Almost

As we pulled out of Bruenil-Cervina, all I could do was to hold back the tears. Four years of planning, so close, but yet the dream was not realized. I felt like a hiker who had attempted to reach the top of Mount Everest, but was not able to. It was like everything was working against us. We left Zurich much later than we had planned. My husband realized the minute he crossed the pass his error in booking our hotel in Italy; however, he hoped it wasn’t true He was hoping there was a canyon connecting the two areas together making the journey a breeze to travel. When we got to the hotel we inquired about the 5 miles to Zermatt that was advertised on the hotel booking site. We were informed that sure it was 5 miles to Zermatt, but only if we were willing to take the gondola to the top of the mountain and ski down. Our error would cost us a three and half hour drive back over the pass and back into Switzerland. We were informed that actually the Matterhorn was in our back yard and if the sun came out we could see it. We were also told we could see it by taking the gondola up to the top of the mountain. What were we going to do? After much talking we decided it wasn’t worth driving back for. I was desperate to see the mountain, but I couldn’t imagine the children sitting in the car for seven hours in the car on top of the train ride into Zermatt. No cars are allowed into the city and then from there you take a train ride up the mountain to a viewing spot of the Matterhorn. I knew it would be a recipe for disaster and I wasn’t willing to pay the price. We said a prayer and hoped that the weather would be clear and we could take a gondola up the mountain to get a glimpse of the Matterhorn. After a good dinner of spaghetti we turned in for a good night sleep. We stayed at the Miravida. Sadly, morning didn’t bring with it any better luck than the day before. The mountains were covered with a blanket of clouds. The rain came down from in soft trickles. My husband said, “Let’s check the weather forecast because if the weather is nice on the other side then we will drive to Zermatt. I want you to see the Matterhorn.” It turns out even driving to Zermatt wouldn’t have made the difference. It was raining over there too. We stopped at the gondola on our way out of town just to see if there was visibility the higher up, but we could see on the monitors of the computer that at all three stations the visibility was not going to give us a glimpse of the mountain. Even the children were disappointed now even though they really have no reference to what the Matterhorn is except that my oldest does know that the Toblerone candy bar is shaped after this mountain. We did save money by booking our hotel on the other side, but we did not see Zermatt and the Matterhorn. My advice is to be careful when using these hotel booking companies. Check on the map and make sure it is located close to your destination. Do not count on their information. I am trying to stay positive. So far this summer we have seen a ton and have had very little go wrong. I hope it stays that way for the rest of our vacation! Stay tuned for life in Milan.

 What we did see .....

Edelweiss

 Where we stayed

 Glaciers and the bottom of the Matterhorn.

 Cows in the street