Old and Cute. Like a Grandpa

Zermatt is seriously old and cute, just like a grandpa. And not just any Grandpa. The Alm Uncle, aka Heidi's Grandpa, in the book Heidi. Old, cute, and very typically Swiss.

 

 

Here Anthony examines a 16th century pig stable stuck smack dab in the middle of the old town. I'm sure it goes for a cool million now, but back in the day, it was just a poor, little, stinky sty. The one next to it used to house the sheep and the cows in the winter.

 

 

 

Sometimes the old sits right next to the new.

 

 

There's a new town. I mean, the millionaires in Zermatt aren't all holed up in former pigsties.

 

 

 

Yes, it's a Gruyère bus. No, it's not actually made of Gruyère. It's the free ski-bus that goes around town to hauling skiers and their bulky gear to and from the lifts. It drives through the modern streets of the new parts of town only, since there's no Earthly way it could make it through the narrow cobbled streets designed in medieval times for goat, pig, and cow traffic only.

 

 

 

Sticker Shock

When we move to Paris, some things give us sticker shock. Then we travel to London and get sticker shock, feeling like Paris is cheap. Then we come to Switzerland and get sticker shock, and decide that London is affordable. We are afraid to visit the place that makes Switzerland look like a bargain.

 

Now, whenever you're eating in a lodge or slopeside, you know you'll be charged extra. In Switzerland, you're paying for the ingredients, the labor, the charming café ambience, the mountains, and -- apparently -- the Lamborghini that the laborer drives through the mountains to get the ingredients to the charming café.

 

 

 

But it's still fun to ski in to the adorable old chalet on the hills and order this, for a A rösti is a German potato pancake (a non-Jewish, uncircumcised latke, that is) covered with fried eggs and melted cheese and, for a bonus, some bacon, for around $20. When you're skiing in the cold air, what could be heartier or more perfect? So delicious.

 

 

In this Swiss-side chalet, we end up ordering and sharing the charcuterie platter after we discover that a plate of spaghetti will cost us around $30. The server tells us there are crepes, as a special, and we are just about to order those when Gigi, wise-little bird that she is, decides to ask, "How much are the crepes?" It turns out they are $24 each. That seems rather ridiculous since we can get the same thing around the corner from us in the heart of touristy Paris at about $6 each.

 

Or, you can just ski over the summit to the Italian side, to this charming chalet, where the same plate of pasta (no, wait! Not the same! Better! Authentically Italian!) only costs 10€, or about $12.



Or this beautiful café on the Italian side. I don't honestly remember the exact price of the meal, but I know it was a lot less than $30 -- and that's for a hearty steak.