The Mighty Matterhorn

More than 40 years ago I rode the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland (I just barely made the height limit and was ecstatic!). And today I saw the real thing! It stands as a beacon from the main street in Zermatt. How proudly it oversees the mortals down below. . .

The Matterhorn from my hotel balcony.

The view garnered my avid attention.

Me at 12,688 ft. On top of the world!  

Highest elevation I have been on land.

The Matterhorn, 14,691 ft.

Mont Blanc, France, 15,781 ft, highest point in Europe.

Best Day in the Swiss Alps, So Far. . .

I haven't downloaded my photos yet so will post more later. Here's a couple from today's trip to the Jungfraujoch - highest train station in Europe - 11,333 ft.

Kleine Scheidegg - hotels and railway junction - and the mountains Monch (13,465 ft), on the left, and Jungfrau, on the right, (13,642 ft).

And here is me enjoying 11,000+ ft.

Top Of The World

So, I made it the Alps!!!!! Arrived to cloudy, rainy, horrible conditions for viewing and hiking in the Alps. This is the best view I had from my hotel window yesterday afternoon.

Room 201, Hotel Edelweiss, Murren, Switzerland. And here are some better views this morning.
So here I am at the top of the world - the Schilthorn, Piz Gloria (where they filmed the James Bond movie 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' in 1969). I'm at 9691 ft. It is the highest altitude I have ever been on land.

Although the morning is glorious with bright sunshine at lower altitude, here is the view at 9691 ft. . .:-(

Ah, Switzerland. . .

Well, after all the Bavarian cuteness of half-timbered houses, pork, and beer, I made it Switzerland. First stop, Lucerne. It's on a gorgeous lake, small enough to walk around the old town, and the motel had the best food I've had on the trip so far - Hotel Stern Luzern. Highly recommend it.

Lunch at my hotel.

Ok, I Needed This. . .

I have now been in Baden Baden for three days. This is my last evening and I have done no sightseeing. At this point in my trip I needed this. I spent half the day yesterday at the Caracalla Spa taking the natural spring sulfur waters. And today I had a full body massage at Freidrichsbad - the older of the two spas. Can you say relaxed? Ah well, tomorrow starts back to the slogging. Off to Colmar, France tomorrow and then on to Switzerland. Getting excited about seeing the Alps!!!!!!