We almost skipped Zermatt because our Eurail pass doesnt cover the train from Brig to Zermatt but it was fairly inexpensive so we decided to go anyway. It was definitely worth the train ticket, partly because it might have been the best train scenery weve had yet, but also because the Matterhorn hikes were probably the best weve done. Zermatt is no longer the quiet little town that my mom had described to me, I know she went about 30 years ago so it was probably quite a bit different. The population is still around 3500, but there are countless hotels and tourists and the streets were constantly packed. Zermatt supposedly has the best summer skiing in Europe so that would partly explain why its so busy.

Our hike towards the Matterhorn was interesting. We got about as close to the Matterhorn as we could on the first part of our hike, for obvious reasons you cant simply hike the mountain without serious equipment. The second part of our hike was over jagged rocks that had been cut by glaciers, and we actually walked alongside a glacier for about two hours, it was a lot different than any of our other hikes. It took us to a resort about 3000 meters high (~9000 ft) and to go any higher would require hiking equipment and a guide, which is another thing Id like to go back and do once I have more money and health insurance. The hike down the mountain actually took us over a glacier for a couple steps, so that was pretty interesting. We had a quick view of about four other huge glaciers on our way down, but they were not accessible by foot. Zermatt is still a really beautiful town but it is no longer the quiet place it might have once been.

Also, we've been following the Rugby World Cup fairly closely and watched a couple games in town. The World Cup is being hosted by France and started while we were still in Paris so thats how we initally got into it. Unfortunately the US team (which I didnt know existed) isnt very good and we watched them get pounded by England, Im not even sure you could find coverage of it in the States. Needless to say, no baseball or football coverage over here and Im starting to lose my grip.

Ive been having a little trouble practicing my German over here, because people in the tourist industry usually switch to English if they detect an accent. For example, I got a bratwurst from a street vendor the other day and I asked for it in German and he asked me three more questions about how I wanted it (mustartd? white or red?) in English and I kept answering everytime in German, I almost threw the Brat back at him. However, Swiss German has a very thick accent and its very difficult for me to understand them anyway. Ive had better luck talking with other German speaking tourists.