The dirtbag ski bum gene runs in my family, which of course means I jump on any chance I get to explore a new mountain destination. To be perfectly honest, I’ve been lucky enough to live in and visit so many alpine retreats I wouldn’t consider myself easily impressed by just any ski town, but Zermatt, Switzerland, absolutely blew me away. 

Nestled in the heart of the Swiss Alps, Zermatt is basically paradise for lovers of all things outdoors. After a short train ride into the village (the whole town has been car free for 80 years, which thrilled the environmentalist in me) I took a five minute stroll to the edge of town to gaze in awe at the towering peak that is the Matterhorn (yes, the same peak the roller coaster ride is based off of). I tried my best to capture a few shots, but the blazing Swiss sun was not exactly cooperating, which made taking pics a little, ahem, difficult.

After finding a shady corner just below a maze of trails to snap some pics, I bid a reluctant goodbye to the Matterhorn and wandered into the main village of Zermatt. The village, which consisted pretty much entirely of outdoor store after outdoor store filled with Swiss-made gear, was shopping heaven. Sadly, my time was limited, but even my brief browsing session told me quite a bit about the crowd Zermatt attracts—a crowd of all ages and nationalities fully committed to enjoying the wonders of nature. I trekked from one end of the village to the other, people-watching all the way, when I finally stumbled upon the shop I’d been waiting for…

I’m fairly certain it would be sacreligious to go all the way to Switzerland and not eat chocolate. The chocolate shop I went to had exactly zero labels in English, so I picked out what I thought looked the most delicious and hoped for the best. All I can say is holy freakin cow, I was not disappointed. The dark chocolate I tasted was paired with some type of peanut brittle, forming the perfect combo of sweet and salty. 10/10!!

One quick veggie korma later, it was time to head back to Italy. I hopped on a train full weary hikers from all around the world, and briefly served as a translator in a conversation between a man from France and a man from Finland (who then taught us all to say hair in Finnish!). Interestingly, both the locals and tourists in Zermatt were by far some of the friendliest people I had encountered in Europe. I’ve slowly begun to discover the people make the place, and Zermatt was no exception. I cannot wait to go back!