rach 1 Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 I'm not doing very well with my full report on Switzerland am I? Oh dear. Anyway, I'll just come up with some random thoughts and see if they are interesting. My overall impression of the place (as limited as that will be in such a short time) was just how stunningly beautiful it all was. We were blessed with fine, clear weather for most of the time we were there and that obviously makes a huge difference. Zermatt. Beautiful place, we went on some of the trains up to the view points and it was just gorgeous. We got on the early train up to Gornergrat and I thought I was back in Japan for a moment..... apart from us two and the driver I think everyone on there was Japanese! That was the first time I'd ever seen a glacier, amazing sight it was. Funny how when we were on the way down, the trains we passed only had a handful of Japanese on them - so obviously the tours and the handbooks tell everyone to catch that first train up there!! There's a little sign in the town that says that Zermatt is a twin town of Myoko, which I didn't know. Someone else on here I know went up in a helicopter ride over the Matterhorn which must have been amazing I wish I had planned that in. I wouldn't have minded trying a bit of snowboarding either up at the top, it looked very tempting. The only real downer (apart from the place being rather expensive) was that I really didn't get the most positive impression of the Swiss people. They live in such a beautiful place, but lots of them - people serving you in restaurants/shops, hotels, train stations, normal people just going about their lives etc - just seemed really....... moody! There sure doesn't seem to be a "service with a smile" culture going on there to say the least and sometimes they even came across as really grumpy. I've heard others say that about Switzerland as well so I don't think it was just our experience. The "tourism cheese fondue" we had featured about 2kg too much cheese for the two of us (and I still felt as though I had eaten a kg myself!) Perhaps it's one of those things where you need to not be a tourist to find the real experience. I'm sure I'll think of more. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 I commonly hear the Swiss being described as rather odd people. Germans, English, Swedes, French have all said it. Apparently they are more programmed than the Japanese. I understand if that statement is seen as generalist and rude. You are right though, Switzerland is stunning. Quite amazing scenery and exceptional food, particularly in the Swiss/Italian/French corner. I snowboarded in the Flims Laax area for a few weeks. It is considered to be not so attractive yet even there I thought it was great. I have since seen better places in the country but still think that ugly in Switzerland is pretty in other countries. Thanks for your report Rach. Link to post Share on other sites
andrew@yuzawa 0 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Hi rach, here's that pic you were asking about. And that helicopter ride was definitely worth doing if you had good weather Got in a bit of skiing as well. We were there about a week after rach. Great place. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted September 27, 2005 Author Share Posted September 27, 2005 Great thanks Andrew, any more pics on hand of that area? BPC "I understand if that statement is seen as generalist and rude" - I was wary of posting that of course, but we definitely felt some general 'coolness' to visitors there. It didn't spoil it for us, but it really was the only minus point of the whole trip. If they were friendly it would just be the perfect place. Oh, and cheaper too. Link to post Share on other sites
joshnii 2 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 I hadn't heard that either, my (Niigata) Japanese friends here didn't know about it as well. Those diagrams on the plate not to scale then? Link to post Share on other sites
andrew@yuzawa 0 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Here you go, some photos from Gornergrat. (You got none to share, rach? ) Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted September 27, 2005 Author Share Posted September 27, 2005 Nice I'm hopeless at that kind of thing, and they're better than mine anyway! Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Nice pictures, you're making me feel jealous now. Are they all round the Matterhorn region? Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 beautiful photos! Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted September 28, 2005 Author Share Posted September 28, 2005 They are aren't they? It's difficult to take bad pics there it is so gorgeous (not putting down your photos there ) Yes I'm pretty sure they are on the way up to (or at the top of) the train ride up from central Zermatt to Gornergrat, it's about a 40 minute ride up there. Link to post Share on other sites
mina2 6 Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Nice pics.. tell us about that helicopter flight. Link to post Share on other sites
andrew@yuzawa 0 Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 It was a 30 minute flight from Zermatt, right up really close to and round the top of the Matterhorn - saw some guys climbing up there - and then over lots of the glaciers in the region. We were having far too much fun up there to take pics. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Very nice. We really want to go there, good chance we might as well this winter. Just trying to organise a few things around it. Link to post Share on other sites
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