Napoli, Italy

Very tired from the city “mix up” (Castellana v.s. Castellaneta) I sought after a train ride that would take me pretty much any place whereby I could sleep on the night train ride. With my Eurail pass I could hop on just about any train any time and go anyplace. Since I had a hard time finding couch surfers in Italy, I utilized the evening / overnight train rides for my much needed evening rest. I found that Napoli aka Naples, although not that far away, I could get to by taking a series of trains and arrive in the morning.

I arrived in Napoli, birthplace of Pizza in the morning. I began strolling through town, not really knowing what to expect or do. So, I just wandered. I looked at my lonely planet guide for a little advice, but there wasn’t much. When I started venturing through the city it felt like I had been transported back to Delhi, India. There was trash in the cobblestone streets, and people selling stuff all over the place. The buildings were much older and the heat was fairly intense.

Santa?

Black Cats

So, I wandered for a bit more, saw some cool / interesting things and then started to head back to the town square near the train station. In the square I spotted several restaurants advertising their specials. I stopped into one of them and sat down to have a pizza, Margareta pizza in fact, which seems to be the most common pizza in the world! It was very good.

After dining I headed back to the train station. I was wanting to get back to Rome for the next morning, and in doing so I had to stop by the nice coastal town of Bari.

Castellana, Italy

Happy that I was finally on my way to the right city, Castellana and not Castellaneta, I again noticed myself getting close to a very small town. The train station was even smaller than the previous one. In fact this one looked more like a bus stop! It had one bench and one sign. It did not have two platforms, only one! I double checked with the attendant before exiting. He pointed me in the direction of the caves and trusting him I got off and headed toward the caves.

After a short walk I arrived at the Castellana Grotto. The cave network was over 3 KM long! I paid 15 Euros for the long excursion inside the cave. I headed down with a group of people. We had a guide (I thought she was going to be speaking English, but I guessed wrong) I started to head down underground where it opened up into this beautiful room with an incredibly high ceiling that somewhat resembled the Pantheon in Rome, because it was domed on the inside and had an “oculus” at the top to let in light. While I was mesmerized by the sights I overheard someone speaking English! I figured out I had followed the wrong group down, so I quickly transferred to the English speaking group.

We continued down further into the cave learning about the history, and its formation. It was incredibly interesting. I love seeing caves! And this one was nothing short of spectacular. Due to the photo restrictions on the caverns I was not allowed to take any pictures past the first room.

So we winded down through the narrow passageways and went into a special sealed room that is very “untouched” and all of the limestone is perfectly white, almost translucent. It was magnificent. It was a wonderful cave excursion well worth the trip down to southern Italy.

When we exited the cave there was a guy climbing the elevator shaft, fairly interesting. After watching him climb around a bit, I headed to the souvenir stand to grab a post card that showed the white cave. I also stopped by their snack section and selected a piece of pizza, which I have to say, was delicious!

After the pizza I headed back to the tiny train stop, read the time information and waited on the bench. Several minutes went by and I saw an engine speed by, and then it sped by the opposite direction. But I finally got on my train, and began heading to Napoli.

Eating my Swiss Chocolate

Castellaneta, Italy

Late that evening in Rome I boarded a very full train headed for southern Italy. I was headed to a cave network to see the “Whitest Cave in the World”. I tried to sleep on the train ride to southern Italy. The train stopped at Caserta at 2:32 AM, where I proceeded to get some shut eye in their train station before continuing onto Castellaneta. As I neared Castellaneta the train began to thin out little by little. Soon there were very few passengers onboard the train. It began to worry me slightly. I noticed we were getting pretty close to the Ocean which made me happy because I had heard this cave was close to the coast. When I finally figured out my stop was next, I gathered my stuff and waited by the door. Once the train stopped I jumped off with one or two others, they both had rides awaiting them. It was after they and the train left that I realized how desolate the train station was. There was barely anything to it. Just two platforms, and a small waiting area. No services and the bathrooms were boarded up. I hung around the station for a few minutes trying to get my bearings, and trying to figure out which way to go.

Lonely Train Station

I then just headed toward where I thought town would be. I walked along a road toward some apartments, and finally started to see a few people here and there. I expected to see a sign pointing me to the caves. This was apparently a famous spot in Italy. Seeing no signs, I tried to ask a woman, in of course, my broken Spanish how to get to the grotto, she said I was close and that it was just a little further. I kept walking and when I still saw no signs I asked an older woman where the grotto was. She didn’t quite understand, so I pulled out my camera to show her the pictures I had taken of the internet site and the address and phone numbers. It clicked! She understood what I was looking for. She said “Ahhhh! You are in Castellaneta! You need Castellana! See Castellaneta” as she pointed to the ground “Castellana” as she pointed to my camera.

Feeling like an idiot I thanked the woman and started heading back to the train station. I took another route to the train station, one that looked a little more direct.

Once back at the train station I called Carmen asking her when the next train would come through. And how I could get to Castellana. She found out and let me know when the train was supposed to arrive. Unfortunately because it was such a small town, there were not too many trains frequenting the area so I had to wait for quite some time in the fairly abandoned train station.

Once the train arrived I hopped on and made my way toward the correct city not too far away luckily.

