1 The Matterhorn viewed from the village of Zermatt.
2 Zermatt by night with the Matterhorn in the background (image from the web).
3 Approaching the Matterhorn.
4 The train to Gornergrat had bike racks. A fellow from Philadelphia took the train to Gornergrat and rode it back down to Zermatt. I stayed over between trains to view the mountain. He beat me back to the train station in Zermatt.
5 The Matterhorn. At 14,692 ft, it is among the tallest peaks in Europe and straddles the border between Italy and Switzerland.
6 Panorama of glacier adjacent to the Matterhorn, viewed from Gornergrat visitor's center.
7 Closer view of glacier flowing down the mountain side.
8Gornergrat. At 10,285 ft (3,135 m), Gornergrat is an excellent point from which to view the Matterhorn. Notice the train tracks ascending a steep incline.
9 The Gornergrat bahn (train) at the end of its run from Zermatt to Gornegrat.
10 Looking down the tracks from the Gornergrat station, notice how quickly the grade drops off. Overhead wires power the trains. A double row of cogs is between the rails.
11 Another view, in which one can see the drop-off beginning at the station.
12 A double row of cogs between the rails. A powered cog wheel, on the bottom of the train, pulls it up the steep mountain grades and provides braking on the way back down.
13 The train descends quickly via switchbacks. The tracks descending from the station appear mid-right with poles for electric lines bordering the track. The sweep of the switchback seen here is highlighted in the next image.
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15 Hikers wave at the train as we pass on the way back down the mountain, with the Matterhorn in the background.
16 A train station along the route to / from Gornergrat.
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18 A long avalanche shed provides protection over train tracks.
19 Another view of the avalanche shed. One can see light poles along the tracks on the right. Off in the distance, along the top of the ridge, are towers for a ski lift.
20 Looking down on the village of Zermatt from the Gornergrat Bahn.
21 Our hotel in Zermatt: the Hotel Daniela. Our room had one of the balconies overlooking a small courtyard.
22 Hotel insignia on a blanket. The hotel and other tourist facilities, are family owned and run. We enjoyed a nice dinner at their nearby restaurant.
23 Hotels in Europe are commonly tied to electronics that are used throughout the hotel, aiding in automation.
24 We had a nicely decorated room. Note the pillows fluffed up like mountain peaks.
25 The door to our room.
26 Flowers decorate balconies and window sills throughout Switzerland.
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29 This hotel reminds us of a region in New York City: Astoria Queens.
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31 The roof of a restaurant is covered with large, flat stones.
32 The stones are quite thick. We saw them in the river beds along train tracks in Switzerland.
