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Introduction Stories... |
August 8, 1986, on Hotel Nicoletta aerogram stationery Dear Don & Sally,
Here we are on the Glacier Express...bumping up and down the alps. When I last left you, we were in Wengen. We had a lovely 2 days there...it was great hiking, the scenery was unsurpassed, and we had a good room. On our second day there the clouds came by late afternoon and by early evening we had a magnificent, cracking thunderstorm through the Alps. The lightening and the thunder lite up the sky! The next morning there was a heavy fog and we took the train back down to our car. We drove on to Kandersteg but because of the weather we decided to go on...and we took the car train tunnel described in the guide to BRIG. Little did we know that it was 14600 meters long with no lights and we were in total (and I mean total) darkness for over ½ hour and then got off the train and drove down a very narrow mountain road! But there was total sunshine on the other side of the mountain so it seemed a good choice. After some information seeking we decided to drive on to Grachen which turned out to be a an excellent choice and we stayed for 2 days. Grachen is a mountain resort town frequented by the Swiss. We heard no other English while we were there. The town had miles and miles of flat or hilly walks and it had the Alps nearby. Our innkeeper had lived for a year in the states and she was gracious. Most of the other 13 guests were Swiss farm folks. It was just grand! What a contrast to Zermatt and the Matterhorn which was not far away. Zermatt is for the “the beautiful people” around the world. The town, itself, is filled with hotels and “rich” shops. If you’re not one of “the beautiful people,” you’re a serious (and I mean serious) climber. The two groups make quite a contrast. Given all this, Jack and I had a great walk toward the Matterhorn with beautiful views and great weather. Now we’re two hours into our Glacier Express ride and we’re ready for the major climbs. We’ll dine in an hour and we’ll toast one to you at the top. Cheers, Theresa |
