Thunder awakened us on Thursday morning, June 21, 2007, the Summer Solstice, from our comfortable beds at the Hotel Butterfly in Zermatt. After breakfast we boarded the Gornergratbahm at 11:36AM to travel to the highest hotel in Europe, Kulmhotel Gornergat. Gornergrat, above Zermatt, is Switzerland's highest open-air train station. The Gornergrat Bahn electric railway opened for business in 1898, taking tourists from Zermatt to a scenic overlook 9.4 km (5.9 miles) away. Situated at 3100 meters above sea level amidst 29 glorious peaks, most of them covered with snow 24/7, year-round, the hotel has 23 modern-furnished rooms with a Matterhorn view on the west, our choice, and a Monte Rosa view on the south side. Actually, from our room we saw the Matterhorn, a Swiss view. Leaving the room’s front door, we saw Monte Rosa, an Italian view!

That Soltice morning in Zermatt we were in torrents of rain and, wow, there’s nothing like a Swiss rainfall to chill you. As we ascended the mountains, we sailed through the clouds, then rose above the mist and saw the tops of those clouds. At 12:15PM , we reached our destination and die sonne scheinte!…not a cloud in the sky, and 5 degrees Celsius. Little did I know that this capricious weather would be a foreshadowing of the night to come.

We were greeted at the Kulmhotel by Ruth, a smiling, friendly receptionist, a native of Appenzell, Switzerland, and after only a 20 minute wait, filled with moments of peak-gazing and sipping on Switzerland’s famous ovalmaltine, Ruth escorted us to our room on the top, 3rd, floor. The fragrance of the knotty pine in the hallway and our room was so refreshing. Our beds, chairs, table, and desk were knotty pine. In front of our beds was a flat-screen TV which seemed so futuristic in this classically natural, woody, ambience. Outside our double window, larger than life, was her majesty, the Matterhorn. Each room is named after a mountain and the number indicates the elevation of each mountain. Ours was Rimpfischorn 4199. We lingered in the room for awhile, knowing that the daytime tourists who roamed the hotel environs and visible walking paths, clicking away on their assorted types of cameras, would soon be on their way.

From the distance, the path we selected for our hike looked like a section of the Great Wall of China. At 3:30 PM we hiked to a small mountain where previous hikers had created “dolmens“. There were approximately 40 “mini-dolmens”. I use the term dolmens with poetic license because by definition a Dolmen consists of three or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal stone and usually it’s on top of a tomb. However, these appeared to be megalithic dolmens of praise adoring the natural attraction of this incredible communion of landscape and sky. On our return path to the Kulmhotel, we interacted with an ibex. Cautiously keeping about a 20 foot distance, she followed us back to the hotel. Weren’t we surprised to find that she was staying at the hotel. Her “room“, an outdoor portion of land, located near the hotel’s large patio, was a series of tiny plateaus and peaks that she shared with her entire family of 12. They reminded me of an extended family relaxing after a holiday meal. We exchanged glances for about 10 minutes and I could not help but think of Blake’s “Little Lamb” companion poem which depicts the mild, tender, gentleness of lambs. To us, they were sweet like lambs. I just wanted to climb out on a ledge and join them. They were so beautiful and seemed to look deeply into your eyes to exchange glances. I can understand why Thoreau observed the ants at Walden Pond. I think we can learn so much from watching animals. In this case, I just felt complete inner peace participating in their presence. The natural and arranged, flowers, trees, peaks, waterfalls, clean air, benevolent people who speak several languages and the fauna, have been a catalyst for my return to Switzerland since 1986.

Time for dinner. When you stay at Kulmhotel, you eat at Kulmhotel. All the way up, alone in the sky, there are no other options. It did not matter because the dining room was grand and featured large windows. While we ate and sipped on our rot wein und weissbier and watched the ever changing appearance of the glaciers, peaks, and sky. The hotel had a fantastic salad bar which included pate, lettuce, vegetables and a variety of fresh bread and local cheese. We had two choices for a main course, dessert and tea/coffee, This dinner was included like the breakfast in what is called “half-board” The entire price per night was 260CHF which, translated to our dollar currency, was about $215

As the sun approached the horizon, we departed for the bedroom, das zimmer, and commenced an intermittent night-long vigil. The regal pyramid-like structure, the Matterhorn, continually changed color and shape as a result of the sun’s gradual departure and the cloud movement. Leaning over our windowsill like kids watching a parade, we felt like we could just grab the Matterhorn with a stretch of the arm. Suddenly, the sun vanished and light orange glimmered on the horizon followed by extremely chilly and voracious winds which blew the clouds over the Matterhorn, like a blanket covering a sleeping child. She was gone from our sight. In a few minutes, clouds rolled in like ocean waves and covered everything from our sight. An hour later, we looked out the window and the clouds vanished! A million stars came out to watch the Matterhorn at rest. We could see her, also. She was a vision of ultimate splendor. We braved the cold, [remember nancy & valerie are Floridians], just to enjoy this incredible picture. With midnight approaching and a day of outdoor activity, slumber was a must. I awakened at 2AM to discover that the clouds returned, but this time they were layered. Then, an hour later, I was drawn to the window, our portal of mystical nature, and the clouds disintegrated again! The stars seemed to have doubled in luminous strength. Finally, I returned to bed and awakened at 7AM, just out of curiosity. She revealed herself , again in total splendor. I turned around and said,”Nancy, this is such a great way to greet the day!” and as I said that, we heard a sound like rice hitting the pavement thrown en masse at a wedding. It even looked like rice. SNOW

We left the next morning with an experience of nature which will be performed in our memories forever. If you want to read more about Gornergrat consult Paul Guitar's book SWITZERLAND: WESTERN & SOUTHERN. I highly recommend one or two summer nights at the Kulmhotel, Gornergrat, Switzerland. In the winter, it’s not unusual for people to spend a week there because of skiing. But, if you like hiking, walking, beautiful animals, peace, a night time performance of ever-changing weather, a wonderful hotel staff, adding up to a supreme experience, take the Gornergratbahm from Zermatt, a heavenly village, and experience this island of paradise high in the sky.