Tyler had two full weeks off over Christmas and New Years (he had to take the time or lose it). We were on La Palma for just the week of Christmas so the following week we had a staycation. We went to the movies, enjoyed some lovely hikes around town and made a good start on watching the Making of a Murderer documentary on netflix! However, with cabin fever starting to set in, at the last minute we decided to explore a bit further afield.

Since the weather had been so mild I was jonesing to have my Swiss alpine fantasies realized. These fantasies are rooted in my childhood memories of spent at Long Barn (Tuolumune County) or Lake Tahoe. Those were my formative snow experiences. My mom and aunt would, some Christmases, haul us girls and and all of our gifts and embark on a 3 plus hour car ride to the snow so we could have a white Christmas. We’d usually rent a lodge room or a cabin and search out a Charley Brown tree (a fallen pine branch) to decorate with tinsel and a string of colored lights we brought along. Both Long Barn and Tahoe featured lots of faux Swiss chalet chic architecture and decor. Living in Switzerland is weird for me because I understand intellectually that Swiss alpine architecture is not inherently kitschy but it always has the look of artifice to me. I imagine that inside every Heidi looking facade there is a cozy room decorated with birch wood framed cross stitch scenes of bear, fish or moose, vintage snow shoes on the wall and plush shag carpeting underfoot. Traditional Swiss architecture delights me and triggers wonderful memories.

And so with these visions of holidays past I looked for a nearby ski village for us to explore. Since there had been so little snow this year, many of the resort areas were hurting for trade. I figured we could get a good last minute deal. And so we did. I booked us a room at a place called The River House Hotel in the town of Andermatt, about a 2 hour train ride from Zurich for the next night. Not really knowing what to expect we packed an overnight bag and headed to the train station the next morning. To my delight, the weather report said to expect snow overnight and into the next day. Just the frosting on the fantasy I wanted!

There was no snow to be seen for most of the train ride up into the mountains. Not until we changed trains and ascended on small part of the famed Glacier Express route did we see a marked change in the terrain.

We got off at the little train station and walked into town. What a delightful surprise! It was just as I had hoped. Andermatt is a small, high alpine village (population 1,200) in the canton of Uri. A river runs through the center of town which our hotel abutted. The hotel is in a beautifully restored 250 year old house in the village center.

 

 

 

 

Our room retained it’s original wood floors and ceilings and even had antique skis on the walls to give it that extra kick of kitsch and nostalgia. Once we arrived we put our things away and went for a short hike around to get our bearings just as a light snow began to fall.

 

 

 

 

 

Andermatt from above:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our walk we had a rest as the snow continued to fall. Before heading out for dinner we stopped in the town’s little museum. We didn’t expect much from the size and description. It seemed very random. Here’s the description:  “The museum hosts various permanent exhibitions. These include everyday domestic living during the period 1780/1800, the history of the valley and its culture, the skiing legend Bernhard Russi, tourism, the military, mountain agriculture, Alpine animals, mule transport, and a natural history collection. In addition, temporary exhibitions are displayed in the basement.”

Well, this museum turned out to be delightful and excellently curated. The building itself was a marvel; an fine restored house built in 1786. For most of our visit we were the only guests. Each room housed a different type of exhibit and in front of each room was a basket of absurdly large slippers to put on so as not to damage the original parquet floors. And as advertised it had it all; geodes, Olympic medals, arrowheads, army cots and beautiful antiques.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That night we had a splendid dinner at a Ticino restaurant (Ticino being the Italian speaking region of Switzerland which we were bordering). The waiter encouraged us to try the rigatoni with marmot ragout, the chef’s specialty. How could we say no?

The snow kept falling softly through the night.

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast and took one last walk through town (mostly so I could get use of the snow boots I bought but had not yet gotten to use). We also peeked into the big fancy new luxury resort they have on the other side of the village. It was super tacky and oh so “fancy”. A lot of foreign investors wanting to cash in on the ski trade here but it seemed like much of the new construction was vacant. We weren’t sure if the boom was just ramping up or slowing down. At any rate, Switzerland is very protective of it’s heritage so our last impressions of Andermatt were decidedly old fashioned, and romantic. In the case here, the modern resort hotel held all the kitsch and the Heidi alpine chalets of my memories held all the charm.