Simply Me: I Don't Want to Climb the Matterhorn

Three more days until I'm home! Oh my goodness I can't wait.

Today was Sunday (and Father's Day), but it was a different sort of Sunday.

Earlier this week, Kenna and I looked up the nearest LDS meetinghouse to Wengen. It was located in Interlaken which was on our way to Zermatt, so we decided to go to sacrament meeting before heading to our next destination.

We ate breakfast as early and as quickly as we could, and we caught the 8:03 train to Lauterbrunnen. I was praying that we'd make it to Interlaken before 9:00.

We did make it before nine, and we headed South (we think) in search of the meetinghouse. We wandered/hurried down the streets of Interlaken until, thirty minutes later, we found ourselves back at the train station. We taken at least one wrong turn, and had gone in a big circle. Pulling my luggage. In our Sunday clothes. And the rain. By the time we made it back to the station we'd already missed the sacrament (and there was only one sacrament meeting there), so we opted to make our way to Zermatt.

We went to the information desk at the train station and asked the man the fastest way to get to Zermatt with the train passes we'd purchased in Geneva. He printed out a schedule for us and sent us on our way to catch the train that was departing in three minutes.

Kenna and I booked it through the station with my luggage, in our Sunday clothes, with my shoes getting knocked off every few feet. . . I'm sure we were quite the sight, but we made it onto the train with thirty seconds to spare.

When we got on the second train we realized that we were on a train that, on the map, was a dotted line, meaning that it was a reduction with our pass. I'm not entirely sure what that means, still, but I think we were supposed to purchase another ticket for that particular train and that we would get it at a reduced price.

The man at the first counter hadn't said anything about purchasing another ticket, so we'd just assumed that we were fine, but we were so worried during the entire train ride. We were lucky and the ticket man never made it to our car to check our tickets, so we still don't know what "reductions" means, but I'm glad we didn't have to find out the hard way. All the other trains we'll be using are good with our pass, though, which is immensely comforting.

We arrived in Zermatt just before noon, and found ourselves in a place that feels very much like Park City, Utah. We took it in for a minute, and then set off in search of our hotel.

We lugged my suitcases through the cobblestone streets, up and down hills, and across a couple of bridges before I remembered that I have data here and we turned on my maps app.

After a few more confusing turns, we found ourselves at the hotel. It was only later tonight that we figured out that we'd once again gone around in a big circle, and that our hotel is just up the street from the train station. I'm glad we figured that out before tomorrow morning, because I was not looking forward to a repeat of this afternoon's journey.

Kenna and I were both exhausted from yesterday, so we decided take it easy here. We really came here to see the Matterhorn (which we saw and documented), so after that we were pretty much content to see whatever. We figured we'd just wander and call it good.

We found a cemetery with really descriptive tombstones, and we spent some time reading about the many men who had lost their lives on the Matterhorn. Reading about how they died made me care a lot more about the fact that they died. Personal information will do that.

After the cemetery we meandered up and down the streets. The Matterhorn was incredible, of course, but I think both of us were more excited about the mountains that made it look like we were back in Utah. We are so ready to be back home.

This study abroad experience has been hard for me. It has been so rewarding and I am so incredibly grateful that I did it. I've learned so much, and this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, but there were some things that were hard about it. I've had to grow in unexpected ways, and I've learned a lot about myself in addition to other cultures. But growth is always difficult. It's good, but good things don't always come easy. If someone asked me if they should do a study abroad experience I would answer with a resounding "Yes!" but I'm glad that my experience is almost over. I'm ready for real life now.

Welcome to Zermatt. That river was the prettiest color.

I spy with my little eye. . . The Matterhorn. It's much cooler in real life than in Disneyland.

Wandering in Zermatt

This place really is beautiful.

The church by our hotel

Kenna

The graveyard. This was the little one behind the church. We read every tombstone here. Then we walked a little ways and found a larger graveyard, but we didn't go into that one. One graveyard was enough.