Rome, Italy

The train ride from Trieste into Rome over the evening was relatively pleasant and I caught up on some much needed sleep. During the train ride I realized that I had not showered, slept in a bed, or changed my clothes in at least 8 days!

I arrived in Rome fairly early in the morning. I was able to find my way from the train station past the relatively vacant streets toward the Coliseum, using mainly my lonely planet guide book map, which I soon realized was practically indispensible. I was so early to the Coliseum that there was virtually no line ahead of me and it was only a few minutes from opening. I waited my turn, purchased my ticket and as always sped past the booth for the audio guides, ( I felt since I was on such a budget I figured I could take the time to read the signs and not listen to someone reading them for me).

Stepping into the Coliseum was like stepping back in time, I was immediately struck with awe upon seeing the massive structure, and once inside I could not help but marvel at what a spectacle it is and once was. I spent a good bit of time exploring the ruins of the Coliseum, learning that it once crammed in over 50,000 spectators, and had a canvas roof at one point in time.

Feeling like I had suitably exhausted my sightseeing of the Coliseum, I headed out towards the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, I was pretty excited that the ticket price for the Coliseum included the Forum as well, for only about 10 Euro.

Indoor Sports Arena

The Roman Forum is referred to the “Dawn of western civilization”. Walking along the streets you pass ruin after ruin of old churches, monuments, temples, meeting places of the Roman senate, it was the political, religious and social center for Rome. I was astounded at how much history was packed into such a small area. Ruin after ruin everything was once something incredible, but now most of them are only shadows of the past. One very interesting thing on Palatine Hill was an Emperor’s home with his own indoor sport stadium.

Next I ventured on to the giant white marble tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Earlier when I had walked by it was closed, now it was bustling with tourists. I climbed the steps as far as I could and found great views of both the Roman Forum and the Coliseum, like most of the monuments in Europe this one was under construction, undergoing some sort of renovation work. I was very impressed with the quality construction of the tomb and what intricate detail there was all round it.

Oculus

Pressing on I wandered through the streets trying to find my way to Pantheon. This is a beautiful marble building with an oculus in the middle which allows in light. The inside is incredibly well preserved and pristine. Statues  and paintings line the inside walls of the Pantheon, for as old as this building was I was astounded by how perfect everything was about it. Part of the reason might be the fact that it closes at certain times keeping out thieves and vandals by way of its massive metal doors, some of the biggest I have ever seen in my life!

After being astounded by the Pantheon I headed to another Roman treasure, the Trevi Fountain. This fountain blew me away! Hands down, the best fountain I have ever seen! I don’t even know if you can call it a fountain. Its more of a series of statues with a pool and water spraying everywhere… I could tell that this was a very popular attraction though, there were hundreds of people standing around taking pictures of the fountain. I stayed there for a while marveling at the sight then headed to a nearby Gellato parlor to follow some advice from Lonely Planet. I headed to San Crispino and tried their famous honey sorbet, and it was indeed delicious. I was pretty impressed. Good work Lonely Planet Guide!

I headed toward two other squares with beautiful fountains in them, but none nearly as awesome as Trevi. Then I proceeded to wander around a bit, get lost and continue to take pictures of the beautiful city. It seems like every square inch of Rome is packed with ruins, and historically significant treasures. I then headed over the Tiber River twice, trying to figure out how to get to Vatican City.

I spent some time staring at the Vatican in awe of how beautiful it was. Since the Vatican is a separate country from the rest of Italy, I decided to finish seeing Rome before venturing into the Vatican. I kept walking around Rome, aimlessly for a little while, until I spotted an internet café. I headed inside to check my email and get the scoop on a Geocache I was supposed to find in Rome. I took pictures of the screen with directions and pictures of the cache and the area, trying to prepare myself for when I would try to find the cache.

Continuing to wander around Rome, I hopped aboard one of those sight-seeing busses to try to check out any important part of the city that I had missed. I saw a lot of the same stuff I had seen earlier, just from a different perspective, and with a narrator. I did get to see Circus Maximus, an ancient roman chariot racing arena. Throughout Rome you can see these guys dressed up as old roman soldiers, they stand by certain monuments and tourists take pictures of themselves with these men in costumes for a small fee. Being cheap, again I refrained from paying for a silly picture with some guy in a costume. But I did see them on their way home at the end of the day as I rode the bus around Rome.

The bus dropped me back of at the Vatican. Where I stayed to watch the sun go down and take pictures of Piazza di San Pietro and Saint Peter’s Basilica. I was very tired after a day of seeing practically all of Rome in a day. My feet were tired and I was fairly hungry. I think I had some food in my bag and I do believe I sat down in the square at night and began to consume.

After my rest in the square I started to head out and walk around toward the train station. Taking pictures of beautiful Rome all around me. I passed back through the squares I had been to earlier, most of them were rejuvenated with a wonderful energy, people were playing music, doing mime shows, dressed up in silly costumes hoping to get a tip. A very popular costume was the King Tut costume. These people would stand perfectly still, but when someone would give them a tip they would bow down. These were in a lot of squares, and unfortunately some of the least entertaining.

Rome is beautiful at night. Everything is lit up, and the streets are just as crowded with tourists and it is wonderful seeing the same sights in a different light.

I stopped back by the Coliseum to take another gander before heading to the train station.

