Sunday, July 27, 2008

Three Canadians (and one Dutch) invade Zermatt

Let's continue our little adventures with Chris and Bob, shall we?

Our two visitors spent the next 2 days exploring Paris and really enjoyed it. On Wednesday, we took them to "The Boomerang", one of our favourite restaurants just outside Basel. Linda and Rolf, the cook and owners, served us a fantastic piece of Aussie beef which, even by Canadian standards, must be rated with a very high note.

The next day was Zermatt invasion day. Well.... OK. So, we didn't exactly invade Zermatt, but we sure did our share at one of the local bars.

We had quite a bit of traffic on the way, but Robert was fascinated by the snowy peaks as we drove closer and closer to the Alps. He was also surprised to hear that we were going to drive onto a train that would take us from Kandersteg to Goppenstein through the Lötschberg tunnel.


While waiting for the train, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery, took one of my favourite shots of Robert and Christiane and watched a paraglider elegantly surfing the thermals.

The train ride took about fifteen minutes and after another 45 minutes, we parked our car in Täsch where a taxi took us the entrance of Zermatt. From there, an electro-car took us to our hotel. The weather was great, so we decided to unpack and explore the a bit since were too late to take the cable car all the way up anyway. Not to mention that we were thirsty!

As we walked through the village, we soon found a lovely outdoor lounging area where we sat down in the sun and enjoyed a few beers and bruschettas.

Does that look comfy, or what?








I think Chris also enjoyed it.












Oh, but wait. That's not all! We even saw a goat parade. Yep, right through "downtown" Zermatt. Taking them to graze in a pasture up in the Alps, perhaps? BTW, the goat leading the pack almost ran over OX while he took the pictures. So, never try to stop a goat when it wants to go feed, okay? They don't care much for cameras, or cameramen, for that matter.

Once the sun started disappearing behind the mountain and the temperatures became cooler, we decided to move on and found a small pub called the "Hexenbar" (the witches bar). A real cosy place to chill out with dim lights and decorated with witches in form of dolls or then painings all over the pub. And now, guess where it got its name from... Bingo! Anyhow, it was early and still pretty quiet when we got there.... but not for long! The Canadutch RULE!

We ordered a first round of drinks and started taking pictures of Bob and Chris. All of a sudden, the waitress, Cindy, jumped in."Wait! You can't take a picture in here without one of the witches", she said with a smirk.





She ran to a corner of the pub and grabbed a battery operated witch with flashing eyes and handed it over to Christiane for the picture.


She didn't stop at that, though. Seeing that we were having so much fun, Cindy asked us whether she should get us a few requisites from the storage room for our "photo shoot". Of course, we agreed, and within a minute, she came back with sorcerers' hats, broomsticks, and a set of pink'n white bunny ears and a bow tie. And this is what came out of it.
I admit.....
Although we both tried very hard, OX and I didn't actually soar throught the skies with this broomstick, but we sure as hell had a fun time trying. (BTW, this is probably my absolute fave picture of OX and me!)





Bob thought that biting it and adding horns to it would bring him to fly. NOT! Maybe he was just drinking the wrong "magic potion"?






Group photo time, ...but we still can't fly! Oh, well. What the heck! Maybe the bunny ears just didn't fit in?

This is our waitress, Cindy, with the boys.





A few drinks later, Cindy introduced us to Mark, a very funny, literally wee man - about 1.55 m/5' tall - that made us laugh tears. What an entertainer! He was performing right across the street, so we decided to have a simple meal consisting of chicken wings, ribs and such (not typically Swiss, I know), and just enjoy his show. It was worth it and we had a great time there.



After dinner, we decided to go for a short walk through the quiet town and then returned to the Hexenbar for a nightcap. Unfortunately, Cindy had finished her shift and left already, but Ellie, her replacement, made sure that we didn’t lack of anything and so we enjoyed a last drink before returning to our hotel for a good nights' sleep.

So. People. Hear me! If you're ever planning to visit Zermatt one day, make sure to go to the Hexenbar. Don't expect the personnel there to entertain you as soon as you set foot in the bar, but if they see that someone wants to have fun, they will go out of their way to make sure you have an unforgettable evening*. So here's a BIG thank you to Cindy and Ellie for making this evening a very memorable one.

More from Zermatt, coming up soon…

*With us will be even more fun! **Hint?? Hint???**



13 comments:

Miss Kim said...

Wow! I haven't stopped by for some time since I read my favourote blogs on Google Reader and I just want to say how pretty your new header is!!!

And a GOAT parade??? LOL who would have guessed!!

CanadianSwiss said...

T1: I often do that too. Thanks for the compliment :)

The goat parade was quite something, but I should have taken shots of OX almost being run over! LOL!

Jay said...

Wait - did you say you drove onto a train?

And yahoo for goat parades! I would have loved to have seen that.

CanadianSwiss said...

Jay: Yep. That's right :) Actually, they were really only taking the goats up to the pasture, but the crowd that formed around them really made it look like a parade.

Anonymous said...

Very nice Blog and pictures.Your described expiriences in Zermatt made me kind of homesick.Good times with friends are moore important than money.Keep on enjoying life.KH

Unknown said...

Oh I missed another great post. Now that looks like heaven. My heart just sinks seeing those mountains and my first home in Switzerland.. How much fun! I know you guys had an incredible time!

Unknown said...

ps - that broom stick photo is priceless!

CanadianSwiss said...

Anon (Dad): I'm sure you still have very good memories of your home country :) And yes, good times with friends is worth a lot more than money. But you and Mom taugh me that ages ago!

ET: You haven't missed it, you just came by a bit later. And wait till you see the next set of picts! ;) PS: I love that photo, too!

Shammickite said...

hehehe the goat parade reminds me of moving the goats to the higher pastures in the book "Heidi". Was Grandfather there? And Peter?
And if I'm ever in Zermatt (which is highly unlikely in my forseeable future) I'll visit Cindy and/or Ellie in the Hexenbar for sure!

Unknown said...

I'll be waiting for more.. And Zermatt, was there in Sept 2002 and LOVED IT!

CanadianSwiss said...

Ex-Shammi: Hmmm. Nope I can't recall seeing Grandfather there, but Peter??.... Seeing how much you and the SpaceCadet enjoy having a fun time in plays, I'm sure you'd be more than welcome at the Hexenbar ;)

ET: I still have about 150-200 picts to edit..... But soon. The text is ready ;)

Ginnie Hart said...

At least I know someone else who understands about how long it takes to get photos ready to show on the Internet! It's worth the wait, CS. I love all your shenanigans! :)

CanadianSwiss said...

Ginnie: I absolutely understand and it IS worth the wait :)