Heading Home

Our last meal in our winter paradise get away. We tried to use up all the extra little bits we had left in the fridge. We had our sandwiches all made, fruit and goodies packed along with our jam packed suitcases. This time around we got lots on nice souvenirs. I got a cookbook on Fondues which is pretty big in Switzerland, but I wish now that I would have gotten a really nice fondue crock. Kevin got his standard beer stein which seemed to be quite expensive but it was in Francs which is like dollars and compared to what we've spent on previous ones in Euro it was about even I guess. Harrison got a genuine Swiss army knife that we had engraved with his name. Addison got her traditional porcelain doll that she begged to play with, but we enthusiastically said no.

Harrison was chillin' out while we scampered around the apartment to make sure we had everything. I still can't believe how mesmerizing his eyes are.

Just a quick glance back at what our living room looked like with are cute little Christmas tree.

Here is Ashley our hostess for the week. She is actually English and from the Stratford-Upon-Avon area. She was so wonderful to us and helped us out so much.

One last look out our bedroom windows with our great view of the Matterhorn.

Sally cleaning up our kitchen.

We got a really nice picture of the kid with Grandpa Mike and Grandma Sally out on our deck over looking Zermatt and the Matterhorn. Had to make this a quick shot since it was about -15 C outside.

Our chalet - we stayed on the top floor on the left side. It was a split level apartment so we got two balconies. The owners of the chalet actually live on the second floor with the windows. They were in Austria this week so we didn't get to meet them.

Our little family in front of the really, really big Christmas tree in the square of city centre Zermatt. They actually have full sized plates painted up and hung on the tree as decorations.

We headed into the train station around 8:10AM to catch the 9:22 AM train out of Zermatt and to start our long journey home.

Everyone got all nestled into our seats on the train.

Going back we actually had day light for the trains through the mountains and the views were amazing. It was fun watching the train snake its way down through the mountains with all the snow.

Some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever scene in my life. The Alps are just so majestic.

Our train made a stop in a town called St. Nikolas and they turned their tower into a huge Santa Claus.

As we grew closer to the Swiss/French border the villages scattered along the hillsides in between all the vineyard fields. They have found a way to utilize some of the most difficult land and make some good wine!!!!

We we got to Lausanne it was horribly cold and we saw that our train was delayed 20 minutes - not too bad, but then it turned into 30 minutes then 45. We only had two hours in Paris to make our connection and with a 45 minute delay we were still okay but after our little episode on the way here I didn't like how close it was.

As we travelled on the TGV train from Lausanne to Paris the weather got really bad and the snow was really coming down. I decided to text my friend Sarah to see if she could pick up a pint of milk for us so the kids could have breakfast when we get home. She text back and said she asked if we were meant to come back on the Eurostar because she had just heard on the radio that all travel through the Chunnel was suspended. My heart sunk and that was when the chaos and what I'm sure a 50 GBP mobile phone bill started.

With the Eurostar supposedly closed we tried to think of other ways to get home. Sarah worked with us for almost 2 hours via texts to try lining up ferry tickets, train tickets, rental cars, and taxis. Our train was delayed into Paris almost 2 hours, the weather was awful every where, the motorways were closed into and out of Dover, it was an absolute mess and after a week a paradise we just wanted to get home....

Let's All Go Sledging

We had so much fun sledding yesterday that everyone headed out today for a little excitement. Both kids had a blast riding up the little cable cars especially Harrison. We bundled him up as warm as we could because he hadn't been doing to well with the cold, he looks so stinking cute.

Here is our whole family getting ready to head down the the sledding run. Kevin got down the run about 100 yards and Harrison started screaming his head....poor guy. We took turns carrying him and trying to get him to ride again.

While I carried Harrison a bit, Kevin had a go on the sled and Grandma Sally got to ride with Addison. I think Addie like going with Grandma best because the sled didn't seem to go nearly as fast as when she's with mommy and daddy. I think Sally wore off the back of her boots by braking so hard the whole way. I finally figured out what was up with Harrison, he hadn't had his morning nap yet and cold weather with little, little people = tired and cranky. I finally turned him around to face me and squeezed him hard into his blanky and started heading down the hill. Within 30 seconds he had stopped crying and fell asleep.

