I usually do Free & Easy Travel thus a lot of "Homeworks" needs to be done before each trip and I find it a waste to just dump it one side after all my hard work. So decided to to have a blog to record some of this up , hopefully someone might find this useful for them.
We decided to go to the Gornergrat to view the matterhorn so we will need to take the Gornergrat Bahn (train). Usually the sky is clearer in the morning so best to take the first train also usually by afternoon the tour group will be in so will be crowded on the top.Go for the earliest train which is 7am in summer period ( refer here for timing ) The cost for return ticket is 49 CHF with half fare card ( Saver Pass is not usable for this ). The fare allows you on and off up and return.
When we were there around 6.45 AM , there was already quite a number of tourists and workers.Take the train to Rotenboden station then walk about 10 min to the Riffelsee where you will be able to see the reflection of the matterhorn in the lake. Usually recommend early in the morning or in the evening where there is no wind , then you be able to see the reflection in the lake. It's better to come here first then to the top station cause not all people knows about this spot and also usually for tourists they only go all the way to the top.
When we reach the Riffslsee , there was already some tourists before us , either they stayed in the hotel on top or they hike their way up in the early morning.
After spending some time taking the photos , we took the train up to the top station. There was already some crowd at this time, by the time we going off , hordes of tourists group had already made their way up.
By the time we came down was around 11am+ so we decided to have an early lunch then collect out baggage then get on the train to Interlaken.
I would highly recommended this shop that sell grill chicken BUT the lady boss was saying that she be retiring in 5 weeks time so the shop would be close.A check on google map and it shows that it's Permanently closed , the shop is called WILDE HILDE Roast Chicken.The chicken was really really good with the spices.
We managed to got on the train at 12:13 with 2 changes in train at Visp and Spiez, this will get us to Interlaken by 14:28. We be staying at Interlaken Youth Hostel for the night as we will be making our way to Gimmelwald the next morning. The hotel is just few min walking distance from the train station , choose to stay here is to just break the journey. The rooms are simple but expensive , we got the double room with shower and that cost us about SGD $230 for the night.
After check in , we had a short rest then went to the supermarket at the train station to top up some snacks and drinks. Next we decided to go to Harder Kulm Peak for sunset and with Half card , the fares is 50% off at 16 CHF.The station for the train up is just walking distance from the hotel. There was a little Q when we reach , by 6:30PM we reach the top of Harder Kulm.
We stay until 20:30 for the sun to set and then make our way down.Pass by a shop called Asllanis Corner and we decided to take away some food as dinner, Just one burger + fries cost about 20 CHF! portion was quite big and taste was ok.
There is 3 trains for Glacier Express per day departing from St.Moritz 7:02AM , 9:15AM and 10:20AM in the summer ( detail timetable here) But do note that for the early train at 7:02AM , it only stop at Brig and does not stop at Zermatt ( Full route of Glacier Express is from St. Moritz <-> Zermatt). We opt for the early train for the following reasons : 1) Reach Zermatt earlier cos the 9:15AM train will only reach Zermatt at 17:10 which almost whole day is gone. We opt to do St. Moritz -> Brig ->Visp -> Zermatt , this allowed us to reach Zermatt by 15:14 instead of 15:51 if we do St. Moritz -> Brig -> Zermatt ( because of the 40 min waiting time for the connecting train at Brig).
We stay the Best Western Hotel Butterly for the night which is about 3 min walk from the station. Do note that Zermatt is one of the Car-free town in Switzerland.After check in , we decided to explore the town , in hope to see the Matterhorn before going for dinner at RESTAURANT SCHÄFERSTUBE for their famous Black-faced Lamb.
There are many shops selling adventure wear and gear in town and we keep trying to look for Matterhorn instead but yet cannot see it ( turn out we facing wrong direction/angle ). We visited the old village and then try to seek out a view point for the Matterhorn, only to find out the best view point on the bridge is still under renovation. Also it was quite a cloudy day so the shy Matterhorn is covered by clouds like the banner pic above.
We only managed to get a reservation for the restaurant at 8:30PM so after exploring the town , we went to get some light snack ( sausages , Mcd Chicken wings which was very good and Chocolates ) and headed back to the hotel to rest before dinner.
Raclette and the lamb was really good while the cheese fondue consist of too much white wine for my taste. The lamb was very expensive though , 56CHF/portion BUT you can actually break it into 2 portions for sharing. Even if you are eating alone , they will split it into 2 portion of 3 pcs each then when you are done , they will serve you another portion. I think the reason is to make sure you get to eat the meat warm instead of serving you the whole portion then by the time u reach the last piece maybe it already turned cold. Becareful if you see a "harmless" liquid know as "Schnapps" , think it's some fruit distilled wine which usually enjoyed after meal , the one we tried here , when asked is about 40% Alcohol ! ( We are so innocent to think that it just normal sweet dessert wine cos when we point at it and order , the lady told us that is for after meal )
<->*Note : You can use Half card + Day saver pass for Glacier Express ( Same as Bernina Express ) , Normal fare is 150 CHF ( First class for St.Moritz to Brig ) + 33 CHF ( seat reservation fee ) = 183 CHF/pax , But with Half Care you will pay only 75 CHF ( First class for St.Moritz to Brig ) + 33 CHF ( seat reservation fee ) = 103 CHF/pax. IF using my method , you will only pay 49 CHF ( First class Day saver) + 33 CHF = 82 CHF for the whole trip which will save you 101 CHF ( of cos not counting the cost of a Half card at 120 CHF ( but you can use this card for 1 month )
