Redemption! One of my last weekends in Switzerland - one of my last chances to hike Faulhorn. Unfortunately it was nothing but fog and rain the whole time. Oh well, continue on anyways.
All in attendance: Kristen and Eric
Faulhorn (again)
It just had to rain! Eric came to Baden by ride share on Friday night. All hostels in Interlaken were full so we hopped on to 5:47 am train connections on Saturday morning from Baden to Wilderswil.
Picking up food and looking like sleep deprived zombies, we headed up with the nostalgic train up to Schynige Platte. Fog and clouds were thick but denial was high. We hoped that just maybe we could get above them and get a view. No such luck.
Last time the trail was completely snowed out at the half way point. This time the views were next to nil. It makes you concentrate though on the nearby beauty of flowers and nearby meadows though. It was still a bit unfortunate though - remember, this is one of the most beautiful hikes in Switzerland!
I think the most disheartening part were instances where we would come across a bench which overlooked nothing but a view of bright white fog. I can only imagine the serene mountain views which can usually be seen.
We arrived at the mountain hut and went in for some much needed warmth and overpriced tea. Then it was back up up up in the wet and the fog while wearing gender appropriate rain coats.
We reached the peak of Faulhorn! Celebration included eating some of this Rote Hexe (Red Witch) cheese we had brought.
Anticipated view vs. Actual view
A Canadian lesson is that we can never win all our weather battles. It was still a good day nonetheless. On our decent to First, the fog did lift just enough for us to catch a glimpse of Brienzersee. Cue 147829 well deserved photographs.
Then it was a snoozy exhausted and soggy train ride to Zermatt. We bought a 1 day travel pass (68 CHF with our halbtax) to cover our trains to Interlaken and Zermatt. On the way to Zermatt, they put you in fancy different trains with large windows so you can see all the beautiful small Swiss towns as you zip by.
We stayed in Täsch, a small town a single train stop away from Zermatt in a guesthouse (30 CHF each). Highlights include a warm shower, a balcony with a clear night of stars and a wall with animal pattern carpet.
Zermatt
The next day we took the train from Täsch to Zermatt. We began our hike from there towards Sunegga. There is an underground funicular which runs from Zermatt to Sunegga but the steeper/more challenging parts of the hike were definitely between these two points. Once you reach Sunegga, things are mostly very level.
We were lucky for it to be a clear day (in majority). We hiked along the 5-Seeweg to see the 5 lakes in the region. I made vegetarian salad rolls and we ate delicious German spreads and flat peaches for lunch. Cue: beautiful views of the Matterhorn - supposedly the most photographed mountain in the world!
Clouds came in and we decided that it wouldn't be worth the hike up to Riffelberg. On our hike down I encountered curious coloured goats which I looked at for an unnecessary tourist amount of time.
An exhausted train ride home to Baden. A well deserved sleep.
Thing I will do next time:
- Go to Faulhorn on a clear day!
- Go to the rope parks in Zermatt
- Hiking!
- The crazy blue water in Zermatt
