Monday June 20th
On Monday we let Tim and Colleen loose to explore the Swiss Alps by themselves. Their journey began right after breakfast with a train ride through the scenic canton of Valais, then, after a few transfers, a stop in the city of Interlaken. From Interlaken they went higher up into the Alps until they reached the town of Gimmelwald. It’s worth noting that I was confused and had to look at a map when they told us about Gimmelwald. Melissa and I had visited a town called Grindelwald near Interlaken with Brian and Michelle, but despite thinking I’m an expert on Switzerland, Tim and Colleen taught me that Gimmelwald and Grindelwald are in fact two separate towns.
The weather was close to perfect for their trip, with only the occasional cloud obscuring the views, so they stayed out late to soak in all they could. Just before 11 p.m. they finally made it back to our apartment then quickly hopped into bed.
Tuesday June 21st
The whole day Tuesday was forecast to be cloudy with occasional light rain, so with that in mind Tim and Colleen chose sights that didn’t require far and wide views to enjoy. I was able to take the time off from my busy schedule to join as we first saw the EPFL campus (the school where Melissa works), then the Gruyere cheese factory, the Cailler chocolate factory, and ended our day with a stop in the city of Bern.
We began by riding the metro into EPFL where we met up with Melissa who gave us a short tour. As we were admiring the Swiss cheese like holes in the oddly designed Rolex center we noticed the time. The route to the cheese factory required five train transfers and we had to hurry to make the first one. We said goodbye to Melissa then briskly walked to the metro stop arriving just as train number one, back to Renens, was pulling in. In Renens we again had to hurry, actually breaking out into a jog to make our three minute transfer. Train number two took us into Lausanne where we could breathe a sigh of relief as we calmly waited 10 minutes for train number three bound for Montreux. In Montreux our fourth train was the Golden Pass line, a scenic train that brought us up into the foothills of the Alps, then into the Canton of Freiburg and the town of Montbovon. In Montbovon we made our final transfer to our fifth train which brought us down a river valley to the town of Gruyeres, home of the Gruyeres cheese factory.
The cheese factory is just across the street from the train station. Tim and Colleen went on the tour for free with their Swiss Pass, but I had already been on the tour and listened to the cheesy talking cow tour guide, so I sat down at the factory cafe and sipped on a coffee instead. The train out of Gruyeres only comes once an hour, and when Tim and Colleen were through with the tour we had 30 minutes until the next train. Just enough time we figured to march up the long hill to the medieval walled city of Gruyeres. Huffing and puffing after reaching the town we looked around for just a couple minutes than had to march back down the hill to catch the train. This train brought us to the town of Broc, home of the Caillier chocolate factory.
All three of us went on the chocolate tour. Tim and Colleen again had free admission, and convinced me to come with by paying my admission. We only had to wait five minutes for our tour, which is the shortest I’ve ever had to wait, then we were off to learn the history of chocolate, the present fabrication process, and most importantly to try some chocolate samples. Being Tim and Colleen’s first chocolate tour, they were able to enjoy the hokey animatronics, and corporate propaganda, but after three previous tours I just bided my time until the end, and best part, the unlimited chocolate tasting. I think I got their money’s worth by eating at least 20 pieces.
When we had all over eaten enough, we exited the chocolate factory with perfect timing to catch the once an hour train out with hardly a wait. We then made our way to Bern, the day’s final stop. We arrived in Bern just as rush hour was starting. It was fascinating to see mobs and mobs of business people hurrying to the train station just as we were walking away from it. Bern is the capital of Switzerland, and to begin our tour we felt it was fitting to walk first to the parliament building. We then made our way to the old city, entering by a large landmark clock, called the Zytglogge, which hundreds of years ago marked a city gate. We strolled along the wide Kramgasse street admiring the old buildings, and below ground shops until we side stepped through an alley to look at the cathedral.
Around 6 p.m. we made our way back to the train station and caught a direct train to Lausanne. After a transfer to Renens we walked back to the apartment where we found Melissa had set out a charcuterie plate. After so many late nights it was nice to have a little more relaxing evening and being home before dark.
Wednesday June 22nd
Wednesday’s itinerary had only one sight on it, but it was a good one: Zermatt, the ski resort town situated in the shadow of the Matterhorn mountain. We chose our destination because Wednesday was forecast to be the clearest day of Tim and Colleen’s visit.
To reach Zermatt we first had to ride two hours through the Canton of Valais until we came to the town of Visp. Once in Visp we transferred to a train that brought us high up a mountain valley along the same path as the famous Glacier Express, until we reached Zermatt, the final stop on the line. The day was perfect without a single cloud in the sky. Both legs of the journey offered spectacular views of mountains that never get old.
Once we were in Zermatt we wanted to take full advantage of the clear views which had been rare on Tim and Colleen’s visit, so immediately after leaving the Zermatt train station, we walked over to a different, private, rail station operated by the Matterhorn railway. From this station a 33 minute train ride would take us from Zermatt at 1608 m (5275 ft) to just shy of the top of Gornergrat mountain at 3135 m (10285 ft). Each train leg was more spectacular, and the Gornergrat train brought us up past the tree line where the Matterhorn was easily in full view. Our train car was filled with the constant sound of other tourists ohhing and awwing as they marveled and took pictures of the scenes out the window (which we did too!).
Exiting the train at the Gornergrat station, we found there were three viewing areas, each progressively higher. The first was right at the train stop, the next a short walk up to a restaurant, and the third only slightly farther up at the actual summit of Gornergrat mountain. The scenery around us was so amazing we had to stop and admire for some time at the two lower areas before making it to the summit.
When we felt satisfied we’d seen enough we walked down to the restaurant where we bought overpriced food, but ate it enjoying the view. On the patio where we ate were also very aggressive birds that you would have to constantly shoe away from eating your food. A funny scene occurred when a different restaurant patron got up for a second and a throng of birds descended on their food.
After lunch we took some more pictures and walked around a little bit around the train station. In the snow I saw something sparkly and kicked it to uncover a ring. It looked like a wedding ring and even had engraving with a date inside, so I turned it into the man at the ticket office.
We started our descent around 3 p.m. by first riding the train down only one stop and getting off. The internet had said that at one stop from the top there is a lake that reflects the Matterhorn and frames a famous, scenic Matterhorn picture, so we went hiking to see it. Unfortunately when we came to the lake, we found out it was still frozen. The stop wasn’t a total loss though, because on the hike back to the train we saw a wild marmot, the first I had seen here in Switzerland.
We then got back on the train and rode all the way to Zermatt. In Zermatt we had a little time to kill and bought some beers to have on the ride back. When we made it back to Visp it was hot, a full 91 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to the cool 50’s at the top of the Gornergrat. Back at the apartment Melissa had made some spaghetti and we chattered through Tim and Colleen’s last night in Switzerland.
Thursday June 23rd
Thursday we all (Melissa included) woke up and left for Geneva, grabbing breakfast on the go. Melissa and I were off to begin 13 hours of travel to make it back to Minnesota U.S.A., while Tim and Colleen also had a flight, theirs to Amsterdam, that would take off later that afternoon.
It was, once again, incredibly fun to have visitors with us in Switzerland, but Melissa and I were ready to become visitors ourselves back in Minnesota!
