EINE ÜBERRASCHUNG (SURPRISE!)

THE HOTEL HAS A TENNIS COURT just below the room, and it's fun to watch parents play patball with their youngsters, or more adept adults volleying with impressive slice and placement.  But an unusual crowd had gathered on the court one day, with tennis shoes but no rackets -- and using no hands at all.

There were eight of them -- four to a side -- and an onlooker who we believe was the coach. We found out later they were the Swiss ski team, who had practiced on the glacier at Klein Matterhorn in the morning, and were now in town playing a little "football" over the net. Perhaps not at a World Cup pace, but with an impressive array of head, chest and knee shots, they set up the ball and found ways get it over the net for the highest-scoring soccer match we're ever likely to see. 

PS: That's the Vispa river, which runs through town and collects all the snowmelt -- starting from Zermatt's 4000-meter peaks and tumbling down the valley to the Rhone River some 23 miles away and two miles lower in altitude. The Vispa alone generates vast amounts of low-cost power. It also provides a comforting white noise (which rises occasionally to a menacing roar) as it passes the hotel.