I came back from Switzerland to Heidelberg just now. I enjoyed this 3-day travel. Today, I would like to write a blog about it. Actually, I wrote almost all on the return trains because I would like to go to bed as soon as possible for tomorrow’s mahjong starting in the early morning. Of course, I will show my reliable prediction for today’s graded races later.
Life in Germany
This is a rough chart showing my travel route. I would like to describe it step by step.
Zürich
First of all, I visited Zürich, which many people tend to think is the capital of Switzerland. I would like to write about this city quickly because I stayed there just for 2 hours. Since main sightseeing spots are located near the station, the 2-hour stay was enough to know Zürich.
As you can see in the above pictures, there are a few churches and a famous hill. In particular, I liked the view from the hill. Limmat River was beautiful like an emerald.
Zermatt (Matterhorn)
Next, I moved to Zermatt, which many tourists use as the base for Matterhorn. On the way to Zermatt, I enjoyed mountain views from the train. I noticed that the windows are large so that passengers can see the outside more clearly. I appreciated this attempt by the train company in Switzerland.
As soon as arriving at Zermatt, I took dinner in an Italian restaurant. I ordered the following pizza, but it was too expensive and it cost about 30 EUR. What my colleagues had told me in advance was true.
Regarding Zermatt, what I would like to mention is it is not allowed to use a gasoline car inside this town for the environment. We can see only electric taxies and buses. After knowing this fact, I felt the air which I breathed was more fresh than usual. (Maybe I didn’t realize the difference in the quality of air if I didn’t known that.)
On the 2nd day, I noticed that I was able to see Matterhorn from my room in the morning.
The main activity on this day was to ride a mountain railway so called Gornergratbahn. This is a main method to see Matterhorn and it goes up to an altitude of 3000m slowly. This train is so popular that it was crowded and I had to stand up all the way. The view from it was so nice of course and I thought we can never have this kind of experience in Japan.
As I was approaching the terminal, the amount of snow was getting more and more. I was not able to believe it was June.
It was completely covered by snow around the terminal.
My main purpose was to take a nice photo of Matterhorn. The following one is my best shot.
Unfortunately, the top was covered by cloud, but maybe you can see the sharp edge of the summit.
In a station next to the terminal, we can find a famous lake. If possible, we can take a picture with Matterhorn reflected on the surface of the lake. However, it was still frozen. I went there too early.
In the return way, I got off the train 2 stations before the starting point because a blog I checked recommended hiking from there. However, only one pair got off with me there, which made me anxious. What I was worried about became true and the hiking path was tougher than I had expected.
After walking down for about an hour, I somehow came back to the starting point. Since I came across just a few hikers on the way, I think this activity is not so popular. Anyway, I was relieved that I was able to survive without any accidents and injuries. The only thing that I got was the following nice picture.
After taking a short nap in the hotel, I went to another spot which we can reach with a funicular. There is a lake again and I took a picture of “upside-down” Matterhorn.
While looking for a restaurant for dinner, I found an interesting monument by chance.
Surprisingly, it turned out that Zermatt and Myoko in Niigata, which is close to my hometown, are sister cities. I also found a Japanese restaurant “Myoko”. I didn’t try it because it looked expensive, but I felt familiar with this town. In addition, Zermatt has a connection with Kyoto and Mt. Fuji as well.
On the 3rd day, Matterhorn was completely covered by fog. I had a complaint about cloud surrounding the summit of Matterhorn on the 2nd day, but I realized that it had been much better. Now I can say that I was lucky.
Bern
I left Zermatt for Bern, which is really the capital. I walked around the city and checked some famous spots.
Like Zürich, the photo from a hill is my favorite. I realized that I had always taken similar pictures and had similar feelings. I can no longer be excited by a new European city.
I also visited Einstein House, where I learnt his history and family. I made an effort to pretend to understand what the written explanations mean.
Basel
Since my travel was smoother than my expectation, I had time to explore Basel, where I had planned to visit just for a train change originally. I took pictures of a church and a city hall. In particular, the red color of the city hall was so cool.
That’s all about my travel in Switzerland. I was so impressed by the huge scale of nature. After knowing this scale, I thought I was so tiny to be glad or sad at the point of Mahjong-Soul and results of horse racing.
My next long travel plan is to go to northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden and Norway). This is the last travel in Europe. I would like to leave Germany without any regrets.
競馬予想
函館スプリントステークス（GIII、函館、芝1200m）
本命 : ⑬ブトンドール（2番人気）
・逃げ・先行馬が穴をあけやすい典型的な重賞レースだが、今回は前に行きたそうな馬が多く、ハイペースで前が総崩れになる可能性がある。そのような展開を予想して、差し馬の⑬ブトンドールを本命とする。過去に函館で2勝しているのも良い。
・同じく差し馬の①トウシンマカオ（1番人気）も馬券に含めたい。
・上位人気2頭のつまらない予想になってしまったが、今年は意外と堅い決着になると信じ、馬連1点で勝負。
馬券
合計 : ¥1,000
エプソムカップ（GIII、東京、芝1800m）
本命 : ⑤レインフロムヘブン（4番人気）
・上位人気馬の中で信頼できるジョッキーはルメールさんとレーンさん。しかし、ルメールさんの③インダストリアは、左回りが若干苦手そうだし、ハンデも1kg重い。よって、消去法でレーンさんの⑤レインフロムヘブンが本命。東京と相性が良さそうなのもプラス。
・他に気になるのは以下3頭。
④カワキタレブリー（8番人気）
→ 東京が合っていそう。
⑦ピースワンパラディ（13番人気）
→ ここ2走は重賞で大敗しているが、それより前をさかのぼると4着・6着・5着・2着と堅実に走っている。ここまで人気が落ちるなら狙いたい。
⑫エアファンディタ（6番人気）
→ 前走で重賞クラスの馬たちに勝っていることを評価。
・1番人気の⑮ジャスティンカフェは騎手変更が少し懸念材料であるため、今回は購入を見送りたい。
・馬券は⑤レインフロムヘブンを軸にしたワイドで勝負。
馬券
合計 : ¥1,000
（誕生日馬券に期待！）
2023年成績
収支 : +21,090 （8/27 まではプラス）
回収率 : 129.3%
的中率 : 13.1% (8/61)
イノメーター : 7 レース連続当たりなし
