Switzerland...ticking off the top of the bucket list
We left for Dublin airport at 4am to catch our flight to Basel, a quick 2 hour flight was followed by 3 train journeys (sounds horrible but they broke up the time nicely). When we arrived at Zermatt we were amazed by its beauty, it was mild but had really low cloud so there wasn't a mountain to be seen. I hadn't really got any idea where exactly the Matterhorn was in terms of viewing it from Zermatt town but I knew it was somewhere behind those clouds.
We hadn't really got an idea what to expect from Zermatt, it was a smallish town with charm, beauty and majestic mountains and the town itself sits over 1,600m above sea level. Another thing it was missing was mechanically propelled vehicles... All electric, it was class to see and the air was so clean. We made our way from the train station to our accommodation (which happened to be the other end of town, sigh). After a slog up the town with all our bags and gear we eventually made it to our epic accommodation, in which the receptionist informed us that it was so easy to get an electric taxi to our apartment from the train station... Ah well. Checked in it was time for food and a quick stroll to further check out the town, then finally BED for a good night sleep.
Forward to the next morning... early start up the cable cars is what we planned, first a quick look out the window to check the weather...RESULT, there wasn't a cloud in the sky nor a breeze! Cable cars it was, but wait... I didn't bring our tickets for it as we booked in advance. It wasn't quite the disaster though as all we had to do was send them our email confirmation booking, easier said than done with no wifi and the price of roaming outside of Ireland. By the time the email had sent to them the early cable car had left so we had to wait a few more hours (A blessing in disguise).
We took a stroll further on town the town only to come across a big tower with AIR ZERMATT plastered all over it... Hmmmm whats this we wondered? wasn't it only a place that did helicopter tours over the Swiss Alps!! We went in and enquired and it just so happened that they had two spaces available for a flight in an hours time....we thought about it, we thought some more.... Did we book?... Dam straight we did. The shot of the Matterhorn above is actually a handheld shot from the helicopter. It was the best experience of my life!!
After the helicopter tour we headed, in a rush to the cable car. This time we made it! A 30 minute trip up to the top at Gornergrat (over 3,800m above sea level), you could feel the air was thinner but it was so epic. The views, the weather, the smell of freshness and most of all the matterhorn was exquisite. It was about -8oC but there wasn't a cloud in the sky, I was so excited to be there I forgot I can still get sun burn (still peeling over a week later), it caught me off guard but all is good now. The shot above is along a part we spent the day hiking at, even though my legendary red jacket makes the cut again it was only thrown on for the photo. Even though it was -8oC, there wasn't a sniff of a breeze so it was pleasantly warm. After a long day we made our way back down for food and another hike for sunset... Stay tuned for one of y favourite shots to date.
The next two days were pretty bleak, the 1st day being the worst which was a pity because I was supposed to spend the day shooting with my Swiss friend Fabio Antenore but the weather just never let up. The second of the two days was a little better, good enough for us to hike three hours up to a place called Sunnegga (2,228m above sea level). All the way up it was misty and foggy and the cloud covered every mountain around us, it wasn't until we got to the top it started to clear. The shot above is as good as it got and just for a split second did we get a glimpse of the summit of the Matterhorn... Still it was so good to get out after being house bound the day before and we earned our meal in a local pizzeria after the hike, it was AMAZING.
The last day, oh well... I guess it couldn't last forever, although I'm planning a trip to Fabio this summer to explore more of Switzerland SO WATCH THIS SPACE! We spent our last day strolling and eating, I took the above shot while out walking in the town with the trusty 70-200mm lens. We went into the Matterhorn museum to learn more about the history of the mountain and we were simply blown away. DID YOU KNOW? The very first ascent of the mountain ended in tragedy as 4 of the 7 people who made it to the top, fell and died on their descent.
As sunset approached we headed for the hills yet again, I've had a spot sussed for a while with a composition overlooking Zermatt with the Matterhorn in the background of the shot... There was potential in the sky, we got to our spot one hour before sunset and chilled out until the light started to change and we were treated to a fantastic show of red and oranges as the sun went down to the right of the Matterhorn. The very first shot you seen at the start of this blog is an image from the sunset, again using the 70-200mm lens.
I still have a few more shots to edit from this trip but I feel I've chosen the images for this blog correctly. Overall it was a fantastic trip and I can't wait to return this summer and explore more of what this fantastic country has to offer. One more thing about Switzerland, the people, they are definitely some of the nicest and most accommodating people I've ever come across.
Thats enough from me I think.. If you've managed to stay awake to read this far its much appreciated. should you wish to see our upcoming tours please see the link
below...
https://www.bglandscapetours.ie/Home/landscapeTours
Thanks again for reading and stay tuned for more Blogs.
Later folks..
Bernard
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