And the winner is…

February 26, 2014

View from my window in the morning – what an awakening

Feeling the cold wind in my face, hearing is the sound of my snowboard with each and every curve I take. I finally break, trying to splash my friends who are waiting for me with snow. What a laugh this race down the slope has been. We all feel our muscles and are still panting from the effort, but we all feel so great and alive.

Next stop is the sunny terrace for a well deserved rest. A hot chocolate, a Strudel with vanilla ice cream and the most stunning view: the Matterhorn (the mountain shown on the Toblerone chocolate, but in real – s’Horu like the Zermatters call their mountain).

After the a day on the slopes I wonder, should I stay in and relax? Being active in fresh air the entire day was pretty tiring. And the after ski with great live music has turned into a lovely party and finished the day with another good laugh.
But then I resist my laziness and after a good shower the walk through the beautiful village to the Hotel Post blows away my fatigue. Tonight it is just a quick pizza and I resist the calling Zermatt’s nightlife, but too little sleep would be taking its toll on me. It would make me less enjoy the next day on the slopes and I got an early appointment to not miss a minute of one of the rare sunny days that week. But the walk back home, the silence of the night and the snow crunching under my shoes is so romantic and makes up for the missed party.

All of the above you will get in ZERMATT, Switzerland, my definite personal first choice! If I had nowhere else to ever go again, this would be the one place I would stick to for the rest of my life.

Everyone who has been to this place understands. I did not choose it because the best things that happened in my life are linked to it. I am completely impartial, I swear.
Trust me, I have never ever met anybody who dislikes Zermatt.

A cosy little village at the bottom of a majestic mountain, the Matterhorn, of which the Swiss were lucky enough to be on the nicer looking side (sorry for the Italians who got the less charming part).

When you go to Zermatt you have the risk to forget the real world. Leave your car in Täsch – Zermatt is car free – and when you get off the train you are welcomed by horse carriages and electric cars (which go pretty fast and are about the only danger in Zermatt as you don’t hear them approach).

I am lucky and have just enjoyed another winter week in Zermatt. But if you have ever been to Zermatt in summer, you will be under its charm even more so. Hike for hours, train your muscles biking up the hill to be compensated by the wind in your hair on the way down or swim in a mountain lake. The serious climbers can try and tame the Matterhorn (but be reasonable, prepare well and go with a local guide) or you challenge a friend for a tennis match in the village. Or if you are the kind who gets up really early and feels like skiing in summer, the glacier is waiting for you.

In case sport is not your thing, the village also offers plenty of other things to do. Apart from a big choice of restaurants, you can also do some shopping, visit the local museum, go to the movies, have a drink in one of the bars, listen to some live music…

Glad that I gave it a serious thought. In case I have to choose one day and stick to one place, I am now definitely sure which it would be: ZERMATT, ZERMATT, ZERMATT.