Trieste, Italy

I arrived in Trieste a bit confused. The map in my book made me think that Trieste was in Slovenia and not Italy. I wandered around trying to find a suitable spot for me to swim. I asked a passerby in broken Spanish where the beach was, thankfully she understood and pointed me in the direction of the swimming area.

Greek warship

I got to a small organized area with changing rooms, lounge chairs and such. It was 3.50 Euro to get in and use their facility. Having taken a train all the way from Venice I wasn’t going to let 3.50 Euro get in my way of taking a dip.

After I changed, I realized that the area wasn’t a beach or even a shore line. It was a series of concrete docks and patios. There were various areas to jump off of and into the roped off swimming area. There were tons of excited children jumping off the docks, and I of course joined them. I love jumping off things!

I swam around for a bit and discovered two diving boards. Both were already elevated high above the water because of their relative position on the high docks. On top of that one was also a high dive with a nice big fall in store for whoever decided to climb up the slippery steps. Figuring that I better jump off the high one I ran up the steps and had an exhilarating time plunging into the sea.

After a great time of swimming and diving I laid out on the upper patio and probably fell asleep for a while. Taking a cold shower without soap, I considered myself “clean” and changed into my street clothes and headed out toward the train station looking for a grocery store.

The town was beautiful! There were hardly any tourists present as I strolled through. I certainly felt like I was off the beaten path a bit, which I enjoy.

 

I found a grocery store and got myself a bag of croissants, a can of tuna fish (in water), a package of cheese, and a box of wine which I had to get because it was only 0.89 Euro! I headed toward the train station and got my schedule for my journey to Rome and then headed back outside onto a park bench. I have become more and more accustomed to dining on a park bench.

Today I was in a beautiful park in Italy and certainly not alone. There were several other clearly either homeless and or mentally unstable joining me in the park. Some of them eyed me with curiosity and stared while others accepted me as “one of their own” and let me be. Due to my lack of personal hygiene over the past several days, the added spunk of salt water in my hair and my ever growing aptly named “homeless guy- beard” I was not bothered.

Because I had not eaten much over the last few days my box of 0.89 Euro wine started to kick in rather early. I staggered back to the train station chuckling at myself along the way, trying not to lean against the walls too much. I headed for the convenience store inside the train station and although I knew it was a bad idea at the time I still decided to buy a gigantic bag of potato chips, and 500 grams, roughly  a quarter of a gallon, of gelato.

Giant bag of potato chips

I picked a seat among others waiting for the train and started eating my chips, wine and cherry swirl ice cream. I ate the entire thing in about 20 minutes. When I was almost done I really realized that it was a terrible idea for me to eat the entire thing. Once I finished it I swore off buying 500g containers of ice cream… for a while.

Before I got on the train, I made sure to brush my teeth in the bathroom and try to “freshen up” a bit. It is at this point in Italy that I realized that my Italian journey was going to be absolutely insane. I had no couch surfers for my stay in Italy except my last night. Most all of the Italians on couch surfing were male and had only requested to have female visitors, of the small percentage that I could stay with, many were either busy or on vacation themselves. Being cheap, I knew I wasn’t going to spring for a hostel or hotel or anything like that, so I tried to plan my journeys at night and far enough away that I could sleep on the train ride.

Over the next few days in Italy I had a very hectic schedule of taking a train from one town to another to another to connect to a train to get to someplace else. Most of the time I didn’t really know where I was, I had to take pictures of the town I was heading toward on the schedule sheets so I could remember. I found myself in all sorts of places over the next few days.

Venice, Italy

The train ride to Venice was lengthy and required me to make several stops along the way. I stopped in Bologna for the second night in a row. The train station was clean enough, but I didn’t know the town well enough to explore at 1:30am, so I stayed in the train station and slept on the floor. The first night I was a bit nervous about sleeping on the floor near other homeless people, but they seemed pretty well passed out. Keeping my guard up while I slept I got a few hours of necessary relaxation. At 3:18 am I boarded a train heading to Venice (Venezia).

I snatched a room all to myself. I was excited about being able to fold the seats down and sleep for the ride. But just as the train started to move, one other passenger came into my area. She was a nice girl about my age doing roughly the same thing I was doing. After a bit of nice conversation with her I slept quite soundly for an hour or so. I awoke to her telling me that the train was splitting in two sections, one section going to the main city Venice and another one going to the old city of Venice. Thanking her I jumped off and boarded another section of the train. Unfortunately I had to sit in a crowded room, but they were all nice people, and surprised that I was traveling with only one backpack and for so long. Everyone else had huge suit cases and several other bags.

Arriving in Venice at around 6:00am it was still dark. The streets were bare and quiet. I took advantage of the solitude and grabbed several shots of Venice in the morning light. I wandered along the narrow winding streets, surprised to find travelers like myself sleeping in random areas throughout the city. Some were sleeping on stairways; some were sleeping in the streets in groups. Seeing them gave me confidence about my new practice of sleeping in train stations and on trains.

Venice is confusing. The streets and passageways are set up in no logical manner. Venice was built on 117 islands with 150 canals and 400 bridges. The addresses are meaningless as well, so finding your way through logical street signs and such is nearly impossible. Fortunately there are giant, although confusing, signs pointing toward large squares and attractions.

