Things To Know About Zermatt

So, in my utter adulation on arriving in Thun, I completely neglected to tell you about my two-day jaunt to popular, touristy Zermatt and its super-famous peak.

I apologize.

Allow me to make up for it now.

The first thing you should know about Zermatt is that the Matterhorn is kinda goofy. Yes, you heard me right: kinda goofy. On a clear day (as shown above), it’s really pretty. But most days, it’s either shrouded in mysterious fog or appears to be wearing a cloud hat or spewing smoke.

Like this:

See? Goofy looking. Or possibly Mordor-level evil.

The second thing you should know about Zermatt is that it gets a lot hotter than you would think. I mean sweltering hot. I mean, I-hate-my-life-and-how-am-I-going-to-make-it-back-down-this-mountain? hot. But if you overheat, all you have to do is go down by the river to cool off. The icy air coming off that water is nature’s air conditioning.

The third thing you should know about Zermatt is that it is exactly what you’d expect. It’s crowded with tourists. It’s very expensive. The matterhorn is imposing (if a little goofy at times, as discussed above). The town is quaint and charming. The cars are quiet and electric and green-friendly. And English-speakers abound.

In other words, it’s a nice place.

But not my favorite place.

It does have some darn good views, though. Even if you have to risk heat exhaustion to see them.

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