We stopped at a little Italian restaurant at the bottom of the sledding run for lunch. Grandpa taught Addison a new way to eat her pasta.

Harrison slept for a bit at the restaurant but woke up and threw quite a fit. One of the waitresses (not able to speak much English) pointed to a spare room upstairs so I could settle him down. As I got him back to sleep I got to admire this amazing hidden treasure of a traditional Swiss room. It was a bit cold up there, but I held as still as I could to help him sleep more. Sally brought me up some pizza which got cold immediately but it still tasted great. We left Harry to sleep for a while so Grandpa showed Addison how to use the stencils. We wanted to let Harry sleep as long as we could so I rode one of the sleds all the way home with Harrison in my arms. Now this may sound like a great deal not having to walk but it was painstakingly tough to hold that position and not being able to move. But my little guy is totally worth it.

Harry loves his Grandma Sally!!!

Since the kids had such a "tramatic" day we thought we would let them have a little treat that night by having a little ice cream. Addison is such a good big sister and helps feed her brother and she actually gave him more than what she would take for herself.

Sledging in Furi

After some rest in the morning, Kevin, Mike, Addison and I decided to check out the sledging run at Furi because it was a bit more tame than the Gornergrat. Addie was still a bit apprehensive about the whole sledding thing but we talked her into it. This run took about 25 minutes in total to go down and were much more to our liking. It was actually a low traveled road that people can walk down as well. Addie still freaked out a few times but we held onto her pretty tight and had a special sled with a seat for her.

After our run we stopped for a soda and a snack before walking back to the house. Addison must have worn herself out with all of the excitement of sledding because half way home her head started to bob up and down. By the time we got to the house she was slumped over in the seat.

Harrison stayed back with Grandma Sally at the house because he has had a bit of time liking the cold. He found lots of ways to get into trouble and keep Grandma busy.

Glacier Paradise - 3800 Meters

This morning Kevin, Mike and I ventured out to see the Glacier Paradise at the peak of Klien Matterhorn. It again was a very cold and crisp morning about -16 C in Zermatt so it was going to be much colder the higher up we got. We passed this little spicket that seemed to constantly be running and this huge chunk of ice was forming below it.

We walked about 1 1/2 miles along the river to get to the base of the mountain. We saw some amazing views throughout town, but then we saw the device that we really needed yesterday on our sledding run. This groovy little black sled let you steer with a little separate ski in the front. What we found out later was that you can't rent something like that here, you have to buy one or bring your own.

The first leg of our trip up was up through these little gondolas. We weren't sure exactly where to get off so we jumped off and on a few times, getting a progressively colder gondola each time. At one point on the journey the cars stopped and we swung back and forth for a while. Then the conversation between Kevin and his dad focussed on the thickness of the cables and wondering how they engineered the devices that keep the gondolas on the cables. They are so funny and so much alike.

Once we were done with the little gondolas, we hopped on one really big cable car that was said to be able to hold 120+ people and they packed us in pretty tight. We rode almost straight up the side of the mountain to this big hole on the side of the mountain.

This big hole we saw was actually the opening to a huge tunnel drilled through the top of the mountain. We walked through the long tunnel and as we stepped out on the other side we were again in amazement.

The mountains seemed to go on forever. At this point we were almost on the Swiss and Italy borders because one of the ski runs starting here would bring you down to an Italian site. I felt on top of the world.

We headed down on a lift to the Glacier Paradice which is a huge "moving" glacier on the side of the Klien Matterhorn mountain. They have carved a tunnel out of the ice which leads you to some ice carving displays and some natural ice crystals highlighted with some pretty lights. It was weird to think we were in a giant ice cube that was moving down the side of a mountain.

After the glacier we walked up a couple flights of stairs to another observation point that brought us to 3883 meters above sea level - 14,000+ feet. What I thought was cool, even more than the absolutely spellbounding views of the mountains again was that there was a large cross with a statue of Jesus on it. Pretty cool that our faith can been seen at the tops of the mountains!!! We all posed for pictures in front of the back side of the Matterhorn. It looks a lot different from up here.