I spent the majority of my morning confused and looking at a simple map of the area trying to figure out how to arrive at some of the prominent squares. I led myself in circles and even found myself walking down narrow side streets that dead ended at a canal with no way to get across.

Taking pictures along the way drained my battery and I was yet again in search of a stray outlet. I found several in the streets that were inoperable. I finally found a small café that was just opening. Two men were setting up chairs and tables outside for the morning visitors. I ducked inside and asked the older gentleman if he had an outlet. I mainly used motions and pointed to my charger; he took it from me and plugged it in. While it was charging I read my lonely planet guide on Venice several times as well as some of the other cities I would be going to. For his hospitality I decided to buy a chocolate filled croissant and a small macchiato just as a way of saying “thank you.”

Leaving recharged from the coffee I continued touring myself through the winding streets to several of the squares (piazzas) and other historic markers. I wound up in a fish market along the main canal, it was full of people yelling and selling fish. It took me a long time of getting lost and turned around to find the main piazza, the one all of the pictures are taken from. It was magnificent. The beautiful ornate buildings surrounding the plaza were impeccable. There were hundreds of pigeons in the center being fed various things by the tourists. Several Asian couples holding food up had pigeons perching themselves on their arms and shoulders. The gondolas are just cool as you think they are, small boats with men in Venice-specific hats roaming the canals. Occasionally you can hear one of them singing, but it was a rare site to see.

Several people had told me that Venice was dirty and it smelled bad. I did not smell anything, other than the salty sea water, which if you are not used to can smell a bit unpleasant, but all in all I thought Venice was not terribly filth ridden or smelly. However there were some areas that did have a large quantity of trash in them, but they were being swiftly taken care of my city workers with brooms.

Because I was alone and I walk fast, I was pretty much done with Venice by the afternoon. I took a nap on a bench that was facing the water and away from the tourist section. Hot and tired, I decided that I wanted to swim, but the water in and around Venice was a little too heavily used to be anything I would want to swim in. I got out my trusty Lonely Planet guide book and searched for a nearby coastal city that the train went to. I found a town called Trieste, on the border between Italy and Slovenia.

I headed back to the train station and jumped on board a train to Trieste.

Cinque Terre, Italy

Going from a cold and wet environment in the Alps to bright and sunny Mediterranean cities was just what I needed. The train ride from Zermatt to Cinque Terre gave me some time for sleep, but not nearly enough. I arrived very groggy and exhausted from my Swiss adventures. I didn’t really know what to do or where to go, so I just defaulted to the visitors center and started walking.

Cinque Terre is comprised of 5 towns, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Starting at Monterosso al Mare, I started hiking along the Italian Riviera. A gorgeous, yet strenuous trail that takes you to all five towns. Profuesely sweating I kept hiking up the trail, hoping that my views were worth the strenuous hike. Reaching a viewpoint for Vernazza, I was certain that my efforts had not been in vain. Continuing along the trail I came across a toll booth. The woman inside wanted five Euros for the use of the trail. I was astonished! I can understand the concept for paying to use a nicely maintained trail, but why have it nearly halfway between cities. Not having five Euros on me, she let me through but told me I couldn’t hike to the other cities without getting a pass. I assured her that I would get money out of the ATM and pay the next toll booth.

Arriving in Vernazza, exhausted and drenched with sweat from my hike, I walked around the city marveling at how different Italy was than Switzerland. The buildings were brightly colored and very close together. People had their clothes strung up in the narrow spaces between buildings, children ran around playing games, concrete steps snaked either up or down throughout the city. Flowers, flags, clothes, tourists, and umbrellas dominated the city streets, creating a vibrant energy that helped boost my own after being thoroughly drained in Zermatt.

I found an ATM machine, but unfortunately it wouldn’t work, I tried several others with no success. Guess I wouldn’t be hiking along the trail after all. I headed to the train station and realized that my Eurail pass granted me access to the trains connecting the cities, relieved that I was going to see them all, I hopped on board for one of the next cities.

I don’t remember which town it was I went to next, but I think it was the last one, Riomaggiore. I started exploring the town just like the first, it was very similar to the first and second towns, in that it was on the coast, had brightly colored buildings, and was full of life. Now that I was quite hot from baking in the sun and carrying my pack around all day as I explored the cities, I decided to go for a swim. Not having any place to change into my swimming suit, I decided that the street would do just fine. Taking my plastic bag that I had previously worn as pants in the Alps, I covered my waist and changed into my swimming suit. TA DA! Ready to swim I was.

Securing everything in my backpack, I walked barefoot along some jagged rocks along a small cliff where others were attempting to relax and sunbathe. I set down my bag, and being a little uneasy about leaving it among a crowd of people I timidly started off into the crystal clear water. Having grabbed my goggles I swam around under the water surprised at how many fish I saw. Hundreds of fish all shapes, sizes and colors swam around me and the rocks. Keeping an eye on my pack I swam around to some of the surrounding cliffs, climbed up and got my fill of cliff diving.

After my swim I grabbed my bag and headed out for the next town via train, Manarola. Arriving already in my swimming suit, I figured that I might as well swim there too. Walking down to the rocky area where others were sitting, I once again nestled my backpack and dove in the water. Beginning to trust the international public a bit more I felt a little more comfortable about leaving my bag unwatched.

