We're in Switzerland now!

One of our goals before most of you come visit is to become expert tour guides, so after being here about a month we decided we better start visiting more cities in Switzerland. The first stop for a weekend getaway was about as Swiss as you can get, Zermatt - home of the Matterhorn. I was fortunate enough to have visited the town for a day last summer, but Steve had yet to go. Not many people outside of Europe have probably heard of Zermatt, but for those here it is famous for not only the Matterhorn but some of the best Alpine skiing in Europe with the highest and longest runs. And for those of you that are fans of the Amazing Race, Zermatt was a stop on their run several seasons ago where they had to either deliver an overflowing luggage cart through the snow or else eat the world's largest pot of fondue. Although we participated in both activities while there, we did so in much more reasonable proportions (it was only our luggage we were bringing to the hotel)!

The best way to describe the town of

Zermatt is magical. No matter what time of the year or the weather it is difficult to dampen the spirit of the town. From the train ride there where you just watch the mountains grow outside your window, to your arrival at the train station where you are greeted by only electric vehicles and horse drawn carriages it is a special place. There are no gas vehicles allowed and as a result you see every other form of possible transportation! People ski off the mountains straight to their hotel, parents pull their children on toboggans, or children push parents on sleds. However, this man topped it off when we saw him hiking with skis on his back, a dog tied to his waist, and pulling his child in a makeshift stroller/sled!

We hope to make many more trips back to Zermatt (after all cloudy skies prevented us from actually seeing the Matterhorn), so we thought of this trip as a taste test in more than one way. There was no downhill skiing this go around (we figured our first ski trip in the Alps should probably not be while I was pregnant - well that and my ski pants don't fit very well anymore!), but we did do some cross country skiing. We also took in stunning views on a mountain hike.

And then most importantly we ate fondue and sampled fresh chocolates! After all, it is a necessity that we are experts in chocolate tasting so we can only share the best with all of you!

Needless to say, if there was any doubt before we were fully convinced that we were in Switzerland after this weekend trip. However, I caught Steve looking a little confused on our mountain hike when we found this spot for sunbathing - maybe next time!