There is nothing more exciting than a road trip! We left Milan with anticipation of what we hoped would be a wonderful exploration of Switzerland, France and Italy! As is almost always the case though, the drive had it's beauty and it's challenges and we managed to find our share of both.
We loaded the suitcases into our rental car and headed toward the Alps which we could see towering in the distance, knowing that by the end of the day, we would be ensconced comfortably in our hotel in Lausanne enjoying a view of Lake Geneva.
But we had one important stop along the way……. Zermatt….where we hoped to get an eyeful of the famous Matterhorn! I had visions of “Heidi” dancing in my head as we pulled out onto the Autostrada.
We loaded the suitcases into our rental car and headed toward the Alps which we could see towering in the distance, knowing that by the end of the day, we would be ensconced comfortably in our hotel in Lausanne enjoying a view of Lake Geneva.
But we had one important stop along the way……. Zermatt….where we hoped to get an eyeful of the famous Matterhorn! I had visions of “Heidi” dancing in my head as we pulled out onto the Autostrada.
What also danced, not so happily, in our heads was the awareness that we had to purchase a “Swiss Vignette” sticker required for autos using the highways in Switzerland. This is very important because you will have to pay a fine if you are caught without one.
You can order the pass online and I suggest that you do so, because otherwise, you must purchase the pass at the Swiss border, which added an element of worry to our drive that we really could have done without. No two people have been so eagle eyed in watching for a border crossing!
You can order the pass online and I suggest that you do so, because otherwise, you must purchase the pass at the Swiss border, which added an element of worry to our drive that we really could have done without. No two people have been so eagle eyed in watching for a border crossing!
above photo credit - autotraveler.ru
Fortunately, I spied a small parking area at the border crossing and we pulled in. Jim headed into the small office to ask about the pass and luck was with us. They had passes for sale just as we had read online and after securing it to our wind-shield; we were free to drive off into the Alps on our quest to find the Matterhorn! Halleluiah! Well……for a while anyway…..
We drove by fairy-tale Swiss chalets and emerald, mountain pastures. We climbed in altitude, up through snowy passes, into the clouds, by steep rocky crags and tall gushing waterfalls.
But the most important information you need to know about Zermatt is …. “Don’t drive there”! We actually knew this because we had read on the internet, that you must catch a train from Brig to get to Zermatt. “Zermatt is in southern Switzerland, at the end of the remote and beautiful Zermatt/Visp valley. Motorists can drive as far as Täsch. The last seven kilometers must be travelled by train”. It couldn’t be clearer right?
I can’t tell you why we decided to drive to Zermatt except that we were caught up in the glory of driving in the Southern Alps and when our GPS continued to take us on roads heading toward the town, we just followed! And now you can take a virtual drive with us and save yourself a dumb mistake like ours!
I can’t tell you why we decided to drive to Zermatt except that we were caught up in the glory of driving in the Southern Alps and when our GPS continued to take us on roads heading toward the town, we just followed! And now you can take a virtual drive with us and save yourself a dumb mistake like ours!
We continued in ignorant bliss and actually arrived in Zermatt, triumphant but a little bewildered at the amount of construction that seemed to be going on as we drove into town. Fortunately for our dumb tourist-driver butts, a kindly construction worker waived us down and warned us that we should turn around.
In fact, he told us, we were not allowed to be entering the town by auto if we were not a permitted resident and faced a 300 euro fine if the police encountered us. Needless to say, we high-tailed it out of there fast. But not before we tempted fate for a couple minutes and took our coveted pics of the Matterhorn!
In fact, he told us, we were not allowed to be entering the town by auto if we were not a permitted resident and faced a 300 euro fine if the police encountered us. Needless to say, we high-tailed it out of there fast. But not before we tempted fate for a couple minutes and took our coveted pics of the Matterhorn!
Watch the YouTube video below of part of our wild ride to find the Matterhorn! ( sorry about the bugs on the windshield! )
Yes, we may have taken the road less traveled (and in this case, the forbidden one), but as we viewed the famous snow covered slopes of the crooked-peaked Matterhorn, we were secretly thrilled that we had found our mountain.
Filled with a sense of accomplishment, we turned our car toward Lake Geneva. One of the best aspects of a driving tour is the sense of changing place. As we descended from the Alps, we began to encounter rolling hills and rocky escarpments which cradled vineyards sprouting early bright green leaves from thin winter gray vines.
Filled with a sense of accomplishment, we turned our car toward Lake Geneva. One of the best aspects of a driving tour is the sense of changing place. As we descended from the Alps, we began to encounter rolling hills and rocky escarpments which cradled vineyards sprouting early bright green leaves from thin winter gray vines.
As beautiful as the rest our drive to Lake Geneva was, it didn’t compare to the adventure we had on our “out-of-bounds” drive to Zermatt. But we were happy to finally relax and watch the sun set from our hotel balcony overlooking Lake Geneva in Lausanne.
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