Zermatt;its another love story

The tiny town of Zermatt nestled cozily in the lap of Alps is one of my most favorite places in Switzerland. So much so that I visited the place four times and I know I won't mind a fifth time if I had the chance.

The first time I went there was in the spring of 2003.Oh! I will always remember that day, the day I fell in love with Zermatt.

It was a Saturday.

I had already bought the ticket from the Montreux Train Station on Friday evening, done my homework from the brochures and packed our backpack. And then we heard from the local weather channel (which made forecasts like God) that Saturday was going to be partly cloudy with few rain showers in Zermatt.

And anyone who has gone to the mountains knows how villainous clouds can spoil any tour to the top of any peak. And we were planning to go to Klein Matterhorn to have the closest possible view of the Matterhorn.

So we just planned to take the first train. I have always felt that views on mountains are best in the early morning. We took the 6:44 train from Montreux which happens to be the first connection. From Visp we were to catch the Matterhorn Gotthardbahn, the little red train, which was actually the last part of the Glacier express's journey.

We happened to board a compartment in the train which was entirely empty. There were some brochures inside the compartment. And on the little desks beside the windows where passengers are supposed to put their glasses and dishes, maps are drawn which shows the entire journey and all the stops.

The train runs on a narrow gauge track and passes through numerous tunnels, bridges and valleys. To me this is one of the most romantic rail journeys of Switzerland. For most part of the journey the train runs along the river Vispa (or Mattervispa), which is one of the largest tributaries of the upper Rhone river.

Sitting beside the windows, you lean with the train which bends with the river and slows down at places where the view is overwhelming. It seems to be awe struck at the beauty just like you and slowing down inadvertently just to start again and slow down at another show of nature's beauty....At places the river suddenly changes its mood and disappears only to appear again on the other side of the train. Since the compartment was completely empty, we often changed seats moving from this side to the other to have a better glimpse of the passing views.

As the train gradually approaches Tasch and Zermatt, you start to get glimpses of snow white peaks at a distance and we were constantly guessing which peak was the Matterhorn. At Tasch, you can see large parking areas where everyone who comes with a car will have to leave their car and board the train. No cars are allowed after Tasch.This is the last station before Zermatt.

Visp is the lowest point (650m above sea level) in the journey and the mattertal valley, through which the train passes before it reaches Zermatt (1620m), is 1804 m above sea level. So some parts of the journey include some steep accent which is made possible by cogwheels placed under the locomotive and toothed rack placed between the rails.

The best point in the Journey is when you get a sudden glimpse of the Matterhorn shining bright and unique. Once in Switzerland, you are sure to see it hundred times on pictures and brochures and key rings and yet the heart leaps up at the first glimpse of the snow capped horn shaped peak standing proud and majestic against the deep blue sky.

Then it disappears and you reach Zermatt.