| Mont Blanc stands proud as the highest Alp. Yet one | | | | Unlike the other little towns I knew from earlier visits, |
| of the most photographically reproduced is Matterhorn | | | | Zermatt has a large tourist population year-round, with |
| with the village of Zermatt at its feet. | | | | a good number of young people. You have to be |
| When I first saw Matterhorn from the ground up, I felt | | | | young and agile like a mountain goat to dare climb |
| as if I was looking at a solidified ardent flame. A native | | | | anything. |
| who saw me look at it with awe said: "You can climb | | | | People in Switzerland are not only mountain climbers. |
| it," as if it were nothing. I laughed...not at him but at me. I | | | | They also enjoy Alpine Festivals, William Tell plays, |
| wouldn't dare think of trying that. | | | | yodeling, Swiss wrestling, beer sausages, but they |
| In Zermatt, as well as other places, locals show off | | | | conduct direct democracy with 25 sovereign states |
| their skill by the number of times they have climbed the | | | | and enjoy great diversity from village to village. In some |
| Matterhorn; although, many fall numerous times. A local | | | | places in Switzerland the language is French as there |
| had climbed it more than 300 times. His wife shrugged: | | | | are places where the language is German. In one |
| "Useless to say how many times," she said. "The | | | | Canton around the Italian Alps they speak Italian, too. |
| mountain is going nowhere. It stays there and only the | | | | Not to worry though, most of the Swiss know several |
| workless (also meaning worthless) do the climbing." | | | | languages and quite a few of them are fluent in |
| There are no cars in Zermatt. Transportation is | | | | English. |
| possible by using the cog train and horse-drawn | | | | The winter in Switzerland is a fairy tale, especially at |
| sleighs. Sitting in a horse drawn sleigh with a lap robe, | | | | nights. The falling snow flakes blur any other light while |
| which is a folded small blanket, with an eternal snow | | | | they accumulate everywhere, even on steep roofs. |
| around is one of the most romantic things. | | | | Everything is softer, magical, and gentle. |
| Zermatt has narrow streets, hotels and inns with a | | | | Like the snow blanketing mountains, rocks, boulders, |
| relaxed air of history, sports shops, boutiques, jewelry | | | | ridges, and crags, maybe people too need to deal and |
| stores and rows and cases of world's finest watches. | | | | work with hard things, sharp things, puzzling things, to |
| One wonderful thing in Zermatt is the food. No matter | | | | soften the edginess inside themselves, especially when |
| how big, small, cheap, or expensive the cafe or | | | | a mountain's magnetic draw pulls them deeper and |
| restaurant we stopped in, the place was spotless. | | | | deeper, and forces them to create something, anything |
| Everything was spic and span clean with flowers at | | | | for a feeling of elation and a pride of accomplishment. |
| each table. The food was of very high quality and | | | | That is why the Swiss women must have created |
| some Swiss wines were at least at par with that of | | | | such fine laces and embroidered clothing while their |
| the French. Most lunchtime fare among the natives | | | | mates took to clock making in Switzerland as they |
| consisted of soup, salad, sausages and potatoes and | | | | counted time while snowed under. Somebody had to |
| of course "Bier" in long thick mugs topped with thick | | | | count something in the whitened solitude of the Alpine |
| foam. | | | | nights. |