 

The area where I was now swimming had a lot more people and was one of my most favorites. I swam around big rock formations and jumped off a few of them. I eyed a guy in orange shorts jumping off the highest rock on the site. Battling my inner self whether or not to climb the rock and leap off, after much deliberation I climbed the rock and plunged into the water below. Feeling free and relieved I swam to shore, and grabbed my bag.

 

I decided to jump off the top of this rock... good times

 

This time before going to the next town I decided to try an ATM nearby and was thrilled to once again have a few Euros. I found a reasonably priced restaurant near the water and was greeted by a friendly Italian family who no doubt ran the establishment. Once I choose a seat, the host sat me and my backpack at a table. (Yes, I had lunch with my backpack). Since I was near the sea, I decided it only be fitting to order something from the sea. I settled on Linguini with Clams. This was my first Italian meal and it was fantastic!

Next I headed for the middle town of Corniglia. When I got off the train I did not see the town. It took me a minute to realize that it was much higher than the train stop. I joined the other tourists in climbing the 382 steps up to the town. Exploring the town for a while I stated to take pictures, but before I knew it my battery was dead. I began looking around the town for a plug in. I went into small coffee shops and Gelato shops to find a plug in. I came to what was the opening of an apartment complex, I finally found an outlet hanging from the ceiling just inside the doorway. I snuck up to the building and secured my charger with its adapter to the mysterious hanging outlet. Waiting nearby I found a faucet that some people were filling their water bottles at, I joined them and drank from this water. Assuming that it was treated I hoped for the best. I hung around the area a little while longer to give my batter a chance to charge before I jetted off and out of the town, back down the 382 steps. At this point I had already swam in two of the five towns and decided that I would swim in all five of them before leaving Cinque Terre.

I didn’t really see a nice swimming area like the other places had, but I did find a rock beach that was hard to walk on. The walk to get to it was quite far and arduous. Once reaching the area, I set my bag down, ripped off my shirt and walked into the water. Swimming around for several minutes, I got out of the water, shook off like a dog and headed back  up the metal stairs toward the train station.

Getting to Vernazza, where I had already been before, I knew I still needed to swim. I walked down to the water set my bag down, and jumped off the end of a dock. I swam around to another big rock that I felt the need to climb and jump off, just like the others. Successfully cliff diving in three of the five towns thus far I felt accomplished. Grabbing my bag I headed back up to the train station.

 

Throughout my day wandering around Cinque Terre I had spotted an older man who was sickly skinny carrying a newspaper and had a cigar in his mouth. He was at this train station walking around with a deranged look on his face. I could tell he was certainly not well. He began shouting something in gibberish Italian at one of the people waiting for the train, then he walked over to me and started talking to me in his gibberish Italian. I just kept a straight face and he eventually walked away from me to yell at a few other people. One of the other people waiting for the train looked over at me and we exchanged a look of “yeah, that guy surely is crazy.”

I was happy when the train arrived, it meant that I only had one more town left to swim in. Unfortunately this time I got on the train, but it was going the wrong way. It took me to Corniglia. Jumping off at Corniglia, I waited for the proper train which took me back down to Monterosso al Mare.

The daylight was beginning to dwindle, I found my spot along the beach and dove into my final swimming spot of the day. Happy that I swam in all five towns I got my train information to Venice. While I was waiting for the train I decided to grab a quick bite to eat. I found an area that sold sandwiches, and I just picked one of the cheaper ones off the menu. I didn’t really care what it was, I figured whatever it was had to be edible right?

I get a nice ciabatta bread sandwich and hungry from all of my swimming and traveling of the day I bite into the sandwich. It was then and there I realized that I had ordered something, rather fishy. I looked down and saw what I had bit into, a lushious tomato and a very salty fish. The overpowering salty fish took me by surprise. One typically needs to prepare themselves before indulging in a salty fishy tasting fish with the scales on it. The sandwich wasn’t that bad actually, just not what I was in the mood for.

Heading to the train station I utilized their bathroom. I washed my hair, brushed my teeth, cleaned my feet, washed my face, changed my clothes and just got myself as freshened up as I could before my journey to Venice.

 

Zermatt, Switzerland

 

Waking up a much later than I had wanted in Bern put me en route to Zermatt much later than I originally had anticipated. The train ride to Zermatt was stunning. I had to transfer trains several times, the routes took me high in the Alps and through the beautiful mountain passes, over ravines and gullies, over streams and alongside waterfalls. The expression on my face was that of a little kid in a candy store. I was overly excited to be in such a beautiful place, and knowing I was going to hike in the area made me even more elated. The closer I got to Zermatt I noticed that the concentration of outdoor enthusiasts on the train increased. Seeing people with backpacks, hiking poles and boots I knew I was in the right place.

 

Small electric taxi's take people from place to place in Zermatt, Autos are prohibited

The Gondola I refused to take

 

At 11:30 when I arrived in Zermatt I hit the ground running. I had plans to hike up to the Matterhorn and by golly I was going to stick to them. I briskly walked over to the visitors center to grab a map and some information about accessing the trails. Armed with my map and determination to stick to my plans I walked through Zermatt very fast heading toward the Matterhorn. The town of Zermatt is very quaint and cute with little skiing and sporting goods shops everywhere. If I was a rich tourist I would certainly come back to Zermatt for a few weeks and indulge in all their town has to offer.

