October 30, 2015

hiking the MATTERHORN

i’m pretty sure that this is the true happiest place on earth…
(no matter how much people like the d-land version ;)

the stunning matterhorn was showing off during our stay in
zermatt – and we became big fans from the moment we laid eyes
on it. after seeing it from our hotel room and all through town, we
decided it was time to get up close & personal with the mountain.

?? behold, the matterhorn!!!
there are all different options for experiencing the matterhorn.
you can ski it, tube on part of it, climb it, bike around it, hike around it,
and more. when my mom was young she came here and actually skiied the
matterhorn, because she is the coolest. we hope to come back in the winter
and ski the area one day, but on this bluebird late summer day we couldn’t
resist a good hike through the lower peaks surrounding the matterhorn.
seriously.. she couldn’t have looked more beautiful on this day,
stopping us in our tracks to gaze at it against that blue sky.
we headed toward the sunnegga summit which we heard had some
of the most unique views of the mountain. we ended up loving
this path and doing a crazy loop that took longer than planned,
like normally the best hikes do. we had to keep going!
?? i made some new friends on this hike..
zermatt should definitely be experienced in the summertime, as well as the winter.
during this september week we took full advantage of the green meadows and glittering
mountain lakes which gave us the perfect taste of a summer holiday in the alps.i wanted to walk backwards on the hiking path so i could have this view! ^^

it’s near impossible not to be happy when in the alps.
how pretty were these blooms with that background?
i had to snap lots of pictures from this viewpoint.
stopped for a nice little chat along the way ^^
hiking in switzerland is a treat. they know how to do it right
with little lodges and refuges along the trails serving up warm food.
one of my favorite pictures that i’ve taken, ever.
why are the cows in switzerland just so pretty?
i think these guys have the life with this as their backyard.
i tried to facetime my parents during our stop to show them this view..
but couldn’t get them…so i took a screenshot to show them what they missed!
sorry for all of the cow pictures, but i just could not get enough of these cuties :)

as we were hiking we passed this group of people and chase spotted an
alta shirt (our favorite ski resort from home!) so we stopped to chat.
turns out there we were in the middle of the alps, and all from the same
area in salt lake city. haha! we chatted for a while and got even more
excited when we realized it was tony from caputo’s deli, one of our favorites!

after a big loop, we descended back into the upper part of town on a different trail.
we came straight down from the hike onto a tiny path that led
to the posh & modern matterhorn focus spa to treat our hiked-out
bodies to a little massage treatment! the matterhorn focus is set on the
edge of town and is so peaceful & quiet. a massage feels even better in a
ski town like zermatt. it made us hike harder knowing these were coming up!
we had blue skies all day on the hike, but right as we got down in the
afternoon the clouds rolled in and it got chilly outside. good thing
we had cozy robes, hot tubs, steam room and sauna to enjoy first.
after our 3 months on the road and our all-day hike, i don’t know if a
massage has ever felt better. with the full spa it was the whole package!
after a near-perfect day in my book, there was just one thing missing:
an amazing swiss meal! we had only eaten a snickers bar and split a
berry crisp while on the mountain, so we were very ready to eat.
the omnia sits at the top of zermatt (there is an elevator from the village
level, which we failed to see…so we climbed all the way up ourselves :)
this is the place for some of the best, heartiest swiss food in town.
food always tastes even better after a major hike, and on a chilly day!
salad + swiss rosti for me – rosti is basically potatoes, but
when it’s done right it’s crispy, flavorful, and perfect.
pair it with a creamy bacon sauce and it’s heaven!
chase had the mountain lodge burger which was well deserved after hiking 10 miles.
we couldn’t resist a pear & tangerine tart to finish off.
the best part of this meal was meeting a new friend
named philippe, who just so happens to be moving
to amsterdam as well! it was a fun coincidence to
meet, and we can’t wait to get together in our new city.
on our walk back to our hotel we passed this big hiking boot sidewalk
sale which made us smile because … only in switzerland! It didn’t rain the whole time but I’m still glad I brought The PNW waterproof backpacks, to prepare for the worst.
i love the quote about the matterhorn: “like a shark’s fin it rises above the town,
like an egotistical celebrity it squeezes into every snapshot, like a diva
it has moods swinging from pretty and pink to dark and mysterious.”