The three of us grabbed some lunch back down on where the large cable car dropped us off. We had some big sausages along with French fries and Kevin got a traditional potato dish that looked and tasted a lot like hashbrowns. Of course the boys had to have a few beers as well.

Just outside on the balcony of the restaurant we saw a view of Zermatt. It is the tiny little down you can barely see down in the valley just above peak of the shadow. It's funny to think how we look up from our chalet up to this point each day and now we were looking down.

The ride back down in the cable cars got quite annoying because we seemed to stop every 30 seconds and sat rocking for a good 2-3 minutes then started all over again for about a half hour. But it was fun to come all the way down to go back up the side of the mountain and go back down. Every time we came into a station stop it felt like the car was coming in at such a speed that you could take out the car in front of you but luckily each time you slowed down just feet before collision. I also liked how all the skiers would put their skis in little slots outside each of the gondolas so they can ride on the outside.

One time while stopped we saw the crazy little machines that smooth out the ski slopes. I had been wondering what kind of contraption could handle some of those steep slopes. At night you could actually see the lights from these "little" guys working all over the mountain sides getting things ready for the next day's skiiers.

Also eventhough their seemed to be a lot of snow on the mountain they must continually need to make snow in certain spots. I had never seen snow makers and thought these were pretty interesting as they looked like they were producing a mist of snow. I guess I imagined big snow blasters that canon-out loads of snow.

Everyday the Matterhorn had a different display of light, shadows, and clouds, and today was spectacular with wispy clouds streaking behind it.

Another amazing sight to see was the set of steps we had to walk up to our chalet. We did have a private little lift available but you could actually walk up it faster with stopping for a few breaks than riding the lift.

3100 Meters - The Gornergrat

This morning we travelled up a cog wheel train to Gornergrat. While the Matterhorn is the most famous site in Zermatt, the mountain views from the Gornergrat at 3100m (10,000ft) are absolutely amazing. Harrison thought he would catch a quick cat nap on the way up the mountain which took about 35 minutes.

The train rode right along the edge of the mountain in spots it was quite a drop down. This is the highest point we could safely take the children because the altitude is pretty tough on them. Tough on mom too because I got an instant headache once we stepped off the train. Since this stop is also the start of a ski run they have turn-styles that you have to go through.

It was -18 C at the Gornergrat but the sun was out and there was no wind. All was silent and peaceful looking out upon the mountainous panoramic view of the snow white ranges before us.

There is an observation building that housed the world's highest mall and a restaurant.

While Kevin and I checked out an even higher point, Addison stayed back with Grandma Sally and they pieced together this little snow man. Addison was all about making snow balls, since obviously she sees snow but no snow packs with it being that cold, but we were able to cut out some snow balls for her every now and then.

The restaurant was very charming. We had to wait for ages for our food and that is tough with two little ones who are really hungry and not to used to the lack of oxygen. Actually it wasn't as expensive as we thought it would be for being so far away from everything.

What a memorable day for us all! I don't know if I'll ever see more beautiful mountains in my life. This trip has been so different from anything else that we've done and it is so cool.

On our way back down the mountain we got to see one of the rescue dogs...the great big St. Bernards with the wooden jugs around their necks. I had only seen them in cartoons as a kids and they had stuffed animals like them all over town, but this was the real deal.

