Nguyen Ngoc Anh (nickname Nguyen Anh Lukas, 34 years old) comes from Hanoi, has been studying in France for 6 years. He is currently a freelance photographer working mainly in the capital city of Paris.
In early August, he had a three-day trip to Zermatt, Switzerland. Although the time was short, he felt like he was immersed in a fairy tale and did not forget to capture the dreamy moments of Zermatt.
Zermatt is considered by many tourists as a fairy tale painting of Switzerland.
Zermatt is known as a small town but is a tourist destination that is no longer too unfamiliar to those who love beautiful scenery in Switzerland. It can be said that Zermatt is an ideal destination for those who love mountain climbing and skiing. Coming to Zermatt, visitors will feel like they are lost in a fairyland with a quiet space, surrounded by snowy mountains, clear streams and along the mountain slopes are lovely wooden houses.
Ngoc Anh's trip from Paris to Zermatt took 8 hours, with a total of 16 hours on the train. From Paris to Zermatt, you have to travel on three different trains, each with only 5 minutes to transfer. If you don't know the route, you will have to wait for the next train for a long time. Specifically, the trains are: Paris - Geneve, Geneve - Vips, Vips - Zermatt.
Cable car station
Rest stop between trains
In Zermatt, Ngoc Anh conquered three main destinations. The first destination was Gornergrat peak. This is a rocky mountainside with an altitude of 3,000 m, which has a view of the Alps and Gorner glacier in the southeast of Zermatt, Switzerland.
Zermatt can be reached by the Gornergrat railway - the highest open-air railway in Europe. In addition to the stunning mountain views, there is also an astronomical observatory installed in the two towers of the Kulmhotel Gornergrat.
Astronomical observatory
The second destination is the ancient village of Zermatt. Ngoc Anh has been to many villages and cities in Switzerland, however, Zermatt feels much more ancient and beautifully decorated, with flags and flowers hanging on almost all the houses on the street. Especially the old wooden houses, very little reinforced concrete or newly built houses but in an antique style, at first glance it feels like a small village.
In Zermatt there are many beautiful old wooden houses, very little reinforced concrete or newly built houses also in antique style, at first glance it feels like a small village on the hillside.
The final stop is Sunnegga. The funicular from Zermatt Valley Station to Sunnegga takes just 4.5 minutes. Sunnegga is the starting point for many hikes around Zermatt.
“The Matterhorn is a symbol of Switzerland. Because it is a symbol, its image is everywhere, from tiny chocolate boxes to huge posters at the airport. However, it is not as well known as other tourist destinations in Switzerland such as Lucerne, Geneva, Jung Frau, Interlaken... Is it because the route to get there is not suitable for short-term sightseeing tours?”, Ngoc Anh shared.
Once you reach the top of the Matterhorn, visit the observation deck and marvel at the 38 giant peaks of the French, Italian and Swiss Alps, as well as 14 glaciers. In the cinema, enjoy short films about mountaineering, local flora and fauna, lifts and snow.
In Switzerland, Gornergrat is also one of the famous tourist attractions. To reach the top of Gornergrat, you have to take a train ride up but the luckiest thing is that this is an unforgettable journey because it is the highest train ride in the world and the surrounding scenery is extremely beautiful.
Lake Leisee
After climbing another 1500m, you will be greeted by the Zermatt nature that opens up before your eyes. First, at an astonishing 4,634m you can see Switzerland's highest peak, the second highest glacier in the Alps and admire the Dufourspitze.
As a country with the world's leading air quality and living environment, means of transport such as trains and trams are frequently used by Swiss people.
Flags and flowers by the small, poetic window
A wooden house in the ancient village of Zermatt
Like many destinations in Switzerland, Zermatt has no petrol cars, all vehicles in the village run on electricity, from taxis, buses, delivery vehicles... So there is a fresh atmosphere here and almost no noise from vehicle engines.
The ideal is to take a walk around the beautiful mountain lakes of Stellisee, Grindjisee, Grunsee, Moosjisee and Leisee. These are the 5 most famous lakes in the town of Zermatt for many different reasons. The trip was quite short so Ngoc Anh only visited Stellisee and Leisee, these are two lakes that act as mirrors reflecting the Matterhorn peak. It can be said that at an altitude of about 2000 - 2500 m, walking around this beautiful natural form is an unforgettable experience for him.
Beautiful mountain lake Stellisee
The only difficulty Ngoc Anh encountered on this trip was that the distance was too long and she had to change trains many times.
“There were times when the transfer time between two trains was only 3 minutes, so I had to run as fast as I could to catch the next train. The reason was that when I arrived in Zermatt it was already dark, so it was the last train of the day. Sometimes I also thought about having to sleep at the station if I couldn’t catch the last train. Luckily, the train driver seemed to speed up on the last leg of the journey to get back to the station on time,” Ngoc Anh said.
Ngoc Anh offers some tips for Vietnamese tourists planning to visit Zermatt: “Prepare warm clothes, even in the summer there is snow on the mountain top and it is quite cold. In addition, you should have a pair of hiking shoes or at least a pair of sneakers, flip-flops and high heels should be left at home. In particular, hats, caps, sunglasses or hiking sticks will be necessary if you are a careful person.”
Ngoc Anh shares, prepare warm clothes because even in summer, there is still snow on the mountain top and it is quite cold.
“Switzerland is beautiful with its cities and valleys, but standing on a 3000m mountainside and looking at the majestic space in front of you is an emotion that cannot be described in pictures. Come once to admire and feel the beauty of this place”, Nguyen Anh Lukas shared.
