Day 8: Zermatt to Interlaken

After somewhat of a sleepless night, thanks guys for the snoring!, M and I headed down to breakfast. Breakfast consisted for toast with jam, yogurt, granola, cheese, and meat cafeteria style. I tried the yogurt but really couldn't stomach the really sour taste. I don't know if it was the flavor I chose or what but I just couldn't eat it. I'm really not a yogurt person anyway but I've been taught to try things at least once and to eat when I can because I might not know when I'll be able to eat again (Doc McLaren's travel rule #1). I settled for some granola and milk, a tea, and a few slices of cheese. Many people were up getting ready to start their day in the little sleepy town of Zermatt.

As we walked down the hill towards the station, we were able to see more of Zermatt than the night before. Morning construction trucks were putting their way up the hills. Since Zermatt doesn't allow automobiles, all vehicles in the area are small, electric cars/trucks. It was taking several trucks to bring building supplies to the construction site. The cement truck was hilarious to see. A small blue truck with a small mixer in the back along with bags of cement. No fun for whoever had to add the water and start the mixing process. Shortly after the convoy of trucks passed us we came upon a skier. Zermatt must be picturesque during the winter months when all the snow is covering the town. You would expect to see people decked out in their ski suits heading to the slopes. In August, it's not something you would expect to see. So seeing this guy wearing a ski suit and lugging his skis was kind of funny to see on the sunny, warm August day. There is still snow up on the mountains so I guess when in Rome...While we continued our walk to the station, we came across the cemetery. This is a mountaineers cemetery. Many tombstones marked the lives of individuals who died on the mountain. I guess if you have a final resting place, the city of Zermatt isn't so bad.All the chalets nestled at the base of the Swiss Alps makes Zermatt a beautify town to see. I would love to see it during the height of the winter covered in snow, but since I don't ski and really hate the snow and cold weather, I don't think that's going to happen.

We hopped the train and headed slowly down the mountain on our way to Visp. Looking back at the Alps was a sight to bestow since the morning snow was shinning off the snow cap mountains. From the station at Visp, we boarded another train to Interlaken. It is a really touristy place. This town is known for its extreme outdoor sport activities. We had reservations at Balmer's herberge hostel. It is considered the oldest, private hostel in Switzerland. It kind of has a reputation for being an "Animal House" establishment. Since we arrived a little early in Interlaken we weren't able to check into our dorm room. This time we were able to get an all-girls dorm room that slept 6. Because we couldn't get into our rooms, we had to park our backpacks in storage area for the time being. We decided to hit the town and see what Interlaken had to offer, grab a bite to eat for lunch, and go from there.As we walked to the center of town, there was evidence of all the types of outdoor adventures you could do while staying in Interlaken. Overhead, paragliders could be seen riding the thermals or even skydivers enjoying that rush of adrenalin as they floated back down towards earth's surface. I can say I was very tempted to go paragliding or skydiving but after checking out how much CF (Swiss francs) it would cost me, I decided against it. There are times I wish I wasn't so careful about money. So instead of spending money on 30 minutes of a pure adrenalin rush, I decided I could buy a nice Swiss watch for a sixth of the cost and have it longer.
The town was crowded with people on holiday. We walked all around town to kill time. We spied some nice historical buildings, crossed over several interesting bridges, stared at beautiful blue glacial water (all because of the glacial fleur), watched skydivers land in the park and wished I was one of them, passed the casino and water park, drooled at the chocolate shop, hit the post office for stamps and to mail out postcards, and grabbed lunch from Migros. Lunch consisted of cheese and crackers, a tomato and some prosciutto. After walking all over town, we headed back to Balmers to eat lunch. While eating lunch we met, Samet. Samet is a Turkey citizen on holiday. He was waiting for his white water rafting expedition to take place. Since he was waiting, he joined us for lunch and we chatted about our journeys so far.After collecting our bags and checking into our rooms, we mapped out where we wanted to go the next day. We decided to go to Lucern and then try Lugano. Happy hour started at the hostel so we were able to meet more of the backpacker staying at Balmer's. During the summer time Balmer's has a village along the edge of the river where people camp out under the stars. Several people were heading off to go bowling, while others were enjoying the happy hour. We decided to grab dinner at a Thai place we walked past on our way into town. I grabbed some coconut soup with chicken and a spring roll. I had to have something other than cheese and bread/crackers. While we were eating dinner, Samet returned from his adventure and joined us. He had a good time but stated often how cold the water was. We continued to make small talk and found out that he was heading to Lugano also. For him, it was to relax on the beach. For M, it was to get gellato. Since we were catching a very early train, I called it a night. Looking back, I don't know if I would have stayed in Interlaken for the night without doing some sort of outdoor activity. By not doing an outdoor activity, spending several hours walking around town was enough for you to see the sights. I would have traveled on to Lucern and stayed there so that you can have an early start in the morning and be able to cram a lot more in your day.