleached solitude of the Alpine nights.