Zermatt, Switzerland

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HELLO, Helllo, helllo... from the Western Alps.

More specifically, the Matterhorn peak. Today has been the highlight of this trip...so far. After traveling hours and hours my train to get here, it has been soo worth it. The town of Zermatt is absolutely beautiful and the people are all friendly. It is surrounded on all sides by mountains, clear blue skies and big fluffy clouds. We sat down a lovely hotel restaurant for lunch, and trying to stick with the local foods I ordered Pasta Apline which turned out to be mac n cheese with ham and onions... delicious. Teresa ordered barley soup which was also very good, but it came in a cream sauce which was different. I am very thankful she decided not to go with the oxtail soup, which is a delicacy but I was still grossed out haha.

After lunch we dropped off our bags, booked a tram ride and hopped on. The tram went further and further up the mountain until we reached Rotenboden, which has and altitude of approximately 3000m. From there we set out to find the Igloo Bar, about a 10 minutes hike from this point. After asking several locals we were told it would be an easy walk. When we got off the tram there were nothing but skiiers and lots and lots of snow. We asked for directions and were assured it was okay to walk there so we went ahead, trying not to get run over by skiiers. The view from here was absolutely glorious and would have been better if there were a few less clouds. We found what looked like an igloo so we trenched up a hill and took a look around. Luckily there was a clearing in the clouds and we could finally see the Matterhorn peak. It was breathtaking and for a moment made me forget about my frozen and wet toes. I found somebody who worked there and asked about the igloo bar. He said its not open for a few more hours and it was only for people staying at the hotel. For some reason this guy felt bad for us and led us into the igloo bar and gave us from hot wine and homemade popcorn. After talking to him for awhile we learned that this 33 year old man was a regular skiier on this slope and had the idea to build an igloo bar. The managers allowed it and it is by far the coolest thing I have ever seen. The bar portion had a huge bar with neon lights and 3 different sitting areas lit only my candlelight. After enjoying our free wine and popcorn he showed us some of the rooms which were attached to the bar. There are 44 beds starting from 150 swiss franks and going up to 500. The deluxe rooms have a hot tub, a hot room, sheeps wool and thermal sleeping bags. He said that each season he makes a new design and a new theme - this year was wild wild west. He hired a guy from the states to do ice art in all the rooms of this giant igloo hotel. Everything looked so amazing and I hope to go back some day. After that we literally climbed down the mountain to find the tram. Luckily we didnt fall and didnt get run over by skiiers.

Tonight we plan on getting some more local cuisine- cheese fondu. Tomorrow is another long day of trains as we head for Venice, Italy and hopefully enjoy some warmer weather.

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