Zermatt Switzerland – Under the Shadow of the Matterhorn
6/29/2013 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Joseph captures Switzerland’s natural majesty at the foot of the Matterhorn.
Joseph heads to Zermatt to capture Switzerland’s natural majesty at the foot of the country’s most iconic mountain – the Matterhorn. He hikes, climbs, rides and skis along an alpine landscape. His travels allow him to join in the yearly Folk Festival with a parade through car-free Zermatt with 50 different folklore groups, as well as performances by more than 1,200 dancers, yodelers and musicians.
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Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope is presented by your local public television station.
Distributed nationally by American Public Television
Zermatt Switzerland – Under the Shadow of the Matterhorn
6/29/2013 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Joseph heads to Zermatt to capture Switzerland’s natural majesty at the foot of the country’s most iconic mountain – the Matterhorn. He hikes, climbs, rides and skis along an alpine landscape. His travels allow him to join in the yearly Folk Festival with a parade through car-free Zermatt with 50 different folklore groups, as well as performances by more than 1,200 dancers, yodelers and musicians.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship>> Welcome to "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope"... >> Ha ha ha!
>> where you join us as we accept the world's invitation to visit.
>> Today on "Travelscope," I climb into the Alps to Zermatt, Switzerland, for a celebration of mountain life, Alpine culture, and the majesty of nature.
>> Joseph Rosendo's "Travelscope" is made possible by... San Antonio, Texas, where you'll find art, culture, romance, authentic Tex-Mex, 50-plus golf courses, and hundreds of attractions.
San Antonio--deep in the heart.
And No-Jet-Lag, jet lag prevention.
>> At the heart of Europe, Switzerland epitomizes Alpine beauty and adventure, and no place says Switzerland more than Zermatt.
As your train climbs through the stunning Mattertal Valley towards the car-free mountain village, your anticipation rises with the countryside.
You're about to meet mountain royalty, and once in Zermatt, the first thing you wish to do is pay homage to her majesty.
Standing here at the Sunnegga overlook under the influence of the almost 15,000-foot Matterhorn, it's hard to believe there was a time when the Matterhorn wasn't an attraction.
In fact, the subsistence farmers and shepherds who lived here either tried to ignore the mountain or were afraid of it.
In the 19th Century, the mountain was discovered by the rest of the world, and these days, more than two million visitors a year come here to Zermatt just for the privilege of gazing upon it.
There are 38 peaks in the Zermatt region over 4,000 meters--that's more than 12,000 feet--and more than 400 kilometers of hiking trails, about 240 miles.
Now not all those trails lead up into mountains and require that you're an expert hiker or backpacker.
Many of them are leisurely hikes on level trails, well-maintained, clearly marked, and invariably all lead to a cozy, comfortable rest stop.
Amade Perrig is a Zermatt icon.
How long has your family been living in these mountains?
>> Well, as far as we know, it goes back to the 12th Century.
In the 15th Century, we even owned a part of the Matterhorn.
>> That was a good idea.
>> Yeah, that was sure great, but later on, they sold it.
>> I was telling my viewers that when you take a hike here invariably you end up at a cozy, comfortable rest stop.
This is a little bit more than a rest stop.
This is incredibly stunning here.
>> We are here in a hamlet called Findel in the beautiful restaurant Chez Vrony, and in the old days, the people used to live here in the summertime with the cattle, with the cows and the sheep and the goats up here, and in the winter, then they went back down to Zermatt.
We have an enormous hiking/ski area, over 80 restaurants and many in old houses like this one.
>> And serving regional, local cuisine.
>> Yes.
Merci, Vrony.
>> Look at this.
>> Have a good lunch.
>> Merci.
>> And here we got dry sausage, dry ham, the dry bacon, but naturally, we got also the cheese.
>> Of course.
>> Don't forget the cheese in Switzerland.
>> You got to have cheese.
>> Let's try this good food.
>> Amade, I know that in the early days the farmers and the shepherds who were here, they really didn't care too much about the mountains.
When did Zermatt actually become a tourist destination?
>> Well, actually tourism here in Zermatt started over 150 years ago but only in the summertime.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Then later on in 1928, the winter tourism started.
They wanted to enjoy the clean air and, as well, climbing the mountain.
>> This is really good Amade.
>> That is just the starters.
The raclette is still coming.
There is the raclette.
Look at that.
Great.
>> Careful.
>> This is beautiful.
>> It looks great.
>> Merci.
>> That is now the Swiss cheese, the real local specialties.
>> Now I've had this all over Switzerland.
Was it created here in Zermatt?
>> Ja.
It was created in our area, in the valley area.
That is typical where we got also wine and cheese, and everything together was created.
>> Well, I wouldn't want to come to Zermatt without sampling the traditional specialties.
