Day 1 (Massachusetts to Zermatt)

My adventure begins in South Hadley, on Sunday February 24th. After a 3 hour trip from western Massachusetts to JFK Airport in New York, I took an evening flight with a short stopover in Keflavík Iceland. After arriving at Zurich airport midday Monday, I took a train from the airport to Zurich's main train station where I stored my large suite case, changed currency and purchased an Interail pass, a ticket that allows one to travel on any train not requiring a reservation, for a particular amount of time within all of Europe, and also Switzerland.

Next I hopped on a three and a half hour train from Zurich to Zermatt Switzerland with a train change in Visp Switzerland. I then found myself in the most magical town there is, surrounded by snowy mountains, ski lifts, skiers, and the ever famous Matterhorn mountain, towering at 14,692 ft above sea level at its highest elevation. Zermatt, a small ski town for those avid skiers and adventurers is a town only accessible by train. If driving by car, you must park at a nearby town and take the train in. While Zermatt does have a few small electric buses as well as electric cars and taxis, these are only owned by hotels or the ski resort.

After about a mile walk to my hostel, with a backpack and a small carry-on bag, I checked in and met another person staying at the hostel. A commercial airline pilot from Columbia who was there for just a few days as I was, who also spoke English. We walked downtown, rented our ski gear from a small local ski shop, delivered it back to our hostel and we went downtown to explore the town. After realizing just how expensive Switzerland and especially Zermatt was, we finally settled on a cute little bar called the Brown Cow, definitely recommended for those looking for a great burger at a reasonable price: for Switzerland!

To view more of my photos of Zermatt click here.