Day 119: It Doesn’t Even Matterhorn

First thing to know about Switzerland is it’s very very VERY expensive. We’ve been warned by many so we bought as much Italian pasta, sauce, and dried meats as possible and also looked for accommodation that isn’t at the main attractions, but close enough for short transit.

Second thing to know is that April and May are the tourist season “maintenance months”. Recovering from winter and preparing for summer, many restaurants, hiking trails, gondolas, and attractions are shut down for repairs, cleaning, and much needed R&R. People online will say these are the cheapest months to visit Switzerland; we have a hard time believing that when hostels are $60 USD per bed per night.

We slept in Stalden, a 1 hour train ride north of Zermatt and Matterhorn. The guest house was a 21 minute walk from the station on a road with no shoulder. It was the best decision though because we only paid $108 a night, had a kitchen, and could go up to Matterhorn when we wanted.

We woke up, hit the grocery store for sandwich making, and took the train south. Zermatt is a beautiful little city and it had snowed the previous evening. Everyone was decked out in cute hats and snow boots.

To our dismay, most alpine hiking trails were closed and both the scenic train and gondolas to Matterhorn were down for maintenance. It wasn’t a loss though because we planned our strategy for the next day and got to see all the touring skiers.

We ended the day with a little hike around Stalden and some silly activities like spreading dandelion seeds.

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