Michael has been to Switzerland twice before, first hiking the famous Tour de Mount Blanc and then again, hiking the Haute Route that goes from Chamonix to Zermatt. His memories of the little town and how beautiful and quaint it is motivated him to suggest we add it into our itinerary so he could revisit it with me. I think it was also The Brown Cow burger place where he and his brother had ‘the best burger ever’ when they got off the trail. The burger was okay, the sweet potato fries delicious!

We happened to be in Switzerland on the day before National Day which seems to translate into our fourth of July. When we queried the locals about what exactly this day represented they said it was a day of celebration and eating, drinking beer and seeing fireworks. There were no fireworks this year because it has been a very dry season and too much chance for fire — sound familiar? When we walked through the town center in the evening there was much merriment and to our pleasure, trios of clothes-matching musicians consisting of accordions, harmonicas and fiddles playing traditional Swiss music.

We are now traveling on the train (that we barely caught) from Switzerland to Italy going through the Swiss-Italian alps via of Milan where the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. We enjoyed our time in Switzerland despite the little hiccups. Our discomforts and health issues were make up for by the wonderful inn where we stayed. The owner/hosts and their staff were delightful and went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable. Not only were they charming and gracious, the inn was beautifully decorated with thoughtful furnishings that were tasteful with a dash of art flourishes — and let me not forget to mention the amazing view of the Matterhorn!!! I rarely make recommendations (but maybe I should) but I would highly recommend Hotel Coeur des Alpes (the inn with a heart) in Zermatt.

As Michael mentioned in the last post, we are looking forward to our next leg on the journey — Italy where we have rented an apartment in Dolo (halfway in between Padua and Venice) for five weeks to use as a base for exploring Northern Italy. I’ve already made my shopping list and am ready to go to the butcher, the baker (we don’t need a candlestick maker — it’s 93° here — and remember I bought that puffy in Norway???) and farmer’s market for fresh vegetables and making home-cooked meals that are lighter and more healthy.

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By: Michael

After a cab ride to the Antwerp train station, a train to the Brussels airport, a flight to Geneva, two trains to Zermatt and a shuttle to our hotel we arrived to the stunning natural beauty of Zermatt, home of the Matterhorn. Unfortunately, it was raining and our first sighting of her had to wait until the next morning. The entire city of Zermatt is automobile free, the only modes of transportation being walking and biking. The hotels use electric vehicles (think oversized golf carts) to transport their guests so the air is pure and the streets free of vehicles.

Talking with the locals we learned that it’s been a cool and overcast summer this year. We counted our many blessings this morning when we woke up to stunning views of the Matterhorn right outside our large window! We managed to get a short hike in but we are both facing some health issues. Elizabeth got slammed into a railing inside a tram and has badly bruised ribs. Very uncomfortable for hauling our luggage and possessions all over Europe. And I’m suffering from an outbreak of Shingles. I’m tough but there is no denying how terribly painful it is and how ‘ugly’ the blisters are on the left side of my chest and back. Elizabeth took photos of the outbreak but we won’t be sharing. Fortunately, the easy European health care system allowed us to go to a pharmacy, show the rash to the pharmacist, and walk out with prescription drugs to help treat the disease and the pain. Total cost: $25 for the consult and about $50 for drugs and wound dressing. Total time: about 20 minutes. If your physician advises you to get the Shingles vaccination, please do it. This is no party.

Tomorrow we have another full day in Zermatt to enjoy this beautiful city before heading to Italy where we will be spending most of the next five weeks. We are both excited and looking forward to shopping for our own food and preparing our own food and eating in. Eating out has its delights but after 17 days of it, we are ready to get back into our healthy diets and daily routines. Hopefully we both will be on the mend and ready to settle in for a while.

And yes, we are both practicing our Italian. So far I like the word ‘prego,’ seems to cover just about everything. Arrivederci per ora!

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