I Discovered the Root of My Existence in Switzerland

TRAVEL | ORIGIN STORY | SWITZERLAND

I Discovered the Root of My Existence in Switzerland

As I stood beneath a famous mountain

The best bench with a view for miles around. The shadowed North Face of the Eiger stares menacingly down on the valley of Grindelwald below. Photo Credit: Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages

It was sometime in October when I emailed my Dad. We were planning our European adventure, and I wanted to know where to go in Switzerland.

‘Should we go to Zermatt or Grindelwald?’ I asked him. Traveling in Switzerland is incredibly expensive, and we didn’t feel like we could do both as each of them is a bit difficult to reach without a vehicle.

I had heard stories from both parents about Switzerland and clearly remembered my mom saying we just had to go there, but I couldn’t remember the exact location that they mentioned.

His reply solidified it, ‘Grindelwald is pure magic.’

Good enough.

We planned to visit our friend Mark, whom we met in Bulgaria in 2022. He told us then to let him know if we ever found ourselves in Switzerland and promised us a place to stay in his hometown of Neuchâtel on the western side of the country.

As I was mapping out our route to get to him, I was simultaneously trying to figure out how we would get to Grindelwald for a couple of nights. It looked like it would cost us a small fortune to travel there on our own.

While researching the possibilities, we also happened to be staying with friends in Germany. As I lamented the cost of everything in Switzerland to whoever would listen, our friend Nico said, “Why don’t you just ask Mark the best way to get there? He will know.”

Geez, why didn’t I think of that?

I quickly sent Mark a message to ask him what his advice was. He didn’t reply for a few days, but I was thrilled when he finally did.

On Friday, I am normally free and we could go to Grindelwald together. The problem in Switzerland is that public transports are very expensive so I think it would be good to go with my car.

Of course, once I looked at the map, I realized that Grindelwald was only a couple of hours from Neuchâtel. Coming from Canada, we always forget how close things are in Europe. We were thrilled that he was willing to take us there, even if it was only for a day.

Our visit was plagued by clouds and fog

By the time we arrived at Mark’s place, I was starting to get bitter. We had already traversed the country by bus on our way to housesit in Italy. It was cloudy the entire way, and we did not see any of the famous Swiss scenery.

Then, when we were coming back from Italy, this time traveling close to Mount Blanc, we missed our connecting train in Milan by three minutes, which meant we had to take the next train in the dark. There was no scenery for us then, either.

The day we traveled up to Mark’s on the train from Montreux was also very cloudy and foggy. Though we were told it was a stunning ride, we saw nothing but a white wall along the Neuchâtel Lake shoreline.

Mark told us he had a jaw-dropping view of the Alps from his front deck, but we saw none. We were lucky if we could see the buildings across the street, let alone the lake below and the mountains in the distance.

I started to question if it was worth going to Grindelwald with the weather the way it was. The last thing I wanted was to travel all the way there and then be unable to see anything.

This was a typical view through much of Switzerland. Photo Credit: Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages

My Dad insisted we take the cog train

The only thing I knew about Grindelwald is that it sits at the base of the Eiger — a 3967-metre (13,015 ft) mountain in the Alps. I knew of this mountain because it impacted my dad as a child.

In fact, this exact mountain inspired my dad to begin a climbing career, which would later bring him to Canada and the Rocky Mountains, where I was born. I didn’t really put that together in my mind until I stood beneath the massive rock. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

When I told Dad we were headed to Grindelwald, he told me to make sure we took the cog train to Kleine Scheideg. I had no idea what a cog train was, and when I looked into it, I thought it might be too expensive and wondered if it was worth it. Of course, we had done zero research into what we should do in Grindelwald; we just wanted to see it. Was it really necessary to see this other place as well? I did wonder.

Mark mentioned the cog train again the day before we went there as we were discussing our day and what time we should leave. “Yeah, we aren’t sure if we will take it. It sounds expensive,” I told him.

