Zermatt, Switzerland

A pituresque car-free village in the Swiss Alps and at the base of the famous Matterhorn. With a population of just over 5500 this place was bustling with hikers, skiers, snowboarders, mountain bikers zip-liners. I decided to take part in the cheapest of the forementioned sports, hiking. I hiked around the base of the Matterhorn, but in order to climb it I would need some serious gear (let alone skill) due to it's 4478m elevation and near vertical faces. The town of Zermatt was quaint with small electric taxis, bicycles and walking the only form of transportation it was a quiet little town with a giant looming over it. But thats what Zermatt is all about, the Matterhorn. Frequent avalanches dumped snow into the glacier below the mountain provided year round skiing and riding for its visitors. The houses in the town were grandiose swiss mountain cabins each at least four-stories high. Other than sports there didn't seem like there was much else to do here, and with my backpacking budget if there was anything to do I would be paying for it in Switzerland. So I hopped on the slowest train in Europe, the Matterhorn Express, back down to Brig and planned to find a way to Fussen, Germany. The one hour train journey to Brig was $30 so I just dodged the conductor for the short trip.