Blue Sky Smiling At Me.....

Deborah Kade
3 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

We stopped to let another train pass and I looked up at the top of the mountain and took a picture. For some reason I really like it.

When we left the Interlaken West train station it was overcast and cold. We changed trains in Spiez to one that took us to Visp where we changed again to one going to Zermatt.

Coming out of the tunnel outside of Visp, we were greeted to sun and blue skies. It‘s amazing how the mountains change the weather.

Leaving Visp we know we are in the Valais region as rows of grape vines cling to the mountain sides.

The train tracks change to cog as we zig and zag up through the mountains. Too much reflection off the high glass windows to take pictures of the gorgeous scenery outside but, I'm always up for a challenge. I didn't succeed all the time and you see the lights on the train/

Roofs of the houses in Kalpetran are stone slabs.

Zermatt is a mountain resort renowned for skiing, climbing and hiking. The town, at an elevation of around 1,600 meters (5,249 feet), lies below the iconic, pyramid-shaped Matterhorn peak. Its main street, Bahnhofstrasse is lined with boutique shops, hotels and restaurants, and also has a lively après-ski scene.

Cheese pretzel? Wonder what kind of cheese! Who is willing to try it?

Fish fondue??!!! That is a first for us.

The flowers cascading from the window boxes is a sight to see. Some of the flowers were at their peak while others had been affected by the weather and are ready to be tossed out.

Can you spot the hummingbird moth?

Many bees

Butterfly

The Matterhorn was in all its glory!!!!!

"The Matterhorn straddles the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 meters (14,692 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe. Sometimes referred to as the "Mountain of Mountains" (German: Berg der Berge), it has become an indelible emblem of the Alps and stands as the most photographed mountain in the world. The Matterhorn has four faces, each roughly oriented toward one of the four cardinal points. Three of these (north, east, and west) are on the Swiss side of the border and watershed, while the south face lies on the Italian side. These four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, are separated by the Hörnli, Furggen, Zmutt, and Leone (Lion) ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais, to the northeast, and the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, which has been a trade route since the Roman era.

The name Matterhorn derives from the German words Matte ("meadow") and Horn ("horn"), and is often translated as "the peak of the meadows".

The Matterhorn's faces are steep, and only small patches of snow and ice cling to them; regular avalanches send the snow down to accumulate on the glaciers at the base of each face.

"The Matterhorn is an isolated mountain. Because of its position on the main Alpine watershed and its great height, the Matterhorn is exposed to rapid weather changes. In addition, the steep faces of the mountain and its isolated location make it prone to banner clouds formation, with the air flowing around the mountain producing condensation of the air on the lee side and also creating vortices. This didn't happen today.