>> Well, but I have some other custom and tradition to share with you.
>> Ah.
>> [Yodeling] >> Ha ha ha!
Well, here we are in the most iconic Alp scenery I've ever see, and perfect that you would be yodeling.
Why do the Swiss yodel?
>> Actually it's an expression of happiness.
>> Oh, really?
It's about communication?
>> Well, sure, a little bit, too, because in the old days naturally they didn't have the mobile phones, and from one valley into the other they were yodeling.
[Yodeling] [Yodels echo] >> I heard the echo.
Teach me how to yodel.
How do you yodel?
>> Well, it's not easy.
>> OK.
The yodeling voice, it's a different voice.
When you and me, when we're speaking, we're speaking out of our chest like normal.
>> OK. >> And yodeling is way in the back here on this bone.
[Yodeling] >> [Yodeling] >> Ja.
It's a little bit in there, but it has to be more in there.
>> [Yodeling] >> Ja.
A little bit like that.
>> [Yodeling] [Both yodeling] Ha ha ha!
>> Hey!
That sounds pretty good.
That's really good.
That's life in the mountain, huh?
>> That's Switzerland!
>> Exactly.
Ha ha ha!
>> Zermatt has been a tourist Mecca since the middle of the 19th Century, yet while life along the Bahnhofstrasse reflects its modern popularity, the community's ancient roots are still preserved in the Hinterdorf Quarter of town.
>> These buildings are all 400, 500, 600 years old.
That was actually the home, but also the cattle and the stable and everything very close together.
Look at that.
That's a very special, unique house here in Zermatt area.
>> Beautiful.
What was it used for?
>> Well, lower part, they put some sheep and cattle in there, but the more important part is the higher part there.
That's a storage house.
>> Why is it sitting on granite stones?
>> Because they put meat in there, sausage and bacon, to dry it out.
The stones kept the mice and the rats and all the bugs out.
They couldn't climb over the stones.
Everything was nicely protected.
>> And this granite stone is the same granite stones that we see on the roofs of the other buildings here in the old town.
>> Exactly.
>> And the granite is from the mountains.
Things changed in the hamlet of Zermatt with the construction of the first hotel, the Monte Rosa, in 1855 at the start of the golden age of Alpinism.
The age was dominated by British climbers, who scaled the great peaks of Switzerland for country and glory.
At the Matterhorn Museum, you can see relics from the time, including the ax of Edward Whymper, whose party was the first to summit the Matterhorn on July 14, 1865, and the rope that snapped during their descent, sending 4 of the men to their death.
"Every night, do you understand, I see my comrades of the Matterhorn slipping on their backs, their arms outstretched one after the other in perfect order at equal distances.
Yes, I shall always see them."
Edward Whymper.
The Matterhorn is considered one of the world's most treacherous peaks.
Since 1865, it's claimed hundreds of climbers from all over the world, and deaths continue to average about a dozen a year.
To those who challenge the mountains, the danger is constant and part of the allure.
Elisabeth, your husband was a mountain guide.
>> Yes.
>> How many years was he a mountain guide?
>> He was a mountain guide for 40 years.
>> 40 years.
What was it like being a wife of a mountain guide?
>> It's very special.
It's a dangerous job, you know?
You have to accept it from the first day.
Otherwise, you should not marry a mountain guide.
>> Did he ever express to you why he became a mountain guide?
>> Yes.
Because his father was a mountain guide, and his father took him to the Matterhorn when he was 12 years old.
>> So he climbed the Matterhorn at 12?
>> Yes, yes, yes.
>> Oh, my gosh!
>> Charly you could never see in the village because when he had a day off he went up into the mountains to discover some new parts from a mountain, you know.
>> I was noticing the gravesite.
It's lovely.
The decoration of the stone, why did you pick that decoration?
>> Well, he always told me "I want to have a stone with rope and a pick."
>> And the stone is the stone from the mountains he loved.
>> Yes, exactly.
>> Elisabeth, thank you so much.
We honor Charly for his service to all the visitors and the people who come here to enjoy this beautiful Alp.
>> It was a pleasure to inform you a little bit about Charly's life as a mountain guide.
>> While the Matterhorn was an irresistible tourist magnet, the Monte Rosa, Zermatt's first hotel, pampered guests with comfortable luxury.
Today there are many opportunities for visitors to enjoy Switzerland's famous hospitality, and in the festivals that take place throughout the year celebrate all things Swiss.
Kevin, the Swiss food festival, how did it come about?
>> It was really quite easy because Zermatt has one of the biggest densities of top-rated chefs, and then we thought, "Why not bring them together?"
>> Now this night is one of two events going on tonight at 5-star hotels with 9 chefs in each place, so the people who are coming here are participating by partaking of the food of the chefs?