I emailed my parents that evening and asked if it was really worth it. A half-hour train there and back was going to cost us $250. We had the money but felt like it was too extravagant.

It didn’t take Dad long to email back. ‘You MUST take the train to Kleine Scheideg. We will send you the money for it.’

Fair enough. I could tell then that it was vital that we take this train.

The forecast looked good

As mentioned, I was quite concerned about the weather and unsure if we would see anything once we got to where we were going, but the forecast in Grindelwald looked good. I reason that it is far enough from the lakes that the fog doesn’t build up there. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

As we drove the highway towards the Alps, the fog and clouds thinned out significantly. As we turned off the main road, following the signs to Grindelwald, I marveled at the beautiful-looking mountains in the distance and became giddy with excitement. The sky was a perfect blue, and it looked like we were in for a stellar day.

Having just turned off the main road, we were headed up the valley. Photo Credit: Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages

It was then that Mark expressed his excitement as well. “I have never been to Grindelwald; this is exciting,” he said.

I was shocked! He had not mentioned this to us before that moment. I assumed he had likely been there many times before and was taking us as a seasoned veteran. But now, knowing that this was a new experience for him as well, I was even more excited. It made me feel less guilty about making him drive us there, that was for sure.

The valley was covered in frost on this cool fall morning. As I wound down the car window and breathed in the mountain air, I could tell that we had ascended in elevation as the air was fresher and dryer than down below by the lakes. The clean air immediately reminded me of my hometown of Canmore in the Rocky Mountains of Canada.

The architecture of the buildings was even familiar to me. Many Swiss mountain guides made their way to the Canadian Rockies in the middle of the 20th century and built similar homes to these. In fact, the main street of the town I was born in, Banff, was modeled after Swiss architecture. I feel like I knew this growing up, but I didn’t really understand it until I was on the other side of the world where it all came from.

Much of the drive was still shadowed by the mountains and frost covered the valley floor. Photo Credit: Jillian Amatt — Artistic Voyages

Finally, as we rounded the corner into Grindelwald, we saw the sun hitting the valley floor. We looked forward to basking in its warmth once we exited the car.

Glorious sun hits the valley floor on a stunning day. Photo Credit: Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages

Getting on the cog train

Mark found the way to the train station, and we parked the car in an underground parking lot. I can only imagine it is much busier on a July or August morning, but in November, it was very quiet.

We paid for our tickets and then waited about 30 minutes for the next train. There was a valley map outside the train station, and I studied it carefully, trying to figure out which peak was the famous Eiger.

I gazed around at the mountains as we stood in the fresh air. For most, these mountains would be unlike anything they had ever seen, but for me, they just felt like home. Trust me, I know how spoiled I am!

As the train arrived, I finally learned what a cog train is. Wheels with teeth, much like that on an army tank, ran the length of the train and connected with a track, also with teeth (like a zipper), in the center below the train.

The cog track and train. Photo Credits: Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages

While standing on the valley floor, I didn’t understand why this train was necessary. But when we started to ascend rapidly, I realized how crucial it was. Unless they put in a funicular, a standard train on this steep track would be impossible.

This video on our YouTube channel will give you a sense of the incline we were on:

[embed]Video on authors YouTube channel.

As we rose above the valley floor, I was grateful to my Dad for insisting we take this train. The views were spectacular, but I didn’t realize that the best part was still to come.

My British Grandparents had been to Grindelwald

In 1936, my dad’s parents honeymooned in Grindelwald. I can only imagine how quaint and amazing it was almost 90 years ago! A couple of years later, they returned to the valley to climb the Wetterhorn, another incredible peak that looks over the valley below.

I emailed my dad to get some details about their visit, and instead of re-typing what he sent me, I will simply use his words:

Grandpa and Grandma Amatt were married in 1936 in England and spent their honeymoon in Grindlewald. Two years later, they returned for a holiday and during their visit climbed the Wetterhorn mountain with guide “Old Peter”, a peak which looms over the valley in which Grindlewald is located. As they were waiting at the station to take the train home, their guide came running down the platform, saying … “Sorry I’m late! There are four more fools on the Eiger North Face”. This turned out to be the Austro-German team of Heckmair, Vorg, Kasperak and Harrer, who made the first ascent of the face, where many before them had failed, some often dying in the attempt.

