Phyllis1

Hi,

We will be leaving in two weeks for our much anticipated vacation to Itlay and Zermatt, Switzerland. My question is, we are bringing some real warm clothes for our stay in Zermatt, because I have been checking the weather there and it is really cold. However, we will probably not need our heavy coats,sweaters, and hiking boots for the rest of our trip to Italy. Has anyone mailed anything back to the US from Zermatt? Do hotel offer this service? we are staying at the Romantik Hotel Julen. If not, is there a post office near by to do this? Thanks for your help.

Cicerone

There is a post office in Zermatt, as there is in all but the very tiniest Swiss towns. It is located just off the Bahnoffstrasse (the main street), not far from your hotel, the hotel can provide you with the exact address and directions. Bear in mind that it could be quite expensive to mail. I would send it by surface mail, not air mail, as this will be cheaper, although it will take longer. Having lived in Switzerland, I can say that nothing is cheap, including mail service. (Make sure you aren't sending any new items you bought outside the US, or you may have to pay US customs duties on them.) There may be DHL and Fed Ex services in town, I am not sure that they take personal effects like clothes and again, this could be quite expensive to send things this way.

The Julen is a lovely hotel, but I don't think they would offer any special service for mailing the winter clothes; I believe they would recco using the post office. I would actually recco that you simply have a spare duffle bag with your winter clothes in it and schlep it along with you to Italy.

However, if you are flying back home out of a Swiss airport on your return flight to the US, you could simply send your winter clothes to your departure airport (i.e. Geneva or Zurich) via Swiss Rail as unaccompanied baggage and have it waiting for you to collect for your flight. Take a look at http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/...ck-schweiz.htm for info. If you are flying back home out of Italy, this will not be possible.

Phyllis1

Hi Cicerone,
Thanks so much for answering my question. I have decided that I will bring a warm jacket and wear layers under it. I don't want to have a hassel of mailing clothing back to the United States. Thanks for your imput. We are really looking forward to staying at the Romantik Hotel Julen.

Cicerone

Bring gloves and a hat! They don't take up any room and you will be able to stay out longer up on the mountains as there will definately still be snow but you can still do some good walking if you are dressed for it. You may want them in the town as well. (Do I sound like your mother!!??)

Barbara_in_CT

I travel with a goretex raincoat and a polartec fleece. The two together are as warm as any heavy jacket. If you aren't used to the cold, then take polartec gloves and hat (or scarf). I was in Zermatt in late March and it wasn't that cold (as compared to Connecticut cold). Incidently, my raincoat folds us in its own pocket and doesn't take a lot of room.

Silk long underwear, pound for pound, will do more to keep you warm.

Intrepid1

If you can afford it you can IMO easily handle the deepest cold in Zermatt without resorting to a bunch of extra layers..wear a decent jacket that ss rated for heavy cold (such as those made by Mountain Hardwear) and is DOWN-filled. They compress to almost nothing and are easy to pack.

mel_hunt

Here's another alternative...last year my friends and I did some hiking in the Jungfrau/Schilthorn area. We then traveled to Paris for another week. Instead of lugging our coats, hats, scarves, etc. around in Paris, we purchased second-hand stuff at Goodwill before we left the US. When we were ready to leave Switzerland for warmer climes, we donated our coats and accessories--even a couple pair of hiking boots to the owner of our B&B (she was thrilled to have them). She could then give them to other visitors who needed warm clothing and we gained tons of extra space in our bags.

repete

I was in N. Italy and Zermatt from Feb. 7-March 4 this year. If you want to mail things back, lug them to your first stop in Italy where the rates are far better and the people generally are much nicer -- at least in my experience.

As beautiful as the scenery was in Zermatt, the Swiss often were a pain to deal with -- even while overcharging. It ran completely counter to a lovely experience in Italy.