Drokpa Journal

Dates Traveled: September 2001
(I’d also traveled here in September 1992, but that trip is without details)

Glacier Express

From Italy we caught a few different trains and eventually ended up in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Final leg of journey from Tirano, Italy, to St. Moritz was beautiful as it wound through the mountains. St. Moritz is in a nice setting, by a lake, but is a high-class ski resort, so there wasn’t much reason for us to be there in September. In fact, there was only one - we wanted to take the Glacier Express train to Zermatt. The Glacier Express - the world’s slowest ‘express’, as it took 8 hours to cover the distance, but what it lacks in speed it makes up for in views - jagged peaks, snow on the passes, picturesque villages, rivers, and lush green meadows. A nice journey.

Zermatt

Zermatt is a town near the base of the Matterhorn mountain, and has become extremely touristy. It has changed dramatically from 9 years ago when I last visited, as there are now many more shops/hotels/restaurants catering to the tourists. It’s also billed as a vehicle-free city, but there are so many small electric buses being used as taxis, hotel shuttles, and delivery vehicles that that is hardly the case. It used to be you could walk down the middle of the road and not worry, but now you’ll become a hood ornament on an electric bus. Temperatures were cool in the morning - right at freezing in Zermatt, and cloudy, but we still opted to take the cable cars to the top of Klein (little) Matterhorn - at 12,739′. As expected, the views towards the Matterhorn were obscured, and with the temperatures at that elevation hovering around 3 degrees Fahrenheit, we didn’t stick around until it cleared up. However, while on top we ducked into an ice grotto - sculptures carved inside a glacier. Pretty eerie, with the artificial lights shining through the ice. Riding the cable cars down to about 9600′ (and warming up to 23 degrees F), we disembarked and started hiking. We were back in Zermatt 4 1/2 hours later, and the Matterhorn had by then shed it’s cloud cover. One of the most beautiful and picturesque mountains in the world.

Grindelwald Area

From Zermatt we stopped for a few hours in Interlaken, wandered the streets, and then progressed to Grindelwald - another typical Swiss town in a beautiful mountain setting. We arrived on September 11, so spent most of the day like everyone else in the world - following the events in New York and D.C. World will never be the same.

Following day we took a cable car ride up a ridge and then hiked for 4 1/2 hours back to Grindelwald. Have always liked the area, as the mountains are quite impressive - the north face of the Eiger among those most visible. Switzerland has always been one of my favorite countries, with it’s quaint villages, and the contrast between the beautiful, jagged mountains and the lush green meadows.

Previous Trip

I’d also visited Switzerland back in September of 1992. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to my journal for those travels, and so they’re not covered in this travelogue. On that trip I visited Interlaken and Zermatt.

Switzerland Photos

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