Zermattenhof

 The disembarkation process was very smooth and efficient as has become clear Viking strives for.  On time and swift.  We were up early and packed, so one more opportunity from what has been an exceptional indulgence in excessive gustation, not to mention the imbibition. Hopped in an Uber for a quick ride to Basel’s EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg. Found the EuropeCar kiosk no problem, that was where the extortion commenced.  I thought I had asked enough questions about auto insurance, and had checked on coverage with ThePersonal and VISA to find that what I had was limited and probably insufficient.  But I wasn’t prepared for what I was told by the rental car agency.  They said that if I declined their very expensive coverage, I would be charged with what seems to be the full replacement value of the car (47,000 CHF) if returned with ANY visible damage.  I could take a second tier of coverage leaving only 2,500 CHF for ANY damage or the full rate to avoid exorbitant fees for scratches, dents.  There seemed no  other feasible option than to pay the extortionists.  They did make note that there was an existing scratch on the door handle, which looked like a brush with a tight parking space, made me wonder if they had collected 47,000 CHF from some other poor sap already??  Anyway, sad to have that incident lead to the most words I’ve scribed yet on the trip, but it is what it is.  We headed out on our long drive through many tunnels and various levels of freeway with much construction and lane adjustments. We managed to avoid any incorrect Ausfahrtens but one.  We wound our way up through hairpin switchbacks to the Lötschberg Tunnel from Kandersteg to Goppenstein. After the exit from the train tunnel, which was interesting in its own right, our Nav-GPS sent us the wrong way, luckily it felt wrong and a nice Swiss bartender pointed us back the other direction.  GPS kept trying to get us going the wrong way but got that sorted by changing the destination from Täsch to Zermatt.  Anyway, down the other side again through hairpin switchback turns with spectacular views overlooking the Matteral Valley.  Hoping Heidi now had us on the right course we continued on relieved that the road signs indicated we were heading for Zermatt.  The climb to Täsch was similarly spectacular but we didn’t expect to see the Larch pines in their bright golden hue, seems a long way to go to find this when Kananaskis is so close to home.

Found the Matterhorn Parkade easily and were able to get on the rail up to the village with no difficulty.  This village allows no private cars, and as expected is very walkable.  What wasn’t expected was that there are no road signs whatsoever, so getting oriented for the relatively short walk was unnecessarily complicated.  The hotel’s instructions were very clear if you knew where you were going, not so much in the other case.  They referenced walking along Bahnhofstrasse (unmarked road) and making a turn at Boutique Otieg which was obvious only upon walking up to it.  Of course I should have known Bahnhofstrasse means Station Street.  Regardless, even though we found our way, K was a bit distressed feeling lost and lugging luggage.  Checked in with time to make some photos of the Matterhorn from the Tannenhof patio and get a bit settled.  Took the consierge’s advice to get a BDD at the Pavillon Pub a short walk downslope which was helpful in getting oriented to using landmarks instead of street signs and noting that walking is made easy.  Back upslope to Cafe Du Pont located right beside a bridge over the MatterVispa.  Apparently the oldest restaurant in Zermatt, we had a wonderful fondue with bread and potatoes accompanied by a perfect charcuterie board.  Except for a short bout of Müde walking up from the Bahnhof, we’ve totally avoided Hongrig und Durstig so far on this trip.