Breaking Bread in Brooklyn: Week in the Alps

In January, Gregg’s Chief resident gave him a tip about a screaming deal from Emirates Airline: $900 for nonstop, roundtrip airfare from JFK to Milan….for two people! We jumped on it and began planning our vacation week for April. After a LOT of research we booked a 6-day trip from Milan to Zermatt, Switzerland to Lake Como, Italy and back again. With our Google Translate apps downloaded and our “How To Drive In Italy” printed out, we headed to JFK to start our adventure!

The plane was absolutely humongous! First class passengers were on the top level and had their own jetway to board the plane. The rest of the plebes (us) were divided among 2 other jetways and shuttled along numerous hallways and corridors to the correct boarding area of the plane. Next stop, Milan!

Flying into the sunset and waking up to the Alps!

Once we arrived, we rented a car at the airport and fired up the GPS. The drive from Milan to Zermatt is about 3 hours so we took a quick pitstop on the way up in a sleepy little Italian mining town. This is where we encountered the first (and what turned out to be the only) person on our trip who did not speak any English. Who thought ordering cappuccinos in Italy would be difficult?

Cappuccino #1 (of many) and Gregg using Google Translate to find out which sugar is which

Driving in the Alps, the scenery changes so fast! Waterfalls, small glaciers, tunnels, and hillside towns come and go in a flash.

Old stone and wood houses built in to the mountainside

The clearing is a house and the tiny stripe to the left is the treacherous driveway while the valley on the right holds a small glacier....quite the property!

Wine country?

The Randa Rockslide from the road

Zermatt has a no-car policy so we parked our rental at the station in Täsch and hopped on a train into town. As we checked into our hotel, the receptionist asked where we were from and how long it took to get to Zermatt. When we answered with “New York” and “17 hours”, she replied with 2 glasses of prosecco and an upgrade to a room with a view of the famous Matterhorn. One of the perks of visiting during off-season!

Meg didn't see the tunnel coming!

"Downtown" Zermatt! Complete with McDonald's!

Our spot for the next few days, the Backstage Hotel.

The Swiss are big on watches and pens

After strolling through the town a little, we stumbled upon Restaurant Walliserkanne around dinnertime. We peeked at the menu and some locals insisted that it was "very good" as they were walking in so we decided to satisfy our growling tummies and check it out.

Lots of meat and lots of cheese! No complaints here!

We quickly learned that visitors to Zermatt have a love-hate relationship with the Matterhorn, the iconic peak that seems to defy all natural laws with its curved shape and staggering size. They love gazing in amazement at its towering profile but hate that it spends most of the time shrouded in its own cloud system. Gregg became habitual in checking every few minutes whether the clouds had moved and took WAY too many pictures trying to capture the perfect shot of the behemoth. And lucky for us, the first morning had blue skies!

The view from our balcony!

Blown away by the "continental breakfast" spread! They had everything!

Looks like this place would be the perfect spot for a beer after a long day skiing

We took a trip up the Gornergrat tram to get an up close look at some of the peaks of the Swiss Alps. The tram zig-zagged up switchback-like tracks passing hotels and restaurants perched on cliffs hundreds of feet above the valley floor. Located at over 10,000 feet above sea-level, this area is home to seasonal ski lifts and a dual observatory-hotel that still serves as a research center for Swiss astronomers.

The hotel-observatory

Monte Rosa, tallest peak in the Alps at 15,203 feet

The Matterhorn is hiding behind the clouds by the silver dome on the left

The Breithorn formation, covered in glaciers

Difficult to see without a lot of zoom but there are actual ski tracks down this picture! They start in the top left (helicopter ride?) and zig-zag along the glacier and around the crevasses all the way to the bottom right...NUTS!

Coming back in to town

The main church and Climbers Museum (glass structure to the left)

Newly-wed couple taking a horse and carriage ride around town

Gregg shreddin' the gnar!

Town cemetery had a lot of multi-generational families, dating back to 1800s

Stopped for late lunch at the Brown Cow Pub. Place was PACKED! :)

Style in Zermatt was on point.

Our hotel had an amazing spa layout modeled after the seven days of creation open to all guests. After a long day of exploring and still battling the effects of jetlag, we changed into our swimsuits, wrapped up in the hotel robes, and headed down for a relaxing experience.

