Switzerland 2018: Day 6

We woke up to fog. Heavy, dense, can't see more than a couple of blocks fog.  It was getting lower and lower as we watched.  We had planned on hiking with the kiddos but we didn’t think we’d be able to see anything if we went so we were in a little holding pattern.

We decided to go out to breakfast and ate at a small café.  It was good but nothing unusual or exciting.  After breakfast and still having everything covered in clouds I thought it might be a good time to do some laundry.  There is a unit in the basement that I managed to figure out how to wash but I was unable to get the dryer to work so we have damp laundry all over the apartment for a day in hopes that it will eventually dry.  

I took a short run while waiting for the fog to lift.  My calf is still angry but I did manage to run a little bit and I don’t think I’m too much the worse the wear.  I was trying to avoid steep hills but that is pretty much impossible for anything longer than a half mile.  We are in a narrow and very steep valley. As I was finishing up my run the clouds parted and the fog lifted.  

We had a mad scramble once I got back to get all packed up and out the door so we could take a hike. 

It is a long walk through town to get to the Furi lift.  I think Wren was half worn out by the time we got there.  This is another gondola style lift and I’m not sure if it is shorter than the lift we took yesterday but poor Flynt got his head bumped when Jeff was getting on.  He was not a happy little guy and has a little bruise.  He did find his happy again but he was a little needier the rest of the day.

The hike we did is called Hangebrukenweg which I think is something like the hanging bridge trail.  There is a suspention bridge over a very deep gorge that we crossed.  The trail was about 2 miles long.  It was a nice walk and Wren was super excited because we also saw sheep and cows.  It’s a little crazy.  Zermatt is a resort town.  It is also a year round ski town since people ski on the glaciers all year long (we saw bunches of people in ski clothes with skis and poles on the lifts going up two the higher chairs to ski.  It is also a famous landmark.  But all around in these little pockets are farms with little houses and sheep and cows grazing.  The all wear these big bells on their necks so you can hear them merrily clanking in the distance when they move.  It seemed so strange to see cows grazing next to a chair lift which was blocking the view to one of the most famous peaks in the world.  I have no idea how land rights work here but it’s really interesting.

Sheep with bells on.  You can see a gondola in the background.

Up the mountain from the gorge.

Cow with bell.

Wren on the bridge.  It didn't phase her one bit even though it was a grid and you could see straight down and it swayed and wiggled a little when you walked on it.

Back towards Zermatt from the bridge.

Anyhow, it was a nice little hike.  We got Wren hot cocoa and a cookie on the way back to the room as a thank you for her being such a good sport.  She had a total of 3.5 miles of walking on our hike with the walk to and from the lift plus we had a half mile walk to and from breakfast and about the same again to dinner tonight.  That is a long way for a 3 year old.

Dinner was fondue again.  We were wanting to get raclette but somehow we didn’t pick the right restaurant.  That’s okay, it was delicious and I ate too much and now I’m super full. 

That’s all for now.  Time to do some research and figure out what I’m going to do tomorrow…