How many times have I announced my ambitious plan for some portion of my trip only to have such plan be foiled? I had planned on a 6 hour hike, including the semi-famous Trift guesthouse located up in the mountains, but his was not to be, partially my own fault, partially not. Instead I took a wonderful 4 hour hike, through slightly different, but still excellent territory.
First, the part that was my fault. I woke up at 10:00 a.m. Whoops.
Second, the part that was not my fault. The guide I received from the unhelpful lady at the information desk listed the hike I wanted on the map as #30. I followed the trail marked #30 on signposts along the hike for about 2 hours before I realized that the numbering on either the signs or the map had changed, and that I was somewhere completely other than where I had planned.
It is still unclear to me whether it was the hike that I did take, or the hike that I meant to take, that was called the Edelweissweg, but I did walk through some flowery scenery, the first hour being fairly steep up, and then the next hour leveling out somewhat. I passed by many super old wooden buildings, and I wonder exactly HOW old are they? I wouldn't be surprised if more than 100 years, based on the condition of the wood. The first half hour of the hike I felt alternately cold and hot, sweaty and uncomfortable, but afterwards I started feeling stronger, and more energetic, and this feeling continued through the end. For much of the second hour, this view of the Matterhorn (different side than the hike the previous day) was to my left:
And this was behind me:
I turned around at somewhere around 2200 meters (up from Zermatt's 1620 meters), put on Robyn's Body Talk Part I, and hiked back, the final hour on a detour that took me higher up, maybe another 50-100 meters through the mountains, where I ran into a family from Oklahoma, before heading down.
On the way down, I encountered several cows standing directly in the path, facing away from me. Not remembering whether cows kick, or get angry or stampede, I climbed out of the path, up some rocks to detour around them. I was somewhat scared.
When I arrived in Zermatt, exhausted, I got a big bottle of water refilled from a public fountain and ate a doner kebab (only 50 cents more expensive than the Big Mac and MUCH more delicious). On the walk back to the hostel I stuck my head inside the main church and caught a bit of the Zermatt Festival (live classical performances) and ran into both the New Zealander (coming back from a day of mountain biking) and the two Australians from the night before (coming back from snowboarding for the first time -- the first time either had seen snow).
I showered, found that the shampoo I had mistakenly left in the shower the day before was still there (yes!), packed up my bags and got on a train to Lausanne, via Visp.
I arrived at around 8:30 p.m., and it took me until around 9:00 p.m. to get to the Youth Hostel Lausanne, a hostel that I didn't love for the following reasons:
1. Far away! End of the bus line! 3.3 kilometers from city center!
2. Expensive! 44 dollars for a hostel, better be something special!
3. Lame crowd! Some of these hostels have a bustling fun atmosphere. This one, everybody just seemed boring.
But it had some pluses:
1. Free maps at reception! Super helpful, especially after my blackberry died.
2. The shower had a knob for the water. Didn't have to press a button every 15-30 seconds to keep it going.
3. Power plug in the room worked (not guaranteed in some places!)
4. Bus/metro card for free travel given at reception. Nice!
That night, I took a bus and then the metro (in the rain) to Cafe Romand, in the city center (been around since 1951), highly recommended. I walk in at 10:00 p.m. to a bustling room full of laughing happy people, eating and drinking, 2-3 very experienced waitresses running around to serve everyone. It took me a while before someone instructed me to seat myself. I was
handed a menu full of traditional items, from which I could hardly make a choice. I was tempted to order fondue, as it is so delicious, and I was after all in the French speaking region of Switzerland (for the first time on this trip no less!), but I remembered how sick large amounts of cheese makes me, so I refrained. Instead, I ordered brains in black butter sauce, with noodles on the side, as was recommended by Lonely Planet. It came in a super hot pan, the sauces and flavors coming together. It's funny how back home I think of foods like this as "fattening", but here on this trip, after losing weight, and walking around so much the last few days, I think of it as "high energy", carbs and fat! I think there was some egg in there too. It was washed down with a delicious half liter beer. By the time I left, at around 11:30 p.m., most of the room had cleared. I caught the metro, but was out just a little bit too late to catch the last bus home.
So I walked home in the rain. Again.
The Sound of Music -- Edelweiss
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