Part 1 - Lauterbrunnen to Zermatt: Matterhorn? It Matters Not!

    Matterhorn? It matters not! At least... that's what I'd like to tell myself. The truth is, one of the things I was most looking forward to doing with my parents was seeing the Matterhorn. The famous 14,692 foot pyramidal, four cirque mountain that dominates every calendar, postcard, computer screensaver, and national geographic documentary out there. The pride and joy of Switzerland, the pride and joy of mountains in general. 

  Here it is, in case my description wasn't good enough. The fact that I'm showing you this picturesque Wikipedia photo in the first place should be a pretty good foreshadowing for the story I'm about to tell you. 

   Upon waking up in Lichtenstein, my parents informed me that a giant snowstorm had closed all roads and trains to Zermatt, the singular town where one is able to see the Matterhorn. Unsure of what else to do, my mom had canceled our airbnb reservations in the nearby town and we had collectively decided that we would meander around Switzerland for the next two days and see if things started to open up. Well, if you've learned anything about me from reading these blogs, you'll know that not having a plan or a place to stay at night doesn't really jive with me, so this whole idea of just "seeing what happened" and "finding places to stay last minute" had me pretty stressed out. And I'm not trying to throw the blame on anyone, it was purely circumstantial, and we did what we had to under the conditions. The other factor that added on to my stress was that I really, really wanted to see the Matterhorn! I'm not really even sure why I wanted to see it so bad, it had never been a huge goal for me until it became a possibility and then I latched on to it and I wasn't letting go easily. My parents, bless them, knew this, and fought extremely hard over the next two days to get me there. 

   After taking some time to explore Lichtenstein we headed back into Switzerland with no particular destination in mind. Our goal was to head towards the south of Switzerland where the Matterhorn is. This was the most logical option because we could be nearby if the roads opened and because our next destination was north Italy, so we needed to head south anyways. Since we didn't have a specific destination in mind, I did a quick google search and found a cool geological formation called "Rhine Gorge" or "The Swiss Grand Canyon," a vast expanse of slate mountains whose edges had cleaved off and slipped into the Rhine River Valley, leaving behind smooth exposed, deep gray rock faces that plummeted toward icy blue water. It was a very alien landscape and a very interesting find, especially when we weren't expecting to go there. The road in to the gorge also carried its own kind of beauty, a serpentine path cut out of the rock face and twisting in and out of the mountains. The whole thing was quite poetic if you couldn't tell. 

   By the time we were done exploring the gorge, we had decided to meander towards a town called Lauterbrunnen that was squished in a canyon amidst 72 natural waterfalls. On our way, we took a side rode that led to a little village on the top of the mountain. The interesting thing about Switzerland is that it's hard to find a place that feels authentic. Its as if tourism has touched every corner of the country. Even in this tiny mountain village, high on the windy slopes, there was a convenience story and restaurant for people traveling through. It is a very rich and well manicured country. I think this lends its self well to Switzerland's reputation and is probably both a factor in and result of said reputation. The perfection allows tourists to come live out their romanticized vision of the country. On the one hand, I think that's great, it is definitely not the same as visiting Italy for the first time and realizing that most of the buildings are crumbling and the streets aren't clean or safe. Switzerland can be experienced the way it looks on a postcard. On the other hand, it has undoubtedly lost some of its authenticity, and therefore its natural charm. 

Papa found a new church to pastor. :) 

   Now, I have to be honest, I came into this trip with an unfair bias towards Switzerland. Why? Simply because it's popular. If something is popular, I usually don't want anything to do with it. Stanley Cups? No thanks! Taylor Swift? Could care less. Marvel Cinematic Universe? Probably overrated. Switzerland, Los Angeles, Hawaii? Not my first options. I don't know what's running through my veins guys, but whatever it is, it's anti-trendy. Therefore, Switzerland had always fallen on my list of things I didn't really care to see or do. So, I'm not surprised that the "tourist-y" atmosphere threw me. HOWEVER. I have to come clean and admit, that it held up to its reputation in every other way, for I have never been met with so many breathtaking views at such rapid fire speed. It was like I was experiencing overconsumption of good views. Every main highway twisted through some of the most beautiful mountains I had ever seen. You couldn't escape it. There was no place in Switzerland safe from "ooohs" "ahhs" and "woahs". A 10/10 for lovers of having their breath taken away. Maybe, just maybe, and I say this with great hesitation and caution, some things (or places) are popular for a reason. ;)

   As your first example, please behold this shimmering turquoise lake backdropped by a grassy sloped valley, with a small town cradled in its bosom, sitting in dappled sunlight, and suddenly dropping dramatically away to 100 foot cliffs that hang out over the water. (Funny enough, this was and is still my favorite thing I saw Switzerland, both because of how stunning it was and because of its geological implications.)

   

As your second example, notice that this mountain is still really beautiful even though it is night and you can't see most of it. 

   We ended our day at a small, traditional wooden house in Lauterbrunnen, which was knee high in snow and surrounded by the thundering echo of thousands of gallons of water spilling down cliff sides.