Hiking at a fast pace up the hill I passed several other hikers with smiles on their faces just like me. I reached a small town up on the hill, Old Zermatt, even cuter and smaller than actual Zermatt. Continuing on I noticed that the number of hikers dwindled substantially. I like very few others decided to actually walk up the mountain rather than take the 45 Euro cable car up. Past the small town is where I really noticed my climb to begin. The air was cool and crisp as I headed up the mountain. The further I got the more I noticed the weight of my pack. Being as how I had everything with me for my “round the world journey” plus extra food and water it was certainly noticeable on my back. Drenched in sweat I continued on the path through the beautiful lush forest up into the sky.

 

Prior to my trek up the mountain I had noticed a cloud covering the tops of the mountains and the hillsides obstructing my view of the Matterhorn and anything up passed a few hundred feet from Zermatt. Now that I was several hundred feet above the town I too was engulfed by the looming cloud. A fine mist permeated the already cool and damp air. Completely drenched with sweat my core temperature began to cool as I ascended. Pushing myself to keep warm I hiked faster and faster, making amazing time up the increasingly steep mountain.

Exhausted I climbed out of the timberline and into the high elevation meadows. I grabbed my plastic poncho just before it started to rain. I ran into two other hikers roughly my age from San Francisco who had prepared even less than I had for their excursion and headed down the mountain when their cotton sweatshirts were nearly soaked. Discouraged that my new hiking buddies had quickly abandoned me I wearily kept storming up the mountain, not letting it or the weather persuade me to turn around. Arriving at one of the gondola’s stops, Schwarzsee Paradise, I found a small restaurant and hotel to get shelter and warmth at for a little while.

Once inside I headed for the bathroom where I used more than my share of the hot air hand dryer then I took off my wet poncho and studied the map carefully. Knowing that I had quite a ways to go I engineered myself a new clothing “system” for the remainder of my hike. I changed into my warmest and driest clothes that I had, layering of course. Next I grabbed one of my huge black plastic trash bags and cut two leg holes in it, I secured the trash bag on me like pants and tucked everything in to ensure maximum waterproofing. Next I put on my jacket and made sure it was nice and tight, next my backpack, and finally my plastic 97 cent poncho. Making sure everything was tucked in and secured I grabbed a quick bite of my Swiss chocolate bar for some energy. Looking at myself in the mirror I realized I looked pretty silly, for one I was covered in plastic, and secondly I was dumb enough to go outside and hike up the mountain in a storm. Luckily I found a back door out of the place and took it so that no one would see me.

 

Me in plastic in a Swiss bathroom

 

Thankful that my clothing efforts had not been in vain I kept hiking up the mountain. I was a little weary of going through a section of mountain sheep. Some found me quite curious, and a black one even chased after me a bit. Continuing to climb, the mountain became much more rocky and steep. A few minutes after seeing the sheep I realized that all of the people I had seen were heading down the mountain, and away from the storm. And all of those people were wearing expensive Gore-Tex hiking gear. They all had poles and everything one would need for hiking this terrain in this weather. I figured, oh well, I’m already this far, why turn back now.

The fog and haze of the cloud really began to engulf everything around me. The trail had progressively diminished from a dug out dirt path in a grassy area, to a well defined rocky trail, to eventually a barren wasteland of slippery rocks on a mountain ridge with orange and white markers. Hikers (in good conditions) are supposed to be able to see these markings painted on rocks, white orange white, and look to the next set of markings from the one they are currently at and continue hiking that way. However, in a storm it is nearly impossible to see from one set of markings to another. It wasn’t until I got into an area where I could see no more than 5 feet in front of me, did I actually worry. I got through my first set of markers okay and just had to stop. Getting turned around quickly I just decided to walk in the direction I felt was the right way, having gotten lucky I tried again on the next one. Several times over the course of this I had to backtrack and try another route to try to find the marked stones. The distance I covered would have normally taken me roughly 10 minutes, but instead it took almost 45.

 

Reaching a metal bridge I met one lone hiker who was just as lost as I was. He had come up from the gondola near where I wanted to get to and I was coming from where he wanted to go, so our exchange of information was quite beneficial. After exchanging pleasantries we went out on our ways. His leading him back to town and likely to a warm bed, and mine, leading me further up into the mountains in a wet, windy, rocky, snowy, barren environment where I was planning to spend the night.

 

The cloud cover began to clear a bit, and I was able to see the trail markers a bit more clearly. I heard a giant rock slide toward the direction I was heading, which made me all the more comfortable with the journey and my plans to stay up on the mountain at over 8,000 feet.

