World Adventure

Weather was good again. The Matterhorn was clear and I was feeling particular stiff and sore today and Vanessa wasn't??? so we  decided to explore the section between Visp and Montreux. So it was onto the train again. The alps drop off and it appears to be in a rain shadow so it quite dry. It is a fascinating area with terraced vineyards and old fortresses. We stopped off at Martigny to investigate the possibility of entering Italy over the Saint Bernard pass. The town turned out to be fascinating as it was an old roman town with a forum and amphitheater. The saint Bernard pass was the entry point for the Romans and the french invasion (Napoleon) and dubiously Hannibal who supposedly crossed the pass on an elephant.
The pass is also the location of the saint Bernard monastery and of course the dogs with kegs of brandy around their necks. There was a museum for the saint Bernard pass and it is also home to numerous big dopey  Saint Bernard dogs.
We have been reading the causes of deaths in base jumpers over the last 18 years. Why? There were recent deaths of jumpers in the area we were staying and deduced that three people sitting near us on a bus were base jumpers. There are common themes in the deaths; the most significant is that both inexperienced and experienced base jumpers die.  Our observation is that the inherent risks of base jumping do not change with experience. If you base jump enough times you will die. It is a modern day version of Russian roulette yet people continue to play dice with death despite the odds. I am not easily shocked but the statistics of base jumping shock me.
22Sep
Lazy day in Zermatt. The weather is cloudy and it has been lighly raining. We decided to plan our next part of our trip today. We were considering heading to Austria before Italy but decided against the move. Unfortunately we got an email from my father later in the afternoon saying he was in Vienna after we had made our arrangements.
We are heading off to Davos on the Glacier express. We found that making individual train arrangements for sections of the glacier express were painful so have yielded and are just going on the tourist train. The connection timings were too risky.
I have been very tired over the last couple of days so spent the afternoon sleeping. Probably just my lack of fitness at the moment.  
An observation. The swiss exercise and eat healthily but that illusion goes up in a puff of smoke when you note the number of smokers.
Vanessa made a key discovery today. The toblerone bar icon is actually the Matterhorn tip. Each piece of chocolate also represents the triangular top of the Matterhorn. Vital discovery. We are now waiting for the clouds to clear so we can indeed confirm that the icon fits across the Matterhorn tip. This will have to wait for tomorrow.