Swiss Summer Staycation – Zermatt & Flims

2020. Need I say more?

Despite the uncertainty and rapid unravelling of life as we know it during the Spring, the world did indeed keep spinning, and summer rolled around as it does every year. So we decided to think positively, line our international travel restrictions cloud with silver and take the opportunity to explore some more of this beautiful corner of the world we call home, Switzerland.

Two popular Swiss destinations had been on our bucket list for a long time; Zermatt and Flims, and 2020, with its limited international crowds, felt like the perfect time to cross them off our list. Even though they are 300km apart (a mere detail), we decided to sandwich them together into a Staycation road trip. Bonus, we got to travel some iconic mountain passes in the process.

After a thrilling journey from our home near Basel, which included driving our family car onto an open-sided train and hurtling at speed through a nearly pitch-black Lötschberg tunnel, our first stop was Zermatt. A place, known the world over, for its picture-perfect village, year-round snow and expensive (but utterly delicious) hot chocolate. Nestled in the shadow of the iconic Matterhorn, this car-free village really is tourist central, and our non-touristy family fresh off the boat (well, shuttle train actually) was excited to see what else this place had to offer.

Approximately 30 seconds into the walk to our apartment, I couldn’t help but notice the ice picks and rope hanging off the rucksacks of the adventurous looking, weather-beaten couple walking ahead. And then, a few minutes later, as we ambled past luxury stores and 5-star hotels in our shorts and flip flops, a family carrying skis and helmets hurried past excitedly clutching their lift passes in their gloved hands. The smell of adventure and adrenalin was heavy in the air, and I could already tell that this was like no place I had ever been.

Five minutes after we dropped our bags onto the beautiful wooden floor of our cosy alpine abode, my husband decided to go for a “gentle” 20km trail run straight up the nearest mountain. The lure of adventure had already seduced him! The boys and I opted for a gentle stroll through the village where we found some ice cream, catching our first glimpses of that famous mountain, that until now we had only seen on the side of our Toblerone bars. But we needed to get closer.

The following day, we donned our hiking boots, slathered on some factor 50 and headed up to hike some of the beautiful trails that this area has to offer. We hiked, we snacked, we hiked some more. We skimmed pebbles on the water at Stellisee and ate lunch in the sun at Restaurant Fluhalp, enjoying soup and the most delicious rösti I have ever tasted. Our youngest even braved the cold glacial water temperatures at Grindjisee and took a dip – the Matterhorn looming over us the whole time. Silent and solitary. What a privilege and how completely surreal to be so close to such an iconic sight.

Apparently, not close enough, as the following morning at 11 am we found ourselves being buckled into an Air Zermatt helicopter by friendly rescue pilot and local hero, Simon, for an exciting 30-minute flight over glaciers and peaks then up to and around the Matterhorn itself! We gasped in awe at the descending climbers who had already reached the top and were heading back down for lunch (I imagine that it was probably that adventurous ice pick-wielding couple I saw outside the fancy handbag store a few days prior). And there you have it. By day three, the lure of adventure had seduced us all.

After lunch, we reluctantly said goodbye to Zermatt, whilst silently wishing we had booked a couple of extra nights, and began the journey to our next destination; Films in the canton of Graübunden. A 4-hour drive eastwards that didn’t involve any car trains but did include two stunning mountain passes; Furka and Oberalp. Needless to say, more jaw-dropping scenery in every direction and many “just don’t look down” moments as we passed some very wide camper vans on some very narrow stretches of road, with nothing but a rusty looking chain between our car and certain death. When we finally pulled up to our chalet rental (unscathed but shaken), we were happy to see it checked all the boxes. Charming, a small garden, close to the village centre and a lovely home away from home to spend the next few days.

My “mountain goat” husband decided to head up for another gentle 20km to “stretch his legs”, so the boys and I headed to the local playground where we ended up having a lovely chat with some friendly Flimsers (if that isn’t already a thing, it should be). I suddenly became all British, talking about the weather, and they laughed at my attempt to pronounce some Swiss-German words. As always, the children just communicated through the international language of play.

The friendly Flims welcome continued upon our return to our rental Chalet, where by chance, our neighbours (who, coincidentally, were from Basel) after a brief introduction swept us into their apartment for pre-dinner drinks and nibbles! A quick drink turned into a few hours, having covered everything from Swiss cheese to Swiss politics, and by the end of day one, we were already feeling the warm welcome hug of Flims.

The following day we chose to spend some time at a beautiful local lake, Caumasee, that is well-known for being a bit of a tourist trap so we turned up early and hoped it wouldn’t be too crowded. Getting there early paid off, as thanks to COVID, only a certain number of visitors were allowed into the bathing area at one time, limiting the need for my children to hear me tell them for the 100th time: ‘Remember to keep your distance boys” and “No! Riding on that child’s back whilst sharing their bag of paprika crisps is NOT keeping your distance!” We popped into the local supermarket for pizza on the way home where we had another friendly exchange with the cashier as you do when you’re practically a local.

For our final excursion, we enjoyed a lovely hike the following morning to see the Rheinschlucht AKA ‘The Grand Canyon of Switzerland’. Having been to the actual Grand Canyon, I struggled to see the similarities, but we went along with it anyway! It was fun, though, for us to see the source of the river that runs through the centre of our adopted home city of Basel.

And that’s where this Tale of Two Swiss Villages comes to an end. Two adventures. Two very different places in many ways but both full of all the things that we love about this small alpine country in the heart of Europe. The great outdoors, friendly folk and a new adventure to be had around every corner … just don’t forget your ice pick!

Claire’s Top Picks for Zermatt

• Stay overnight at Haus Lea
• Eat Rosti at Restaurant Fluhalp
• Visit Stellisee and Grindjisee
• Learn about the area at the Matterhorn Museum
• The best playground in Zermatt is Obere Matten

Claire’s Top Picks for Flims

• Stay overnight at Chalet Lärchenwald
• The best playground in Flims is Spielplatz Plaids
• Visit the Rheinschlucht (AKA ‘The Grand Canyon of Switzerland’) and Caumasee