 

The area I had to choose a place to sleep

 

 

Finally reaching the general area I would call home for a night, I had to pick a spot that would keep me as dry and as warm as possible, while at the same time keeping me sheltered from any falling rocks and debris. The area I had to choose from was several hundred acres of open space filled with rocks, snow, lakes, ice, and snow, not to mention the cliffs on the side of the expanse. So, I began wandering around the open area in search of the perfect spot to rest my head, jumping over creeks and trying not to fall down the loose gravely surface I picked up a few stray pieces of wood, that had somehow gotten there and carried them with me while I searched. Finally I came to a large boulder that would protect me from the wind from at least one direction. I began to dig up larger rocks around the area and make a small perimeter around where I would be sleeping, giving myself some shelter from the wind. I found several small alpine plants that I used to pad the area where my head and shoulders would be resting. I did not want to be lying on either the cold mud, nor the sharp rocks during the course of the night. As for the few sticks I found, I took a bit of rope I had been carrying around with me the entire trip for the “just in case” factor and fashioned a “roof” over my head. Once my terrible rocky and cold structure was completed I headed out to brush my teeth and fill up my bladder bag.  Returning I unrolled my bivy sack and inserted an emergency blanket to try to keep some of my warmth through the night.

 

My dentist would be proud, Im trying to not die, and what do I do? I brush my teeth.

 

I used my rope, "What are we gonna need the rope for?"

This is what the inside of a bad idea looks like

 

 

 

Crawling into the non insulated bag I realized that this was a terrible idea. The ground was uneven, uncomfortable and frozen. The wind was relentless during the night. I didn’t really sleep. I just froze. It was by far the coldest night I had ever experienced. Once the sun went down the already cold temperatures began to drop even faster. I tried to get sleep but unfortunately I was so cold that my shivering kept me awake. I put on as many of my clothes that I could that were dry, to try to increase my temperature. This helped only slightly. I was afraid of my phone freezing and breaking, so I kept it close to my body. Aside from shivering all night I decided to get up out of my bag and do jumping jacks to try to get my blood flowing and warm up a bit. This helped for about two minutes and I was back to shivering again. Finally I grabbed another one of my emergency blankets and threw it in my bivy sack with me. I was able to fall asleep for roughly twenty minutes before I woke up freezing and soaked. The two emergency blankets had insulated me so well that I began to sweat so much that I had condensation forming on the inside of my bag and on the emergency blankets. When the freezing air reached it from the outside it froze and I was basically in a small personal freezer on a cold mountain. Waking up to the ice and water I jumped up and did my jumping jacks and shook out my iced over bag before trying to sleep again. The whole process probably took 35 minutes, for me to get to sleep, be asleep for 20 minutes, get up and do jumping jacks and try to get myself back in my bag. I did this the entire course of the night. It was an incredibly long night. For some hours I would basically just sit up and stare at the clouds wishing for the warming rays of the sun. Throughout the night I did get to see the cloud cover drift away from the top of the Matterhorn. Slowly but surely it began to reveal its strikingly beautiful presence.

 

First picture I took when it was light enough. Its not in focus because my hand was shaking too much from all the shivering I was doing.

 

Trying really hard to smile here

 

 

 

Before the sun rose, I had determined that it was basically morning for me. I wasn’t going to kid myself any longer, I would not be able to sleep any longer because of the cold. So I got up and started walking around trying to get some feeling back in my toes. I was sure I had gotten frostbite on my big toes, I couldn’t feel them at all when I walked for the next few months. I examined my bladder bag I had filled the night before to find that the hose on it had froze and cracked, rendering it leaky thus ending its useful life.

 

Town of Zermatt covered in Clouds

 

I walked up to a rock where I perched myself with my camera taking pictures of the surrounding mountain peaks and the cloud cover that was blanketing the entire town of Zermatt. I was high above the entire town while they were trapped in a soup bowl of fluff. Slowly but surely the sun started to light just the tips of the peaks. Taking advantage of the amazing photographic opportunity I snapped as many pictures as my frozen hands could manage. Waiting patiently for the sun to illuminate the Matterhorn I was poised and ready to capture shots that those even in Zermatt wouldn’t be able to see. Seeing the glorious Alps in all of their majesty made enduring the bitter cold worth it just to see some of the sights I was fortunate enough to have.

I was relieved when I was finally drenched in sunlight atop my perch on the rock. I took full advantage of it while I had it. Once I was able to move my digits again I began to clear my camp. Working slowly I dismantled everything and readied myself for another intense day. Today’s challenge called for hiking another few thousand feet or so along a steep ridge to the actual Matterhorn.

After having my Swiss chocolate for breakfast I headed up the steep trail which took me along a metal grate-way bolted into the side of the cliff. The grates were coming apart in some places, so it was wise to be mindful of the loose panels, for the drop was not to be taken lightly. Once off the grate I and many other hikers who seemed to appear out of the woodwork (who I am sure came up the gondola like a sane human being), headed up the ever steepening grade toward the Matterhorn. Some were armed with climbing gear, some with small backpacks and some with just a bottle of water. I had all my stuff I needed for three months.

As the trail went higher the presence of ropes along the trail increased. With ropes also came steep drop offs to both the right and the left. At the top there was a rather large hotel, and restaurant that many climbers use as a base before attempting to summit the jagged peak. My goal was not to climb the monstrous mountain, but merely to get as far as I could without climbing gear, and touch the mountain. Which I am proud to say that I was able to do.

 

It the abyss...

