Travelling with Stabilo #10: A Zermatt White Christmas
经纬游踪 #10: 策马特的白色圣诞
Have you ever dreamed of a white Christmas? Well, stop dreaming and head to Switzerland! Every December, Switzerland would turn into a Christmas paradise with tonnes of snow and a lot of Christmas spirit. We were lucky enough to spend our Christmas in Switzerland a few years back, and one of the most memorable part was spending our Christmas Eve in Zermatt.
你想过一个白色圣诞吗？去瑞士吧。每年十二月份，瑞士都会被皑皑白雪和浓厚的圣诞气氛所覆盖，变成一个如同童话般的白色梦幻世界。几年前，我们有幸在瑞士过了一个白色圣诞，其中最令人难忘的，是在策马特过的平安夜。
Located in the South of Switzerland, Zermatt is a famous resort town, separated from Italy by the Matterhorn. Every year, thousands of tourists and travellers would head to Zermatt, to enjoy the postcard view of the magnificent Matterhorn and to ski. As we do not know how to ski or snowboard, we were just going to spend a day in Zermatt walking around, exploring the town. From Visp, we took the famous Glacier Express to Zermatt. The Glacier Express is an express train fitted with large glass windows that let passenger see clearly the beautiful mountains and plains along the scenic route. Before we boarded, we each bought a bottle of Rivella, a Swiss carbonated soft drink made from milk whey, so that we can sip on the slightly sour soft drink while we admired the snowy countryside as the train made its way to Zermatt.
策马特位于瑞士南部，与意大利仅仅相隔一个马特洪峰。策马特是个出名的旅游小镇，毎年都有成千上万的游客来到策马特滑雪和一睹马特洪峰的英姿。作为两个不会滑雪的小白，我们只打算在策马特逛逛，感受一下瑞士小镇的风光。我们乘上世界闻名的冰河快车前往策马特。冰河快车的特点是车厢都有超大的窗户，让沿途的美景都可以一览无遗。上车前，我们买了两瓶瑞维乐-一种瑞士特产的乳清饮料。我们一边喝种酸酸甜甜的饮料，一边欣赏窗外的雪景。
The trip to Zermatt took about 3 hours. As soon as we got off the train we saw a huge Christmas tree just outside the train station. We can see a lot of houses in town have put up various Christmas decorations. There was even a choir on the side of the street singing Christmas Carol. The Christmas spirit here is high indeed. Zermatt is a small town and only has one main street. On the main street, there are a lot of shops, selling Switzerland’s most famous souvenir: watches, army knife and chocolate. When the weather is good, you could see the Matterhorn easily on the main street. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see or get up the Matterhorn because the weather was so poor. So we just roamed around town in the snow. Even though the weather was bad, there were still a lot of people around town. We saw very young kids sitting on toboggans pulled around by their parents, which was super cute. There were also a lot of horse carriages, carrying tourists up and down the street.
三个多小时后我们到了策马特。刚出火车站就看到一棵巨大的圣诞树。小镇上很多房子都放上了圣诞饰物。大街上还有乐团冒着大雪在路边唱着圣诞颂，果然是非常浓厚的圣诞气氛。策马特是个很小的镇，只有一条主街。主街两边都是林林总总的商店，卖着瑞士的特产:手表，军刀和巧克力。天气好的时候在主街上就看得见雄伟的马特洪峰。可惜天气不好，不能上山。我们只好在风雪中闲逛。虽然天气不好，可是游客还是很多。有些小孩坐在雪橇上在街上走，特别可爱。路上还有马车，载着游客在雪中漫游。
After a while, the snow started to turn into a snowstorm. We hang out in the snow for a bit more, before we decided that it was a bit unbearable and took shelter at a restaurant called Old Zermatt. We ordered a fondue and a hot chocolate each. Having hot chocolate in a Swiss restaurant is not much of an experience, because they just give you a glass of milk and a packet of hot chocolate, just like how you would make it at home. Still delicious on a cold day like this, just feel like I could have made this myself for half the price. The fondue though - Cheese and herbs melted in a small spot with a candle, then dip with fresh croutons using a tiny fork – was simply divine. The fragrant of Swiss cheese mixed with the slightly softened croutons is a taste so special that a cheese lover like me just couldn’t resist.
过了一会，雪开始变大，寒风把大雪都刮到脸上。我们雪中再玩了一下，决定先去吃饭避一避雪。我们挑了一家老餐厅，叫了个芝士火锅和两杯热可可。在瑞士餐厅喝热可可，他们会给你一包可可粉，一杯热牛奶，让你自己冲。虽然很好喝，可是感觉跟自己在家冲的一样，没什么特别。芝士火锅是瑞士最出名的料理。在一个小锅里把芝士奶酪和香料用小火溶化成浆，然后用小叉子叉着小块面包沾着吃。沾过奶酪的面包又香又软，放进嘴巴里满囗奶香，真滋味！
After lunch, the storm died down a bit, so we crossed the river and walked towards the mountain side. There was thick snow covering the houses, footpaths, even trees. Halfway up the mountain, there was a vantage point from which the whole of Zermatt township can be seen. Even though the weather wasn’t great, the town was still beautiful under the snow cover. As we walked there were skiers and snowboarders just sliding down the footpath, which looked fun. We didn’t have skis or snowboards, so we just sprint downhill instead to get a feel of the speed and excitement.
午饭过后我们过了河往山边走。路上积雪颇多，树上也有厚厚的雪。上到半山，就可以在路边眺望到整个策马特。虽然天气不好，可是这个雪中小镇还是很漂亮的。山路上偶尔会看到有人滑着雪下来，感觉好像挺好玩的。没有滑雪板的我们只能用跑来试这速度的体验。
Heading back downhill to the train station, we still had about 20 minutes before our train leaves. There was just enough time for a snow angel!
从半山下来，我们回到火车站，火车还有十几分钟才开。在离开策马特之前，还有件事情没有做。那就是: 躺在雪地上做雪天使！
Christmas in Zermatt is certainly an unforgettable experience. Even though the snow storm meant that we missed the chance to see the Matterhorn, it also meant that we get to have a very snowy experience. So, if you really want a white Christmas, head to Zermatt. You won’t be disappointed.
在策马特过圣诞真是个难忘的体验。虽然因天气不好没有上马特洪峰，可是下雪天令小镇変得更美，别有一番滋味。所以如果你想要一个白色圣诞，那策马特小镇真的是值得一去！
