(lively music)
- [Jesse] In Gornergrat we can see almost everything,
galaxies, nebulas;
the best thing you can see here is the Milky Way.
It's very bright,
and you can see a lot of shooting stars and stuff.
Some nights are so good that it's one of the best places
to observe in the world.
- [Narrator] And the best part?
This view comes with a room.
Up here they take reservations.
Gornergrat is a special place
that opens up the universe to everyone.
Perched on top of the Swiss Alps
at over 10,000 feet,
it's a hotel, restaurant and an observatory.
What might seem like an unlikely mix
has turned into one of Switzerland's most precious places.
- The Kulmhotel Gornergrat was built in 1907.
Some parts of the building
are still the same as in the beginning.
We have 22 rooms.
There are four or five days a year
where there are 5,000 people.
It's the highest hotel in Switzerland
and the second highest in Europe.
Special thing up here is the mountain you can see around.
There is Monte Rosa
and then the Breithorn,
and everybody in the world knows the Matterhorn.
We serve mostly traditional Swiss food,
cheese fondue,
rosti with sausage on it and onion sauce,
and also the Alpine macaroni.
It's really special for me
because I love the mountains
and up here in the night it's very calm
and the sky is really amazing.
(classical piano music)
- These domes are here from the '60s until now
but astronomy here in the mountains
go back to beginning of 1900.
Scientists from all over the world have been here.
If you want to do astronomy
you have to have really good conditions,
and it's a fact that the best conditions
you have up here in the mountains.
- [Narrator] Lack of light pollution and dry air
have meant that people like Jesse
can really observe space from here.
But even with the naked eye
anyone can observe the night beauty at Gornergrat.
- [Jesse] One of the best places I've been for sure.
You go out on the terrace
and you see this huge band of the sky,
and it's just so bright;
it's amazing.
- [Narrator] And like the stars above,
Gornergrat shines bright in the middle of the Swiss Alps,
keeping the gateway to space open for many years to come.
(chiming music)