Hotel Pollux Part III
Zermatt, and most specifically Hotel Pollux, feels like home already.
This has been my third time living here at the Hotel. The last two times were once during winter 2021 and for a period last summer.
Different from many Hotels, part of the staff here have been the same for years - some for 20 years even. They've seen the business development, the change of management generations and the region's tourism shifts.
Zermatt is one of the most significant Portuguese communities outside of Portugal. Many of the long years employees are thus Portuguese, which increases, even more, the familiarity feeling - I get to speak my home language 🖤
This time I came to take a few missing pictures for their new Website coming out soon - rooms, food, garden, drinks and others.
Coffee mood, Fondue, Raclette, summer drinks, billiards in the garden, summer dishes and drinks, and the mood of the bar in pictures.
A 360 experience not to be missed. The great food, fun team and insider tips about the region (with the locals knowing all the bits and pieces of where to go hiking, biking or chilling). The Hotel is also known to host locals for morning coffee and lunch and visitors that come annually to the Hotel and the restaurant.
Part of my stay was also dedicated to a particular project I am working on. Hotel Pollux opened its doors for me to live in their facilities while creating the material for the project.
What is it all about?
It is a partnership between Hotels, artists and non-profit organizations to foster a positive impact on society and the environment. Using art for impact.
This first edition in the project's scope will be to raise awareness of the problem of the melting of glaciers.
It will be a twofold event: one on September 3rd at the Hotel Pollux in Zermatt and the second on November 3rd at the premises of the Impact Hub in Zurich. The images created of the glaciers in Zermatt will be presented, and 50%of the sale will be donated to the organization Protect Our Winters (POW) Switzerland. To read more about the project and the events, click here.
Tasting Walliser specialities and talks from experts in the field will also be part of the program.
To create the images that will be available for sale, I got to explore the paths around Zermatt that take me closer to the glacial landscapes. A big thanks to the Hotel for the excellent local tips (Jonathan, the owner of Hotel Pollux, is a true local and knows Zermatt as no one else).
Almost like a research project, but with images. A fun and exciting thing to do.
Here to some of the highlights that got me close to the glaciers and allowed me to collect photographic material for the vernissages:
A night at the Fluhalp. It is a mountain hut and restaurant close to the Blauherd station, only a few steps away from the famous Stelisee. Good fun, great talks with the locals and unique sunsets and sunrises are guaranteed. Behind the House, one can walk up to the moraines of the Findelgletscher and admire its beauty. Here to a story experienced when walking down back to the valley.
Gornertor - one can visit the Glaciergarden to get some interesting facts & figures about the local glaciers (for example, that at some point in history, the glaciers were actually growing and destroying the villages and forests, or the potholes that the power of water created during the years in the rocks). When walking further, one gets to walk along the vast river, with rough waters of melted eyes flowing from the Gornerglacier down to the valley.
A night at the Schönbiel hut. Reachable only by foot or helicopter (transporting supplies to the House), the place is located at the edges of what once was the Zmuttgletscher. From the highest point, behind the cabin, one can still see the part of the glacier that still lives, but the majority of the valley is now like a type of dead valley - grey with rocks and old ice. You hear the glaciers moving up there, and occasionally you will listen to and watch blocks of ice collapsing. It is a sad beauty to look at. You get confronted with climate change being more real than one can feel when only in the cities. It was a pivotal experience for this project.
Gornerglacier - not marked in the hiking paths map from the region, it is possible to take the train up to the famous Gornergrat and from there walk down direction the Monte Rosa cabin. You can get close to the icy giants, listen to their movements and feel the energy. Instead of crossing the alpine path to the hut, you can turn around and walk comfortable back to the Riffelsee.
While exploring the region, I encountered all the animals that habit the area - squirrels, marmots (Murmeltiere), chamois (Gämslis), deers and Ibexes (Steinböcke). The chance of seeing wild animals always bewilders me. It's a special thing to experience. It makes you feel more connected to the ecosystem we live in (and sometimes forget about).
From various locals, I see the concern for the valley's development. Mass tourism, additional lifts being built, making it even more accessible, expensive housing and scarce options, making a living in the town almost impossible - a difficulty for locals to attract employees to the businesses. As one local told me, he grew up in a village but now lives in a machine. Is it even possible to stop and go back to slow travelling?
I'd be curious to talk to you on September 3rd 2022, at the premises of the Hotel Pollux, about the challenges our ways of living have and the environmental impact. If we don't do our parts, planet earth will stop doing theirs...
Thank you to Hotel Pollux for the fantastic hospitality and for opening the doors to create change and open the discussion.