(My beard is all messed up)

 

3260 meters = 10,695 feet

 

 

 

After touching the mountain I found myself a nice rock and had lunch, once again basking in the glorious view of the Matterhorn. After relaxing for a while I determined that I should head back down the mountain, all the way back down to Zermatt to catch a train out of Switzerland. Hustling down the steep slopes I decided to take an alternate way down, that afforded me another view of the Matterhorn, just as spectacular.

(YAY! I touched it!)

 

The sun was out and at its full intensity and I spotted a gigantic flat rock just off the trail that was calling my name. I climbed up and laid down on the flat stone staring at the snow blowing off the Matterhorn. I caught some necessary sleep on the rock. About an hour or so later I put my socks and shoes back on and headed down once more. Walking through beautiful green pastures I noticed a gigantic waterfall along the hillside in the distance. I started to see and hear sheep along the grassy hills. Then I heard cows, I noticed the sound kept getting closer and closer. Then I saw an entire heard of cattle right in the middle of my path, holy cow! (No pun intended). They were all wearing bells, I couldn’t believe it! I had never actually seen a cow wearing a bell, other than in cartoons. But these cows had nice pointy horns and they were all eyeing me with curiosity as I walked right in the middle of their grazing territory. I was a bit nervous about walking through a field full of cows with horns. I figured they wouldn’t hurt me, but some of them were right on the trail, and I certainly didn’t want to get in a fight with any of them over whose trail it was and whose it wasn’t. Taking a video of the cows the entire way through, I was relieved to be out of their territory. I kept heading down the hills toward Zermatt and once into town I had to stand to the side as several small children were leading a rather large number of goats through town. Again these goats were all wearing bells and the sound was intense but the sight was just too unique, for someone like me. I spotted a McDonald’s and convinced them to fill up my water bottle for free, feeling a little bad I bought a small sandwich and enjoyed the small hot meal I had bestowed upon myself. I kept walking and smiling toward the train station and I grabbed my ticket for the last train out of Zermatt just moments before it left.

 

Doesnt that rock just say "Take a nap on me"

 

I bought Swiss Cheese and Chocolate

And oh were they good!

 

 

Feeling accomplished I felt I could finally rest for a little while I rode the train into Italy.

Bern, Switzerland

Arriving in Bern Switzerland I met up with my couchsurfers’ (from Zurich) cousins’ friend named Beat. A nice young man with good knowledge of the city. We waited at the train station during a downpour for our bus back to his apartment. We chatted for a bit and I was fortunate enough to write a bit on my blog. Once the rains subsided enough he took me for a tour of Bern. A beautiful city with a lot of history and gorgeous buildings. There were several funny statues around, including a pair of legs and a fountain with an ogre eating children.

While waiting in the Train Station I took a picture of their “Royal with Cheese”. Right after I took the picture a polite French speaking McDonald’s employee yelled at me.

One of my favorite signs

There were many great viewpoints along the way to the “Bear Gardens” an area where bears are kept for public display. Fortunately their original concrete prison was being renovated to be a much more pleasant living environment closer to the river. We stopped in at the resturant for a drink and headed home. Luckiliy for me he really enjoys cooking, and I was fortunate enough to eat another fantastic meal.

In the morning I headed for Zermatt, gateway to the Matterhorn.

Sedrun, Switzerland

Something great about Switzerland is that everyone wears hiking boots.

The train ride to Sedrun was breathtaking. The train traveled along cliffs high in the Alps giving all the passengers spectacular views of rivers, valleys, mountains and birds’ eye views of some of the towns along the way. I was absolutely mesmerized by the sheer beauty surrounding me. My couch surfers from Zurich had invited me to stay with them at their parents’ cabin in Sedrun. When they showed me to the room I would be staying in, I could not believe the view from my window. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. Shuttered windows, perfect drapes and wooded framed windows opening up to a gorgeous view of the Alps brought a vast smile to my face. I had arrived just in time for dinner. Christine made some excellent pasta before we headed out to join in the festivities of National Day.

How cute is this…

We found our way to the center of town where it seemed like everyone was gathered to celebrate. The area was decorated with Swiss flags, and the state flags. In addition there was a band playing traditional music and they were serving sausage and beer. We jumped right in and got ourselves some of the local brew, and brats. The music was strange but I enjoyed listening to it and being a part of another countries national day.

Children are given Swiss flag – paper lanterns with a candle inside. Once they were lit, they started walking down through the town to a giant bonfire with us in tow. While standing near the bonfire it was really cool seeing the hillside with a scattering of lanterns from all of the children. After the sun went down fireworks began from all areas. Also, bonfires started to appear everywhere. You could see bonfires on all of the surrounding hills, and on some occasion’s fireworks accompanying them. It was a fantastic night.

We headed back and went to sleep rather early. In the morning after breakfast I headed out to catch a train back to Zurich. Along the way the train stopped in Disentis for a bit. I decided to get out and do some exploring even though it was starting to rain. I began walking around the very small town and admiring the quaint buildings and churches. I started walking around the outskirts of a church to find one of my friends’ last names, Loretz. I was surprised to find it several times. By this time the rain has started to become a downpour and I was totally soaked. My coat kept me fairly dry, but my shoes were seriously soaked, and I was pretty cold. I headed for a nearby monastery to get out of the rain for a while before heading back to the train station.

I enjoyed my ride back through the Alps to Zurich where I caught a connecting train to Bern.