SwissTour Alpine Tour - Switzerland Matterhorn - Riffelalp Resort

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2006 Date: 9/22/2006

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First Full Day in Zermatt	Map of Zermatt
Zermatt has many great trails and alpine peaks to visit. First thing I did was to change the time zone in my digital camera.

COOP food store receipt.	Breakfast menu for in-room service.	Trekking pole cover.	Trekking pole instructions for use.

Sunrise	Matterhorn Sunrise
We awoke at 7:00 a.m. to be greeted by the Sun slowing illuminating the peak of the Matterhorn. It's majestic. You just stand there looking at it speechless. Sleeping with jetlag and altitude can take some getting used to. You'll wake up a few times short of breath during the night. Luckily, we awoke to a beautiful clear morning.

The Riffelalp breakfast buffet is the best in Switzerland (possibly the best in Europe).	You have a huge variety of juices (freshly squeezed), cheeses, cereal and can have omelets made to order.	Fresh cheese and meats are also offered.	A huge assortment of freshly baked bread awaits you each morning.

After breakfast, we took the Gornergrat train down to Zermatt and walked to the base of the Rothorn.	The first leg of the journey is a steep tunnel ride in a funicular tram to the Sunnegga Paradise.	The next stage is a cable car to the Rothorn Paradise.	Finally, you board a huge cable car to the Rothorn.

Rothorn Cable Car	Rothorn Cable Car	Rothorn Cable Car	Rothorn Cable Car

View of Matterhorn from Rothorn	Matterhorn
This is the classic view of the Matterhorn. Only venture up on a clear day, or you won't even see the distant peaks. The ride to the top from Zermatt is about 45 minutes (without any lines). Use your peak pass and add up the savings.

Matterhorn	View of Matterhorn
This is one of those clear days, you rarely get on vacation. We were lucky and had several of them. Use your sunny days to visit the peaks. Use your cloudy days to hike, shop or relax at the resort.

Pepe in front of Matterhorn	Pepe
Pepe in his alpine gear in front of Matterhorn.

Rothorn to Rothorn Paradise	Cable Car
Cable cars are pretty cool. If you've ever tried hiking up to a peak, you'll certainly never take for granted the wonders of alpine transportation.

Rothorn	Rothorn Paradise
There are many trails that terminate and go through the Rothorn. Several trails can get you back to the Riffelalp - but they take several hours. To the left of the photo you can see the slopes of the Gornergrat, and the trails that lead to Riffelalp. After going down to Zermatt, we went back up to the Riffelalpl and had a nice lunch outdoors. After a short hike, we sampled the indoor swimming pool and the outdoor Jacuzzi, which has a spectacular view of the Matterhorn. There is no better way to watch a sunset !

Dinner	Preparing for Fondue
We started dinner at 8:30 p.m. downstairs, in our favorite restaurant. Tonight Jane was having the meat fondue, and I was having the wood fired grilled steak.

Fondue	Fondue Dips
The fondue and steak were both wonderful. Have a glass of wine or beer with dinner to make it a fantastic alpine meal. The Swiss actually have a very good beer.

Steak	Wood Grilled Steak
I love steak. Instead of the large potato steak fries, substitute rice. Then have another steak. They're delicious.

Rates	Riffelalp Rates in .pdf Format
The rates for the Riffelalp vary according to season. Keep in mind that they do close for a few months starting October 1st in the fall. Always book in advance.