20.07.2021
Fulfilling dreams and finally peeing in the wild again (seriously, it’s freeing 😂)
I can’t put in words how thankful I am to Hotel Pollux and Fluhalp for giving me the best gift(s) I could ever wish for. A perfect start in this 31st. Year.
While staying at Hotel Pollux, I had the opportunity to spend the night from yesterday to today up at the Fluhalp (located at 2620 meters, with nothing besides nature nearing the hut), and damn what a special place. I thought I knew Zermatt, but it doesn’t cease to surprise me.
I’ve always wanted to spend a night alone in the mountains to reconnect to self (dream 1) and have the time to soak in the raw energy. To be fair, I wasn’t entirely alone, since there were other guests in the house, but I was the only one in my room, and there was no one around I knew (besides one of the owners of the place, Michi, who I briefly met back in Winter). Being on my own gave me the freedom to do everything on my own time and how I pleased. It also allowed me to sit with Michi and Noemi (Michi’s helper) and chat a bit with them over a glass of wine.
Another dream was to try out night photography eventually. Register the stars - no better place to do so than in the mountains, where no city lights can be seen. My excitement was such that I barely could sleep. According to my phone, I slept 46minutes this evening (I presume it was a bit more than that, but the phone is not all far off). I set my alarm clock for 2 am - waking up a few times before that to glimpse outside the window not to miss the timing. I did miss the moon. I saw it shining in the room around 00:30, but it was already gone when I went outside at 2:15 am.
I walked down to the Stellisee (a 15minutes walk down the hut) to admire and capture the Milky Way next to the majestic Matterhorn (dream 2 fulfilled - improvements to be done, but not bad for a first try 😅). I can’t explain in words the experience. If I ever saw a sky like this, I can’t recall when exactly it was. Only when in a place like this do you become aware of how the world spins. Just as the moon had moved a few hours prior, the Milky Way was too finding its way to the other side to give space for the sun to rise eventually.
After taking the pictures, I laid by a bench next to the lake (by this point, I was SO grateful for a friend in Zermatt to have lent me a proper jacket and a pair of pants that kept me warm) and let that sky embrace me. Satellites and shooting stars were wandering in the wide-open sky. The soundtrack of the waterfalls and rivers close by on the back on the back. The only lights to be seen besides those in the sky were far away huts lost in the mountains. Eventually, the bench started becoming cold due to the humidity of the evening. By this time, it was around 3:30 am. I had set my next alarm for 5 am to come back to the lake and capture the sunrise illuminating the tip of the Matterhorn (another shot in the bucket list).
The atmosphere was so stunning that I didn’t want to go back to the room yet. But I couldn’t stay on that bench until 5:30 am either; I would freeze otherwise. So I decided to start walking back, to move and get warm slowly. A third way up, I found a big stone facing the Matterhorn where I got cuddly to see if I could rest a bit before the daylight started kicking in.
The stars started fading one by one, and it was possible always to see a bit more. The colour started changing, and slowly, signs of the sun started appearing. Back to the lake. Others with their camera joined the phenomenon. The tip of the Matterhorn started getting golden until It was all illuminated.
Time to go back to the hut for a proper breakfast. I was starving by then and needed to fuel the energy for the hike back to Zermatt.
The owner at Hotel Pollux had given me a local’s insider tip, which with the help of Fluhalp I could easily reach from the hut. A lost valley, where the river of the glacier runs, and no one is to be seen - an opportunity to try yet another shot of the bucket list - the glacier’s veins taken from above. Also her there is room for improvement, but I would say a good start.
After admiring that stunning place, raw, without others around, with a blue sky and the sound of the water flowing, it was time to start heading down. I was pumped with energy. I couldn’t stop smiling, excitement in every cell, eventually a drop of tear even falling and thanking everything and everyone for this experience. One I wish for every single person.
Walking down, eventually, I reached the more popular hiking paths, where many people were enjoying the summer day. My smile didn’t cease, soaking it all in and walking back to the Zermatt valley.
All of this, added with later loving calls with family and caring messages of friends - I couldn’t have wished for any better gift(s). If my year to come continues with these vibes, you will probably see me crying often.
If you made it to the end of the story or not, I don’t know... but this is more like a little entry of this day in my records - definitely a museum day.