Zermatt: Gornergrat and Riffelalp
We awoke to a cloudless sky and a recommendation from a local to make the most of it as he shared that views of the Matterhorn mountain are only this clear about one day per month. Clearly, this was the right call…
The kids and I took the Gornergrat cog railroad up the mountain to the look-out at the top station. The Gornergrat was built in 1898. It is the second tallest railway in all of Europe and it is as much an engineering marvel today as it was then.
The view from the top!
From here, we doubled back one stop to begin a hike from the Rotenboden Station to Riffelberg. This was one of the more strenuous hikes I had planned and Eli wasn’t due to arrive in Zermatt until dinner time. But, we decided to take our time and make the most of the day and go for it. We were well rewarded with a fairly easy trail and picture perfect views.
In fact, we were having such a nice hike that the kids both agreed to do the next leg of the hike and continue down the mountain all the way to Riffelap. The second portion of the trail proved more difficult with steeper switchbacks and a bit of a longer journey than anticipated. Despite the griping, I’m glad we did it. Plus, the Riffelalp resort was a place that I had wanted to visit and the trail ended right in the hotel’s front yard. The kids were quickly revived with a jump on the free trampoline and an ice cream sundae from the restaurant terrace.
Trampoline with a view!
Mommy’s little helper: lemon sorbet with Aperol and champagne.
Our energy restored, we hopped on the Riffelalp’s historic train back to the Gornergrat station and took that back to the Zermatt valley.
Back in town, we awaited with great anticipation, the arrival of Eli!
