Zermatt is located at the foot of the Matterhorn which is one of the highest Swiss peaks. To get to Zermatt, Kingsley and I drove to Tasch and left our car parked at the station. The Tasch train station had a specific “shuttle” train that only runs from Tasch to Zermatt and back so the journey is very quick, only 15 minutes.
The train stops right in the town center which is full of quaint little boutiques and more luxury watch shops than one can possibly imagine. It’s easy to walk around the town as nothing is very far. It was rainy and overcast when we visited Zermatt so we didn't have high hopes of actually catching a glimpse of the Matterhorn but at one point the clouds parted for a few minutes and we were able to see the peak which was awesome.
I also got to meet Buddy and learned a bit more about the history of St Bernard dogs. They were first bred by monks at the Hospice of St Bernard high in the Swiss Alps to help them rescue pilgrims who got trapped trying to make their way from France into Italy. The dogs were bred to be ideally suited to the weather and rescue work – huge, energetic and loyal with thick fur and keen smell and hearing.
I was also interested to learn that the barrels we see around the dogs' necks in paintings and cartoons is the invention of a kid named Edwin Landseer.
In 1820, Landseer, a 17-year-old painter from England, produced a work titled Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler. The painting portrays two Saint Bernards standing over a fallen traveler, one dog barking in alarm, the other attempting to revive the traveler by licking his hand. The dog doing the licking has a barrel strapped around its neck, which Landseer claimed contains brandy.
Overall we had a nice little day trip to Zermatt. Again, if we had more time it would have been nice to spend a few days exploring the village I also think it would be amazing to see the village covered in snow in the winter time.
Labels:
Switzerland,
Travel Adventures
Champex Lac is a hidden gem about 20 minutes drive from Verbier. There is a beautiful little hotel on the lake and a small church up on the hill but other than that we found the place pretty much deserted. Evidently there is awesome skiing here in the winter (the locals like to ski here when Verbier becomes too crowded) and beautiful hiking trails all around in the summer. The village is located at 1.500 meters altitude and located just in front the famous Massif du Mont-Blanc.
Kingsley and I found the lake by accident as we were driving around exploring the Valias region. If we had a few extra days in Switzerland I would have loved to do a hike around the lake ending with an ice-cream at the hotel palace on the lake. Maybe next time...
Labels:
Switzerland,
Travel Adventures
In my mind Verbier is the place in Switzerland where Heidi must have been from. It is a tiny little ski village nestled in the Alps and located in the south west part of Switzerland. People typically come to Verbier in the winter for the skiing but we came for the Paragliding and extreme moutnaing biking runs so June was the perfect month.
Kingsley was in Verbier a little over 10 years ago to paraglide with Stu and Mike who run the paragliding school
Verbier Summits and had the most wonderful time. I have heard him talk about the beauty of Verbier for years so it was very exciting to finally get a chance to see this special spot in the world.
Our accommodation for the week was an old barn that Stu and Mike had converted into a very quaint apartment. I absolutely loved it there and only wish that we had more than just a week to explore the area. One thing that took a bit of getting used to was the fact that everything shuts down around 5-6pm in the evening. There were only a few restaurants open in the town in the evening and all grocery stores were closed. Also absolutely nothing was open on Sundays and Mondays so I really had to preplan our meals. Coming from Singapore, which is open 24/7, it was a bit of a shock how quiet and slow paced everything was.
Kingsley's first flight in Verbier from
Lynn Wood on
Vimeo.
While Kingsley flew, I took on what I thought to be an intermediate mountain biking run. This run somehow quickly turned into a black (advanced) run which was WAY out of my league. At one point after a pretty significant wipeout over the handle bars, the Verbier Police caught up with me to ask if I needed assistance. My pride kept me from allowing them to bail me out and eventually I did make it back to an easier run down the mountain. I can't even count the number of times I flew over the handle bars or skidded sideways down the mountain. I have no idea how I managed to get back to the base of the mountain scratched and bruised but without any serious injuries! I will certainly be a bit more humble and stick with the beginner runs when choosing my next mountain biking adventure but I did have fun and the scenery was just post card perfect.
Kingsley had many amazing flights in Verbier but swooping over and landing in fields next to grazing cows with cowbells on was one of the highlights.
Kingsley lands to the sound of cow bells from
Lynn Wood on
Vimeo.
Labels:
Switzerland,
Travel Adventures
Geneva was the first stop of our 3 week summer adventure in Europe. The thing that stood out to me about Geneva, besides everything being clean, organized and slightly expensive, was that unlike Singapore people were not walking around with their faces buried in their smart phones. Instead people were walking along actually talking to each other and sitting across from each other in cafes looking at each other in the eyes and connecting. It really stood out to me how different and slower paced the lifestyle was compared to what I typically encounter in Singapore. It is refreshing to know that a lifestyle without constant iPad and iPhone usage still exists somewhere in the world.
I spent the most money ever on a cup of plain black tea (not even a nice tasting black tea). I think it was 5 Swiss Franks and it came in a tiny little cup. I typically ask for more hot water when I get tea like this but somehow it didn't seem appropriate while sitting people watching along the high end shopping street of Rue du Rhône so I just drank my tiny tea very slowly. After looking at the prices on some of the restaurant menus Kingsley and I opted to buy stuff for a picnic lunch from the weekend farmers market. Cherries, dried meat, fresh goat cheese and olives ended up being the perfect meal.
Labels:
Switzerland,
Travel Adventures