Lastly Kevin and I bounced off the train with Addison at Rottenboden where we rented sledges (wooden sleds). We thought we would take Addison on a little sledding ride down the mountain. They had talked about it taking a good 10-15 minutes to get down so it should be fun. Addie hopped on with Kevin and I took video has they headed down. I waited a few minutes and then I headed down only to find the two of on the side of the run overturned. Addison was crying loudly that Daddy was going too fast and she wanted to walk down and find Grandma Sally. She hopped back on with Kevin and headed down ahead of them. Oh my goodness, I don't think we really understood what we were in for on this thing. I flew down the steep hills and banks and worked hard to try steering my sled. I got out of control at one point and knew I was going to totally wipe out so I leaned over and prayed that the snow wouldn't break me. Well, luckily the snow was soft and not a rock hard ledge. Also I was glad that the post that I hit wasn't anchored in the grown, but just stuck in the snow. At that point braked the whole way down with my feet and Addison hopped on with me after my second wipeout. After the last big drop off, we were done. Kevin finally admitted to me that he feared for his life as much as I did and that we were probably pretty crazy to bring Addie down and that maybe we scarred her for life. Mike and Harrison walked over to meet us and I left Harrison sit on the sled for a bit as we walked to the train station there in Riffelberg. What was supposed to take 10 minutes to go down probably took us a half hour with all the stops we made.

Exploring Zermatt

When we finally woke up Monday morning, I ripped open the curtains and this was the view I saw and I felt like I was in heaven. I hadn't seen snow like that in a long time and I have never seen mountains like that. The village of Zermatt looked so quaint and it was so sweet to see all the smoke coming from all the little chimneys. The Matterhorn peaks proudly over it all with the sun gleaming off it.

After breakfast we all got bundled up and headed into the centre of town. The temperature was about -15 C and the hairs in your nose got pretty stiff when you took a deep breath. We finally got to test if all the clothes we bought for this trip would really keep us warm, especially the kids. What was pretty nice is that the full camo body suit that my dad got for Addison last year actually fit Harrison perfectly. We also found some of Addison's old long underware (non-pink) that fit Harry as well. And amazingly over a year ago my cousin handed down a full snow pants and matching jacket for Addison that was her size for this trip. We lucked out...on the otherhand, Kevin and I each had to buy snow pants, new snow boots, gloves, and hats.

Even with it being well below freezing this fast moving river that ran through down was full of ice but still flowing pretty well. It was about a 12-15 minute walk to get to the Co-op grocery store and other shops.

The main road through down town Zermatt. Really the only vehicles in town are all electric taxis or delivery trucks. Everyone walks everywhere. You honestly can't carry much more than a couple days worth of groceries if you have to walk around with it. Good thing we had four of us to carry, but hiking up hill back to the house on ice and snow was tough. I carried a back pack and a couple bags and I was knackered. Not only was I horribly out of shape but the cold air gets to ya as well.

Groceries and most foods in Zermatt is very expensive. A pound of hamburger cost 9.30 Francs, a small whole chicken was about 12 Francs, and 5 bananas cost about 3.20 Francs. Funny thing is that alcohol was pretty cheap - only 6-12 Francs per bottle of wine!!! The nice thing about this holiday is that the Swiss Franc (CHF) is that is about equal with the US dollar so there wasn't much to worry about exchange rates, but with the prices the way they were it probably wasn't much different than what we pay for our UK groceries after converting it. I think our first grocery bill for about 4 days of just essentials was over 200 Francs. Granted if we were to eat out we would spend that in one day, so going self-catered was great for us. Also being able to make what we wanted to eat whenever we wanted was great especially for the kids. It was very relaxing not having to corral them in a restaurant.

A few things about our apartment that were so cool that I have to mention. Our oven was also a microwave!!! I don't now how it works, but it worked really well. Once you figured out all the buttons it was okay. Luckily I've been cooking in Celcius for long enough that it was normal for me but I think it was throwing Sally for a loop.

I love their outlets. you can stick three different items in and it looks stylish as well. There are three prongs but you can stick in any standard two prong European plugs as well. The apartment was well stocked with appliance adapters, but everything is still in 220V.

Our "little" fridge was huge compare to the one I have at home. It is hard to stock up a kitchen for a week with essentials and cooking staples so we had to plan our meals really well. I brought along a few mixes for treats which was great. Once we accepted the sticker shock of food costs our next challenge was trying to figure out what everything was with most labels being written in German, French or Italian. I did a pretty good guessing job with items that had pictures on them, but it was like a big game after a while.

After our first day in Zermatt, we enjoyed a beautiful and amazing night view of town. The Matterhorn disappears at night but the town is so full of life. Eventhough it's was a little hike to get up our steps to the house, the views we have were so worth it.