My First Trip to Zermatt Switzerland

Noah, Momma and Troy catching the Zermatt Glacier Express into Zermatt

Zermatt, Switzerland is a winter wonderland for vacationing. I went there in 2017 with my brother (Troy) and our mother (Annette) for a short 3-day visit before we headed back home to the United States. This was our third family trip to Europe spanning 24-hours in Rome, four days in Venice, three days in Zermatt, one night in Amsterdam and about twenty hours in the air (Atlanta to Rome and then Amsterdam to Atlanta). Here are my recollections of those three days in Zermatt which all three of us hope to repeat sometime soon. Enjoy.

Venice to Zermatt

Eurail from Venice, Italy to Zermatt, Switzerland

Looking back at my Eurail Travel Diary pages in my Eurail Pass Guide, I see where we left Venice around 2:20pm on 12/30/2017 from its Santa Lucia Train Station. I remember it was a beautiful day in Venice with clear skies. That was distinct because it had been drizzling rain when we had arrived in Venice on the 27th. Our water taxi to the train station got us there in plenty of time so we spent an hour or so in a track-side restaurant, Pizza Pazza, waiting for our train. You'll find Pizza Pazza between tracks 14 and 15. It has doors that open to the tracks and to the station entrance landing on the Grand Canal. If you are on the docks facing the train station, Pizza Pazza's entrance is to the left of the train station entrance and you won't even have to go through the station crowds of travelers.

Snowboarding in the Zermatt Swiss Alps

Morning view from balcony facing NE. You can see the sun
catching the top of the mountain as it rises from the right.

Waking the next morning, we found ourselves in the shadow of towering Swiss Alps mountain slopes with snow covering every rock, roof and street in sight. The picture above and the next few pictures are all from our hotel room balconies. These pictures were taken well into the morning, but the mountains kept us in their shadows for most of the morning hours. 

Gornergrat - The Matterhorn Railway

With my brother snowboarding down the slopes of the Swiss Alps, I took the underground, incline train from Sunnegga ZBAG-zsb to Zermatt ZBAG-zsb to meet up with our mother at our hotel (National Hotel) and explore more of Zermatt. Momma and I decided to take the a cog train to the top viewing point for the Matterhorn - The Gornergrat, the Matterhorn Railway. First, we had to find the train station. This proved difficult for us. I blame it on thin air. Momma and I walked down many streets (and took many street photos) until we eventually figured out where the Gornergrat train station was (it was pretty much directly behind our hotel, maybe a block or two).

Momma and me with the Matterhorn behind us.

New Year's Eve in Zermatt Switzerland

Grizzly's Bar & Bistro
Zermatt, Switzerland

New Year's Eve in Zermatt, Switzerland was a unique experience. Troy, Momma and I had dinner at a cozy little restaurant named Grizzly's. It was near the train station and not too far of a walk from our hotel (National Hotel). We had reservations but I do not think we needed them. There were several other restaurants, however, to which no more reservations were available. We were very happy to find Grizzly's available after having spotted it as we walked from the Gornergrat Bahn station to our hotel.

Zermatt to Amsterdam by Eurail

Zermatt to Amsterdam | New Year's Day 2018

Using our Eurail Pass, we left Zermatt at 9:13am on the Glacier Express. When we had taken the Glacier Express on the 30th, we arrived after dark so we did not get to see very much at all of the surrounding landscape as our train scaled the mountains. Going down the mountains, we got to see everything - all of the cliffhanger turns, all of the sheer cliff drop-offs, everything. You will love it (unless you are squeamish).

Leaving Amsterdam for Home

We arrived in Amsterdam late in the evening on the 1st. We did no sightseeing of Amsterdam. We went directly to our hotel, had a bit to eat in the hotel bar and went immediately to bed. The next morning, we took the hotel shuttle directly to the airport. Here's another story for you...

Helpful Items for Your Trip

These items might prove useful to purchase before your trip to Europe for snowboarding or skiing in the Swiss Alps.

   

   

   

A couple of travel tips:

• I absolutely love my fleece ear covers (180s Fleece) on cold trips. You will appreciate these whether you are on the slopes or just walking down the street.
• If you need new luggage, do not buy black luggage. Everyone has black. It is far easier to pick your blue or red or white colored bags off of the baggage claim carousel if it stands out. 
• Buy the electrical outlet adapter with lots of plugs. You will need them for your cell phones, laptops, razors, etc.