Zermatt...

I've been living the last few days as in a fairytale. I've stayed in a phenomenal hotel with stunning views, I've eaten like a king, and I've actually enjoyed hours on end of shopping without worrying at all about how much things cost (with one exception; I was going to upgrade to 1st class for the trip home, but it was an additional 4,500 dollars! Jee-Zus!) I have actually really enjoyed shopping, as I was on a mission for something quite specific for Erin, and I finally found it this morning. I also bought some things for Nick, as well as a grigri for myself. It's been a great experience. To top it all off, as I was wandering around, I came across this fountain, which has convinced me that Erin needs to at least visit here someday, if not live here.

However, the shopping is just a small blip in what has been great about Zermatt. I took many, many photos, so instead of going through the laborious process of linking to them individually, I put them all in a folder here, for you to look at at your convenience.
Of all the things wonderful about this place, it is the sheer force of nature known as a glacier that has most captured my imagination. Until now, I've never seen real, large, living glaciers with my own eyes, and seeing the gouges in the mountains and the glacial silt in the rivers and the 300 ft. deep canyons that are maybe 18 inches across at their narrow points really brings home how alive our planet is and how temporary it's current visage. Actually, I'm amazed that there are still mountains here, because it looks like a few centuries of moving so much earth per day would level this place flat. It's a wonderful mystery of nature, and a near religious experience to behold. Photos are a dim reflection of the experience.
So yesterday I took the cablecar to the top of the line, where we topped out in a tiny peak above a glacial mass, and the drop thousands and thousands of feet straight down. I'm not normally susceptable to vertigo, but I did have it here when I stepped out of the car. On top of that it was below freezing and windy as hell. Fortunately I'd bought gloves and a hat. After taking the elevator to the tippy-top of the peak, where you couldn't see anything because of the clouds, I went to the glacial ice palace. just check out the photos. The sculptures were neat, but neater still was being inside a living glacier, and seeing evidence of this in bent hallways, warped ceilings, and just curves everywhere.
A few hours later I made my way back down. I called the paragliding guy, and made an appointment, weather pending, for this morning. Then I went shopping, had dinner, checked out this place, called the Vernissage, which is one of the coolest movie theaters ever, and then came back to the hotel and wrote my last post.
This morning I changed my mind about the paragliding. I've decided to head back to Geneva early, and to try to do some fishing in France along the way by taking the eastern shore of the lake instead of the western shore. I figure I can just buy a paraglider now, for about only 3 times what the tandem flight would have cost (just kidding honey; sort of...)
So that's it. I probably won't post anymore before I come home, unless I catch some fish or something unexpectedly interesting happens. I'll keep you all posted (or not.)
T