The grapevines and olive trees disappeared as our bus meandered through the Italian Alps on our way to Domodossola and through Tuscany. It’s going to be a travelling day as we are popping into Switzerland for 5 days. It’s not that far from where we were but because we’re having to change buses and trains to get there it feels like a long day. Our bus took us really close to another quarry where they were extracting marble high up on a mountain. Quite an engineering feat when you see the equipment dangling from high up the mountain. We mainly went through tunnels until we hit the Swiss border.

There in the distance were the Swiss Alps. A few snow peaks, mostly greenery, lakes, waterfalls and powerful flowing waterways.

After 1 bus and 4 trains we arrived in Wengen. I think the thinner high altitude air had got to us and we were bushed. We only had enough energy to have pizza at the pub. Funnily enough, Switzerland was playing England in the UEFA quarter final and it got quite rowdy.

We didn’t sleep very well on our first Switzerland night. The problem was right next door was the church spire and clock. It rings once on the half hour and as many rings as the time is on the hour. So at midnight it rings 12 times! I know I have earplugs with me but when you’re living out of a suitcase………

When you’re in this area of Switzerland, waterfalls are everywhere. They’re like churches, castles and forts in Europe and you become a bit blasé about them. But…. Trummelbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen is definitely worth a visit. These are 10 glacier waterfalls all within a mountain made accessible by tunnel lift and illuminated. They flow at 20,000 litres of water every second. I’ve never been up that close and personal to waterfalls that are so loud and powerful.

The weather in the alps can change very quickly and today was a bit cooler with cloud and some drizzle. Visibility wasn’t great. That didn’t affect today’s activity but tomorrow we’re hoping to visit the “Top of Europe”.

In Wengen, we were already 1274 metres above sea level. Jungfrau is the highest railway station in Europe, hence the name, Top of Europe, at 3454 metres above sea level. The next morning we eagerly turned on the weather cams for the mountain and the weather Gods were on our side. It was clear blue skies even though it was still minus 1 degrees at the top of the mountain.

The cogwheel trains that take you up the mountain are a Swiss engineering masterpiece. The tracks and tunnels took 16 years to build and opened in 1912. The views along the way are amazing.

At the top all I was expecting was another great view from a high mountain. We were pleasantly surprised at the variety and diversity of the trip. It was fascinating. They had a research station, 360 degrees cinema, a lift to the Sphinx Terrace 120 metres further up, an Alpine playground in the snow, an ice palace with sensational ice sculptures, a plateau for viewing the longest glacier in the Alps, the Aletsch glacier, an honour board for all the workers that had lost their lives building the railway, a display of celebrities and sports stars who had special events up on top of the mountain, shopping (including the highest Lindt store in the world) restaurants and bars. Not to mention all the activities possible, skiing, snowboarding, hiking, paragliding and on and on.

We did notice the effect of the thinness of the air on our breathing but figured our elite athlete training would bring us back fitter, stronger and younger haha.

Coming back down the mountain, Ruthie was happy to see her cows with bells around their necks in the high country for the summer. It brought back memories of her previous visit to this country.

The day was finished off with a Swiss fondue meal. I wasn’t a big fan of fondues in the 1970’s but today we dipped our bread and baby potatoes into the hot melting cheese and devoured it as if we’d never been fed before, all while enjoying the amazing Swiss alps view. I’d say the hunger was caused by all that activity.

It took 4 trains and a bus to get us to our next stop in Switzerland. We were certainly appreciative of the train stations having ramps and not having to lug our suitcases up and down stairs. The Swiss are innovative! The tourist town of Zermatt is located at the foot of Switzerland’s highest peaks, 39 alpine peaks all of more than 4,000 metres high surround the town. Yes, you heard right! The most notable of these mountains is the Matterhorn (4478 metres).

This area was affected by the recent storms in the Swiss and Northern Italian Alps. We could see signs of repairs and closures around us. Although mainly German speaking, the town attracts tourists from all over the world. Apart from the hotel taxis and trade vehicles, there are no cars. It is a nature lovers and action sports lovers paradise. Crazy people actually paraglide off the Matterhorn! Goats are still herded down the Main Street to be taken to higher ground. The town itself is easy to walk as it is fairly flat but once you step outside you can see the reason for many cable cars going in all directions.

Our aim for the night was to get sunset photos of the Matterhorn. Though we took many spectacular pictures, the sunset colours did not eventuate. The Matterhorn is believed to be the world’s most photographed mountain.

Our walk home took us past many bars and eateries along the Bahnhofstrasse where the Spain v France UEFA Cup quarter final was showing. Even though the vibe was pumping, we made a mature decision not to join them.

On our lay day, Ruthie had thankfully selected the easy hike. No such thing! As I mentioned, as soon as you step out of this town, everything is up. It takes 3 cable car changes to get to Europes highest cable car station on the Matterhorn at 3,883 metres. We hiked to the first station at about 2,000 metres! Yes, the easy 9k round trip hike!

Though there was some grumbling along the way, the hike was just magical. Breathing in the super crisp thin air, listening to the birds, the sound of the running streams, taking in the scenery, we were certainly at one with nature.

This dizzy natural high could have been the effect of high altitude air of course. It is actually a known thing here as Zermatt high altitude sickness caused by decreased oxygen levels in the thinner air. It is noted to start at 1524 metres and Zermatt is already at 1620 metres. That gave us a good reason to lay flat on our backs for a large part of the afternoon.