>> Absolutely.
A lot of the guests know 1 or 2 chefs, but they never had the possibility to celebrate an evening with all 18 chefs around, preparing their dishes and giving them a taste.
>> But from these parties, then the Swiss Food Festival goes out into the streets.
>> We have some huts at the main street, we have producers of cheese, of wine, of dry meat, fresh pasta made out of Swiss grain, and they're already out there.
They're selling it, giving it to try for the people.
>> Oh, fabulous.
>> A part of education, what we do.
>> So this is the culinary side of Swissness, and then there's a folk festival coming in a few days, as well.
>> Absolutely.
>> So is this part of that?
>> I think we're joining in together because it has to do with a little bit of Swissness.
>> Swissness.
>> Yeah.
We want to show the people what we can do in here, and I think, you know, enough of talking.
I think you should be in, enjoy yourselves, indulge yourself with the chefs.
>> Merci.
I'm with Franz from the Findlerhof up in the mountains here in Zermatt, and what's your dish here for the festival?
>> We have pan-fried goose liver... >> Beautiful.
>> with some Calvados apples we marinated with mountain honey from the area.
>> This is something we've seen before, dried beef, and this is a prosciutto type of a ham but dried ham.
This is something they've been doing here in Zermatt since the 12th Century.
Mmm!
Tasty, very traditional, and local, which is what this Swiss food festival is about.
Ah.
Ragusa!
It's a chocolate, and it's actually my wife's favorite chocolate.
It has hazelnuts in it.
It's a Swiss natural.
Qu'est que c'est?
>> Cornalin.
>> Now this is one of the reasons you want to come to a food festival in Switzerland because you get to have great adventures by tasting things you've never tasted before.
This is a wine called Cornalin.
It's made from grapes we don't even think about in the United States.
Let's give it a try!
Wow!
It's actually quite good, and it goes well with all those Swiss specialties I've been trying here at the food festival such as the dried meats and even the Ragusa chocolate.
Sante!
>> Sante!
>> [Yodeling] >> Every trip into the Alps is exhilarating.
Everything dwarfs in comparison to these majestic peaks, including petty worries and concerns.
As Mark Twain said, "A man who keeps company with glaciers comes to feel tolerably insignificant by and by."
For more than a hundred years, a trip on the Gornergrat Railway to the top of Gornergrat Mountain at 10,000 feet has been one of the most popular excursions here in Zermatt.
Why?
Take a look around.
From here, you can see the highest mountain in Switzerland, Monte Rosa, at more than 16,000 feet, dozens of glaciers, and most of the 38 peaks over 12,000 feet here in the Zermatt region.
It's also a great jumping off place for hiking, trekking, and climbing in the region.
It offers a straight-on view of the Matterhorn, where more than 3,000 people try to get to the top each year.
So where are you guys from?
>> We are from the Czech Republic.
>> Oh, so you came a ways to get here.
You look so official.
You have everything.
You have the equipment.
You've done some things here in the mountains.
>> Yeah, because we spent one week, like, up on the Breithorn, and then we continue to the Parrot.
Then we start going down the Monte Rosa Hut, and during the night, we came here, and we spend the night.
>> Obviously you have some things to keep you warm, you have the crampons so you can walk across the ice.
Did you have any dangerous experiences?
>> Yeah, we have many danger experiences.
When the ice, like, under our feet started to broken down and go through like big, big ice wall with the backpacks, we were really climbing the very steep walls.
>> But many good memories.
>> Very good memories.
>> As long as you live through them, they are good memories.
Why do you do this?
Why do personally do you guys love doing this?
>> It's many reasons.
It's sport.
It's sport in the nature, and also it's something like challenge for us.
It's nice to get on the top of something, so that's my reasons.
>> There is that.
Once you're there, you're at the top of the world, so to speak.
Well, thank you for speaking with me.
How do I say--how do I say, "Thank you," in Czech?
>> Dekuji.
>> Dekuji.
Thank you so much.
Thank you all.
>> You're welcome.
>> What's so wonderful about Zermatt and the rest of Switzerland is that it's so easy to get up into the mountains by train, tram, gondola, chair lifts.
So you don't have to be an experienced mountaineer to have a mountain experience.
There's no off season for skiers in Zermatt.
It has the largest and highest summer ski area in Europe.
Just one pass for the whole ski area.
>> [Yodeling] >> They've been skiing in Zermatt for more than a hundred years.
We're in the summer ski area at about 13,000 feet.
There are more than 300 miles of marked trails, but there's no boundaries here in Switzerland, so you can ski from Switzerland to Italy.
>> In fact, one ski in Italy, the other one in Switzerland!
[Speaks Italian] >> [Speaks Italian] This is extraordinary.
Half an hour ago, Amade and I were enjoying a full day of skiing in the middle of winter.
