Etching dreams on the white paper of memories…

Early dawn, I walked towards the tram stop , with my hands in winter jacket pockets , head kept low, a sling bag across my shoulders and brown boots. It was never a planned trip to the alpine canton of Swiss. But there I was , all set for the journey from Basel to Zermatt with friends- Ashok, Tripti, Ravi and Suraj. The train at the Basel SBB arrived, we had spinach crossiant and coffee during the travel. As we neared the town of Visp, it was already snowing outside, and then I truly started feeling, that the Trip actually BEGAN!

The sun looked shy behing the curtains of snow fall. I was so amazed to see that scenery. It was my first view of snowfall in my life. I was just waiting to get out of the train and feel the snow. We reached Zermatt and I rushed to nearby store to buy myself a pair of gloves. I got a brown furry one, with the RED + symbol on the wrist. It costed me 80 Francs!!, But I was too sure of buying it ! It somehow matched the mindset I was in… in SWISS! People with cup of hot coffe, a beer, with their ski gears, apline enthusiasts everywhere. The whole place was car-free and zero pollution. It was way different from Kulu or Manali in India which are also having such snow capped mountains. The air smelt of raw snow here.

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We bought the tickets to the mountain train, which goes on steep areas , taking us to varoius points of snow capped mountains of that region. The tranquility was so devouring. I knew I was already in love with this magical town. I felt i was on a pilgrimage whee I could meditate for ages without being distracted. We decided to get down at  Gornergrat. All i could see was snow, white and peaceful and mountain sof them , glaciers everywhere. We had brunch and some red wine. All set, we decide to sledge, ( skiing was not our cup of tea!) But it kept snowing and the officials refused to lend us the sledge. So we decided to enjoy with ourselves and the vastness of white mountains kept calling us. We removed our warm jackets and gloves. I felt the snow on my bare hand skin.. A fluff on my face, a fluff on my tongue. It was heavenly. It never felt cold. It felt like god kissed as I stood looking towards the sky and closing my eyes.

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‘ThUD’ , my back hurt..OUCH suraj! I yelled..It was my friend throwing snow balls at me. I joined the fun. The sledging was the fun part of the trip. Sliding down the mountain of snow, in full speed and no breaks 😛 and then falling (it doesnt hurt a bit ). We played till our lungs ached to get some oxygen. It was the most satisfying trip I could have asked for. My first experience with snow, and the BEST one too 🙂

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We decided to go to view the MATTERHORN, the best and one of the largest in the alps. We took cable cars in various direction, some of them went up so steep that I felt I was on the way to heaven! Every bit of the day was a new experience, and I was so excited. The sun-kissed matterhorn and the village below with woodden houses, the views from the cable car were astounding. Being so high up in the air has something which shows you, how small we are in god’s perspective 🙂

I truly felt blessed. As the day ended, we didnt wanna leave ZERMATT. Time seemed to have stopped for us. The sun, the snow and chill winds had brought us to experience a life we never knew before.

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