Dear Family and Friends,
Here in France, August is one of the most unproductive times of the year. Many French leave for month-long vacations, even if it's just down the road a couple of hours to go camping, and lakes and beaches swell with vacationers. Fortunately for us, ITER recognized this phenomenon and shut down its site, giving Joe a whole week off from work.
Since we just returned from Ireland not long ago, we were not in the mood to plan a big trip. Instead, we spent the first part of the week close to home. The kids played in the yard and we all swam in the pool. Then on Tuesday, we even took a short drive to the azur-blue Lake of Saint Croix. There, Joe rented a Hobbie Cat and took Nicolas sailing. Even though he thought he understood the basics from sailing with his dad in Samoa, it turned out to be harder than he though, particularly the part about parking the boat. Consequently, after about an hour he traded the Hobbie in for a paddleboat with a water slide for the kids. The kids took turns paddling, sliding into the water, and swimming around the boat.
By Wednesday, we were relaxed enough to embark on another short journey and booked accomodations in the Swiss Alps near the town of Zermatt. We had been to Switzerland a number of times, but had never been in the moutains and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to do some hiking and escape from the heat of Provence.
One of the nicest aspects of staying in the alps is the apart-hotels. Our hotel had a kitchen and separate rooms that were perfectly suited to the needs of our family (the taller buildings, not the derelict cottages). Of course, our favorite part were the Swiss breakfasts with breads, meats, and cheeses.
Almost all of the rustic buildings in Zermatt and nearby Tasch were adorned with baskets of flowers.
There were also hundreds of old mountaineering cottages that were build over the past several centuries to support climbers on their way to the Matterhorn as well as backpackers needing temporary refuge for a night.
On our first full day in Zermatt, we decided to do some hiking as a family and took a fanicular railroad halfway up one of the mountains to a trailhead near Sunnegga Paradise.
There, we found a nice area for the kids to play by a lake and a place to observe marrmotts. These large beaver-sized critters make their homes under the rocks close to the meadows where they feed. We found this lazy fellow sunning on a rock just off of the main trail.
From Sunnegga, we hiked along the mountains to the area of Riffelalp. Throughout our hike, we watched and waited for the swirling clouds to clear around the Matterhorn or "Matter-orange" as Nathaniel dubbed it.
Unfortunately, the most we were ever able to see was the bottom three-quarters of the mountain.
The terrain along our hike varried from forrests to grassy meadows to rocky hillsides. All along the way, we enjoyed dizzying views of the villages and valley below.
During the first day, we hiked almost 14 kilometers or 9 miles. Each of us had a good sunburn and aching legs. With the exception of a few remarks about switchbacks and rocks in shoes, there was almost no complaining. Though laboratory tests have yet to confirm it, we think this is due to recessive genes on the Onstott side.
After taking a train from Tasch to Zermatt the following day, it started to rain. We were somewhat prepared with rain gear, an umbrella, and garbage bags (poor man's substitute for ponchos), but didn't want to start out on any long hikes. Instead, we decided to take a narrow-gauge train to Gornergrat to see the glaciers. As the train climbed the mountain past 10,000 feet, the rain gave way to snow so that by the time we arrived at the top, there were several inches on the ground.
Even though the clouds and snow prevented us from seeing beyond 50 yards, Gornergrat was equipped with a nice restaurant where we were able to pass some time.
It also helped that the Swiss Festival planned for the day was rained out and instead of going home, the various competing jodling groups gave impromptu concerts. There was a large group that rehearsed near the train station in Zermatt, another that sang in the train on the way up to Gornergrat, and still others that sang in the restaurant in which we ate at the top of the mountain.
While Joe and Julie were very happy to be able to listen to traditional Swiss music, Nicolas was not pleased and declared that "we couldn't go anywhere without hearing that "dumb" music." He was right, though, because as soon as we set off on a small walk down the mountain from one village to another, the sound of jodling could be heard echoing throughout the mountains.
Jodling aside, the kids liked the final hike of the trip through the clouds and mist. It was only when it started to rain steadily and we had to break out the garbage bags that everyone decided it best to take the next train back to town.
On our way home, we stopped to attend church in a branch in the town of Martigny. Our drive home also took us through the mountains where we again saw some incredible views.
We very much enjoyed our short vacation to the Swiss Alps. Of course, our biggest regret is that you weren't there with us!
Bonne Semain!
Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel
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