During our trip with the TourMagination tour group to Europe, I had a day where I was the scribe. This is that entry.
Already it is August 25th. Many of us have spent time wishing away days and weeks in anticipation for this trip, and now only a few days remain. Today we left Brig to go to Zermatt, where we were going to visit the mountain range including the famed Matterhorn. Last night we joked that Dennis Diller, out of childlike delight for our destination, would be awake several hours earlier than the already grim 5:30am wake up call. As expected, Dennis was eager to get on the tracks to Zermatt for a day of hiking and experiencing the land without the confines of a bus or train window. On a related note, Marta Frey was proudly sporting her hiking shoes.
After packing up our bags to have them shipped separately to Lauterbrunnen we walked to the station to catch our train. We only had to switch to a different train once, and then we were officially on our way. We could not have asked for a better morning to be traveling through the Swiss countryside. The windows in the train cars went down almost the entire way, and most of my time was spent with my head out of the window, taking pictures and enjoying the brisk air rushing by.
Upon arriving at the train station in Zermatt, we made the most important stop of the day; the WC. Men walked in and out in steady rhythm, as women stood in something called a “line,” but I know nothing about that. While in the men’s restroom, a person who lacked patience, as well as a Y chromosome, was seen quickly exiting the stall. After she left, we all turned to each other, confused, and had a good laugh. One anonymous woman in our own group, who was still in the back of the line, commented on this situation by saying that she may also soon take that route.
The day was largely a free day. We could go shopping, hiking, biking, paragliding, and eating to our heart’s desire and our wallet’s capacity. Many of us chose to see the Matterhorn first. .” When asked how to get to the top, Wilson Hershey responded, “A cable car of some sort, I can’t remember, my brain is too old.” Evidently, his memory is doing just fine, because we did have to take a cable car. Dennis, along with Jeremy Denlinger, were off to the base of the mountain on foot.
In order to get the best picture, as on the train, I stuck my head out of the cable car window. One thing I noticed was how incredibly quiet it was. There were no busy streets or noisy cars. No dogs barking, or children crying. The only sound was that of a calm wind that blew across the mountain. It’s moments like those that strike me the most. I took this rare opportunity of solitude to reflect on what heaven might be like. As revealed in scripture, God Himself has many traits that are present without contradiction. Likewise, perhaps heaven, while certainly containing shouts of jubilation, may also have areas of awe-inspiring silence like this mountainside.
After a half an hour, two cable cars, and an elevator, we were at an elevation of 12,200 feet. At the first level of the mountain, we were surprised to find a Bible verse engraved on a plaque. The plaque read “Great are the works of the Lord: Who is like God- Creator Lord! In awe we worship you, great and mighty eternal one, who created the heavens and gave the Earth it’s form, almighty and omnipotent God.” Scripture also tells us in Luke 19:40 that if we keep quiet about our faith, even the stones will cry out. It was certainly true that the creation we saw today pointed to a Creator. From the ground, the snow-capped mountains towered above us, tearing the blue skies with shades of gray and brown. In stark contrast, we now stood high above the town below. Even though we all have skill sets, and may be called experts in our various spheres of life, we were all equally humbled by the immensity of our precarious location. To quote Psalm 8:4, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” No camera or lens could do justice to the jags of the rocks, the depth of the valleys, the heights of the peaks, or the colors and contrasts of light. Indeed, even these words have fallen grievously short. There were many incredibly professional cameras at the top, held by equally professional photographers I am sure. But each picture they took was only a crude rendering of the actual mountain and the glory manifested throughout the surrounding creation.
We climbed several steps of stairs to get to the final level of the viewing area. Here, rather remarkably, there was a large crucifix with Jesus nailed to a cross. The position of the cross was in the foreground of the scenery, as if to remind us of the supremacy of Christ found in Colossians 1:16-17: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
An elevator ride away was the Glacier Palace where there was a long tunnel carved into the ice. There were ice sculptures inside of cars, couches, and people. There were also flowers entombed inside of large pieces of ice, backlit by strands of blue lights. While it was very fun, it was also very cold, and we left around ten minutes later. Noon had passed, and we still had several cable cars left to get to the bottom in order to find food. On the ride down, we noticed a single dark gray cloud had enveloped the Matterhorn. While our visit to Zermatt had been on a perfectly clear day, clouds often shroud the mountain from the view of tourists; our timing had been miraculous, as our view was blocked only minutes later.
One thing I took notice to in Zermatt were the outrageous prices for food. Even McDonald’s, which conveniently lacked the European equal of our Dollar menu, had a meal for eleven Franc’s. A plain cheese burger was 2.50CHF. After the rest of our group went shopping, and I had my fill of window shopping, we all met at our train station at 3:20pm. A day of rest and relaxation was brought to an end.
Or so we thought. But no good story goes without adversity. Dennis Diller, and hiking associate Jeremy Denlinger, were still nowhere to be found. We all boarded our train, while Matt and Kristina Eby stayed behind incase Dennis or Jeremy were to show up late to the platform. Another technique that showcases a good story is a plot twist. After leaving from Zermatt, our train did not reach our stop in Visp in time. Upon arriving in Visp, we had to quickly find the track and time of departure of our next train without losing anyone else in our group. We were already down four members. Each subsequent connecting train lasted for about thirty minutes. When it was our time to switch trains, we flocked after our new leader Greg Myers like a mass of lost sheep to their shepherd.
We arrived in Lauterbrunnen only half an hour behind our original schedule and met Wilson to get us to our hotels for the evening. About a half an hour after our arrival, all four of our late companions showed up. Jeremy and Dennis were both sunburned and burned out. From my sources, Jeremy and Dennis had only three bottles of water, two granola bars, and no sunscreen at the base of the Matterhorn. They asked three consecutive people in half an hour increments “How long will it take to get to the bottom from here?” All three of them responded “About an hour.” By the third person, they knew that they would never make it back on time. They saw a person who had a pick-up truck and asked him if they could have a ride down to Zermatt. His response before speeding off was “No thank you!” After finally getting off of the mountain, they guzzled a liter of Coka-Cola, and touched Kristina Eby’s shoulder to make sure she was real. Then they had to ride on a train car full of twelve-year-old children who were drinking energy drinks.
Needless to say, after a day like today, we will never let Dennis Diller or Jeremy Denlinger out of our sights ever again. Though I bet they could use some time away from each other.