By the time Grandpa and Grandma returned home, the climb was front page news in major papers around the world and Grandpa collected cuttings, which I read in my early teens. He also bought a copy of “The White Spider”, Heinrich Harrer’s book about their climb of the Eiger and a chronology of all subsequent ascents. It was that experience that more than anything stimulated my entry into the adventurous world of extreme mountaineering. Many years later in 1965, I was part of the British team that made the first ever climb of Norway’s 5,000 foot “Vertical Mile” Troll Wall, at the time the highest unclimbed mountain face in Europe.

Incidentally, this is the same Heinrich Harrer that wrote the book Seven Years in Tibet — his role being played by Brad Pitt in the 1997 movie of the same name.

My dad had the good fortune to meet both Heinrich Harrer and Anderl Heckmair when they were hosted by the *Banff Mountain Film Festival*. This is a festival that was founded by my dad in 1976 and is about to celebrate its 50th year in November. It was truly a full circle moment for him to meet Heinrich — the man who inspired his climbing career.

Kleine Scheidegg is a ski resort in the winter. This is where the train dropped us off. Photo credit: Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages

Realizing I may not exist if it were not for this place

I knew that the book The White Spider was instrumental in my dad becoming interested in climbing. But it wasn’t until I stood beneath the Eiger's North Face that I put it all together.

If my Grandparents had never come to this place, my dad would have never read the book. If he never read the book, he may not have pursued climbing. Had he not pursued climbing, he likely would not have made his way to Canada to live in the Rocky Mountains. He certainly would not have met my mom, and, of course, I would not exist.

The dominos fell in my mind as I exited the train and stood beneath this majestic mountain, and I finally understood exactly why I needed to visit this place. It wasn’t because it was famous, nor because I would see scenery I had never seen before.

It was quite simply because it was the very root of my existence.

The snowy peak of the Wetterhorn stands over Grindelwald below it on the valley floor. Photo Credit: Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages

The clouds had parted, and I was enlightened

Our origin stories are not often told, and it is sometimes impossible to understand the pieces of the puzzle that put us together as human beings. Here I was, without even trying, discovering the most essential piece of my puzzle.

We wandered above the station to find somewhere to sit and eat lunch — along the way, we discovered a stunning lookout point.

[embed]Short uploaded to authors’ YouTube channel.

We almost stopped to eat there but decided that we should keep going. There had to be a better spot further along the way.

After a few minutes, we found the bench in the lead photo. There couldn’t possibly be a better place to sit and look at the view in the stunning sunshine on a beautiful bluebird day.

It was as if the universe had been waiting for this day to show me the splendor of the Alps — this absolutely stunning, perfect moment in time. Words will never convey the gratitude I felt as I gazed out over the perfection of it all.

A happy crew eating lunch with the best view. Photo credit: Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages

I had no idea of my connection to Switzerland

It’s amazing how travel can make connections that we never realized were there. When Mark invited us to come stay with him in Switzerland back in 2022, I had no idea that our visit would turn out like this — I simply wanted to see a country that so many people had raved about.

But in visiting it, I found a piece of myself that I hadn’t realized I needed to. It took visiting Grindelwald, and standing under the Eiger to realize how important this country is to my very existence.

I am thankful for my dad insisting that we take the cog train, and I am so grateful for Mark offering to take us there or we may never have bothered. What a tragedy that would have been.

Click to learn more about us ⇧

[embed]How the Banff Mountain Film Festival Began It goes way back to 1976!medium.com

[embed]Eating Swiss Fondue In Switzerland Connected Me to My Childhood A visit to our Swiss friend was the catalystmedium.com

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