Starting The Genesis of the World

Listening to the Genesis Bible verse as preparation

Day 1: The Light

Day 2: Separation of water and air

Day 3: World of Plants

Day 4: Creation of the planets and tides

Day 5: Animal world

This was our favorite! The pool fills with hypersalinated (super salty) water and you float while listening to ambient nature sounds. Very relaxing and you feel weightless!

Day 6: The human being

(full disclosure, we skipped this one. It looked like a beauty station)

Day 7: Rest and Meditation

We soaked in the hot tub (bottom) before returning to our room to get ready for dinner

That night, we went to a place in the middle of town called Schäferstube for a nice, authentic Swiss dinner. The waitress was a local about our age who had spent a few years in the U.S. during high school. We talked about New York with her and she gave us the inside scoop on the dangers of skiing around glaciers in the Alps (it’s not uncommon for Summer hikers to find miscellaneous ski gear and, sometimes, body parts in the ice melt). She also told us that 1 week prior, the restaurant had 2 seatings per night and tables were only available with reservations made weeks in advance. Lucky for us, we walked in at 7:30pm and only saw one other group eating. Off-season perks strike again!

Gregg is ready to dig in on Meg's meat and cheeeeeese :P

1st of two servings of lamb loin for Gregg.

Best and most eccentric fruit dessert we've ever had!

Our last morning, Gregg thought he had figured out the weather pattern of the Matterhorn so he set an alarm for sunrise to try and sneak a clear shot of the peak. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn't cooperate and the mountain remained partially obscured. We went for a run before breakfast to see some parts of the town we hadn't gotten to yet.

After breakfast, Gregg's patience finally paid off and he got the perfect shot of the Matterhorn.

What a beaut!

Back on the train heading out. Bye Zermatt!

Our next stop was Bellagio in Lake Como, Italy. We decided to take the scenic route which would eventually take us across the Swiss-Italian border three separate times. The trip took us through some great little mountain towns and along some of the tightest, windiest roads we’d ever been on. It may have taken a little longer than the expressway but it was worth it!

The homes across the ravine have their own private gondolas from the road.

"No, thanks" - Meg

One of the detours was a stop in a small Swiss lake town called Ascona. A little strip of hotels and restaurants on the waterfront was the perfect spot for lunch.

Meg testing the water. Still cold :(

Another leg of driving and we were finally there, Lake Como! We took the ferry across the lake to Bellagio, which is on the end of a peninsula that extends into the center of the lake. Our rental apartment was on the hill overlooking the “downtown” area and the water.

Our apartment building

Our view

Home-made breakfast of champs!

You always have to test the water! Pretty chilly, not quite water skiing temp yet.

We found a little wine shop with a sign that read “Wine Tasting Machine” and we were very curious to see what that meant. The shop owner went through all the wines with us and showed us how to use the machine. We had a card that we swiped and as we chose which wines we wanted to taste, a certain amount was deducted from the card. After we had tasted everything we wanted to try, there was a little left over on the card so we each had our favorite a second time! What a great concept!

"Hanging out" at the apartment aka goofing around

Just south of the downtown area is the I Giardini Di Villa Melzi. In the 1800s, one of Napoleon’s buddies built a villa on the water and set about manicuring the grounds. He was an enthusiastic arborist and admirer of sculpture so he brought in as many exotic varieties of each as he could. Today the grounds are open to the public, displaying this eclectic collection, but the house is still owned and inhabited (part-time) by the same family.

Villa Carlotta ... where GranGran and Grandpa visited 10 years ago!

A look inside the greenhouses

Is that Clooney?!

Beautiful water

Back in town, we got lunch at the Hotel Serbelloni, the 5-star hotel in Bellagio and enjoyed a nice poolside meal in the sun.

After lunch we hopped on a water taxi to see some views from the water and to visit a town across the lake called Varenna for some more exploring.

Cool restaurant in the alley below our apartment. You can see our window in the top left.

Another great tasting, this time in a cave-like cellar

Stocking up before hitting the road. The names of the machines in this vending machine room had us chuckling.

A relatively short drive later, we were back in Milan, this time to see a bit of the city itself. Our hotel, the Grand Hotel et de Milan, was located in the heart of Brera, an amazing neighborhood in the old city center. Brera is the home of the Catedral de Milan (Duomo), the La Scala opera house, and many high-end shops and restaurants.