Now I'm in the hamlet of Furi, enjoying all the pleasures of summer.
I have come down about 8,000 feet in elevation, but you could only have an experience like this in Switzerland.
I'm gonna join Amade for a drink at one of Zermatt's many comfy, cozy rest stops.
[Choir yodeling] Next morning, the Swiss Folk Festival begins with a yodel mass at Saint Maurizio's Catholic Church, built in 1913 on the site of a 16th Century house of worship.
[Yodeling continues] [Bell rings] [Drum playing] I'm all dressed up, all decked out for the parade today that's part of the big folk festival thanks to Amade.
Amade, this is your suit.
How old is this suit?
>> Well, that suit is, I would say, over 200 years old.
>> Wow!
Look.
The way it's made, it would certainly last a lifetime.
Now when would people use this?
>> They used it mostly--it's a Sunday suit or special event.
They really took care of them.
>> OK.
So I'm marching as a VIP in the parade today thanks to Amade.
Now this is all part of the parade that would happen every August here in Zermatt?
>> Exactly.
Every August.
>> And this is part along with the food festival of celebrating things Swiss.
>> And, Joseph, you look like a local to me.
>> Oh.
Well, thank you.
We better get ready.
The parade's about to start.
>> Yes.
Let's go to the parade.
>> How many people are here watching the parade?
>> Well, we get now around 10,000 people.
From all of the world, they're coming here, and they want to see all this folklore, this atmosphere.
>> And I understand that it's not just people from Zermatt.
It's groups from all over Switzerland that are part of the parade.
>> Exactly.
They're from different part of Switzerland, they're from the neighbor villages, but mainly, they're groups out of here from Zermatt.
>> Well, I'm really honored to be a part of this.
[Band playing] This is really VIP because we don't have to walk the whole parade.
>> No, because the VIPs-- >> We stop, we have a little drink of wine and some of the local specialties, and watch the parade.
>> Exactly.
>> What a great parade this is.
Part of the folk festival.
>> It's part of our big folk festival.
More than 40 years, we've been having this folk festival, and we're very happy to have here the whole traditions of Switzerland.
>> And how traditionally Swiss is it to have alphorns?
The alphorn is a form of communication.
>> When the enemy attacked old folks of Switzerland, they called for the friends.
♪ Bllloooohhh ♪ "Help, help!"
And then they all came.
That's why Switzerland never got beat, you know?
>> But no enemies here in Zermatt anymore.
>> No, no, no.
Now we have lots of friends.
[Accordion playing] >> Whooo-yooo!
>> Biner has a very interesting drop and a very rare job.
He's an alphorn player, and he's with the Alphornfreunde.
What does that mean?
>> The Alphorn Friends.
>> You have to have good lungs.
>> Good lungs, yes.
You need a lot of pressure to play.
That's right, yes.
>> And you have to dress nicely.
>> Yeah.
I'm always nice dressed.
Isn't it like that?
>> We love the alphorn.
Can't wait to hear you play.
[Playing] Amade, thank you for the suit, merci for the invitation, and merci for all your help.
>> Joseph, it was very nice that you came here to Zermatt.
It was our pleasure to show you Zermatt, the mountain, and, as well, the tradition.
>> Merci.
>> Thank you.
>> I feel our life experiences are our most valuable asset, so while some think Switzerland is an expensive destination, I consider the country and in particular Zermatt an excellent investment.
In all aspects of travel from accommodations to transportation, from fine dining to outdoor experiences, you get a high standard of return for your travel dollar, and in Zermatt, the extraordinary quality of experiences include the chance to stand, walk, ride, or soar in a mountain landscape that will take your breath away and capture your imagination, and the Matterhorn's towering presence is only equaled by the heights people will go to to make sure your visit is a memorable one, for after all, what's a memory worth?
Till next time this is Joseph Rosendo reminding you of the words of Mark Twain--"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."
Happy traveling.
>> Joseph Rosendo's "Travelscope" is made possible by... San Antonio, Texas, where you'll find art, culture, romance, authentic Tex-Mex, 50-plus golf courses, and hundreds of attractions.
San Antonio--deep in the heart.
And No-Jet-Lag, jet lag prevention.
For a DVD of today's show or any of Joseph's "Travelscope" adventures, call 888-876-3399 or order online at travelscope.net.
You can also e-mail us at tv@travelscope.net or write us at the address on your screen.
>> Now that we've celebrated in Zermatt, Switzerland, learn more at travelscope.net, where you can follow my worldwide adventures through my e-magazine, blog, podcast, and on Facebook.
Stay in touch--888-876-3399 or tv@travelscope.net.
>> Seconds.
>> Yohoo!
>> Yohoo!
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Distributed nationally by American Public Television