Zermatt, Switzerland

Day two in Switzerland... Adam and I traveled from Bern to Zermatt and spent a few hours there before we took the train to see the Matterhorn (more on that later!!!). Zermatt was adorable and picturesque and... quiet. In a good way! There were no cars there, only pedestrians, bikes, and horse-drawn carriages. The reason? To prevent air pollution which could possibly block the view of the Matterhorn from town.We had been wanting to eat something traditionally Swiss since arriving in Switzerland (I mean, something besides the pack of Ricola cough drops I bought), so when we spotted a sign for "Fondue!" in one of the restaurant windows, we knew we had to stop in."Fondue was promoted as a Swiss national dish by the Swiss Cheese Union (Schweizerische Käseunion) in the 1930s, and was popularized in North America in the 1960s. The earliest known recipe for cheese fondue as we know it today comes from a 1699 book published in Zurich, under the name 'Käss mit Wein zu kochen', 'to cook cheese with wine'. It calls for grated or cut-up cheese to be melted with wine, and for bread to be dipped in it." (source)It was good, but oh so very heavy! They even served it with fruit to help our stomachs chill out after consuming it. Our server warned us that it might make us feel sick, lol. I felt totally fine afterward, but Adam, not so much... I mean, let's be real, I'm a Wisconsinite which means I've basically had cheese running through my veins since birth."Despite its modern associations with rustic mountain life, it was the town-dwellers' dish from the lowlands of western, French-speaking, Switzerland: rich cheese like Gruyère was a valuable export item which peasants could not afford to eat." (source)And here's a fun Linguistic tidbit for ya: "The word fondue is the feminine passive past participle of the French verb fondre ('to melt') used as a noun." (source)We walked around a bit more, popped in and out of gift shops, and then wandered into a coffee shop for a drink. How cute was their little sign cart?? I couldn't resist... I'm such a sucker for great marketing.Next stop: THE MATTERHORN! I'm so excited to share those photos. I still have so many to sort through and organize!! As always, thanks for reading. xo