We had planned before I left that we would spend two nights in Zermatt. We booked a hotel, and had hopes to hike. The forecast looked questionable, so we mentally prepared to pivot once we got there. The day started with Beth heading to work for the morning, while I threw in some laundry. It was misty/rainy and the forecast was for more rain in Zermatt. I’ve been meaning to buy a new rain jacket, so I figured a new rain jacket could be my Switzerland souvenir. So I walked to the sporting goods store in the train station and bought a new rain jacket. I looked it up and practiced ahead of time, “veste impermeable”. Of course, I didn’t need to know that. I found the rain jackets right away, asked the cashier in English if she could remove the tag, which she did. Good thing because it had started to rain and I needed to wear it back to Beth’s place.

Packing for Zermatt was complicated. To begin, I didn’t bring a lot with me to Switzerland. I’m a firm believer in carry on only so my choices for Zermatt were limited. Also, the weather was again all over the place, cold and rainy, but also warming up. We were hoping to hike, but also maybe going out somewhere nice. After some packing and unpacking and packing, I was ready to go.

Beth came back, packed up, and we were off to the train station.

The views from the train were amazing, including a rainbow!

Beth thought she saw a marmot from the train. I thought she was crazy, I’d later find out she was right. I saw a town that had tons of gnomes around, but somehow Beth didn’t see it. She probably thought I was crazy.

We arrived in Zermatt, walked through town (there aren’t any cars!) and checked into our hotel (and were given an upgrade!). We went for another walk to check out the town and find dinner.

We stopped into the Brown Cow Pub and had a beer. They were playing tons of American 80s music. It was a really weird vibe with American food and lots of Americans and super slow service. So after our beer, we left looking for something a little more Swiss! We found it at Restaurant Stadel. Fondue, and aperol spritz, and a dessert with actual hot chocolate (not cocoa, but warmed up chocolate) to pour over. We finished the night at the hotel bar with some Appenzeller, which tasted like Ricola, if Ricola was a liqueur.

Not bad for a “travel” day!