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Last night we had our traditional Christmas event with our buddies the Zwickys. We met them at the Chinese restaurant in Mürren. We got there in plenty of time and managed to squeeze in a beer at the Eiger pub before going for dinner. The meal was really good, but the main event comes afterwards – Christmas presents for the kids. Larina is easy to please; anything Harry Potter themed will do nicely.

Aliena is older and a bit harder to buy for, but Val managed to find some nice stuff in the shops back in the UK.

I got a homemade jar of brownie mixture, along with a recipe, so I’ll have fun baking those on a bad weather day. Super night out.

While we were opening presents it started raining. This turned the already slippery street into something resembling a wet ice rink. We just about made it to the cable car station in time for the ride back to the valley. The paths in Wengen were no better, so our walk down the hill was somewhat entertaining. On the positive side, I’ve been meaning to change the soles on my ski boots for ages, and the slippery conditions prompted me to finally get it done this afternoon. I now have the latest ‘grip-walk’ soles, which will hopefully help to keep me upright.

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Colin played at the Victoria Lauberhorn last night. There was a good crowd.

While we were enjoying the music it was snowing outside. The walk home was quite challenging.

Oskar is the son of Andy and Jana, who were our neighbours for a few years. He was 8 years old last month. He’s been out on the mountain with ski school all day, so we waited for him at the Figeller bar at the bottom of the nursery slope. It was absolutely freezing, and seats around the fire pit were in great demand.

And here he comes.

Time to open some presents.

Temperatures were well below zero, so it wasn’t long before we headed to Rocks to thaw out.

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In years gone by, all the hotels used to serve a gala dinner on New Year’s Eve. Sadly this tradition seemed to die out after Covid, but this winter normal service is resumed, and we had a wide choice of venues for our slap-up meal. We chose the Hotel Jungfraublick. Lesley and Dave joined us. Marshmallows cooking on the fire pit.

The hotel is just above the village, so the views are nice.

We started with canapés and champagne, followed by a nice starter of roast duck. The main course was the star of the show, with fillet of beef and lobster.

Tradition demands that the bell ringers ring out the old year and ring in the new. It’s noisy. Press play.

Afterwards we stopped off at the Tanne bar for cocktails, and we saw in the new year in the Anonym bar.

This morning Val was off to work in the sunshine. The ski area is looking very good.

The whole place is still overrun with brightly dressed kids, but they’ll soon be going back to school.

Tonight we’re looking forward to a quiet night in.

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It’s another lovely day, and Val was off to work again. The Eiger towers over her ‘office’.

I was off down to Interlaken. I need to buy beer, and a trip to Lidl can save me a fortune if I’m lucky enough to find what I want in stock. Lauterbrunnen was looking very picturesque on the trip down the hill.

I sprinted around Lidl and bought as much beer as I could squeeze into the shopping trolley, before heading back to catch my train. Unfortunately when I arrived back at Lauterbrunnen there were no trains running up to Wengen owing to a broken down train blocking the track. It was 2 hours before everything started running again, but I just about managed to get home in time to cook dinner.

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The school holidays are in full swing, and Wengen is packed. Fortunately the weather is nice, so the kids have plenty to do. Here’s a webcam shot of Männlichen at lunchtime. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people up there.

Val started work today, so I fell into my usual domestic routine of shopping, recycling and other chores. The Co-op was a bit of a challenge, absolutely full of shoppers but very little produce left to buy. My plan to make a nice curry fell at the first hurdle when I found that there were no mushrooms left at all.

Of course the shopkeepers do very well at times like this. The bakery makes fresh doughnuts out on the street – here’s the resulting scrum as people queue to get one.

Dave and Lesley arrived late last night, so we’ll see them for a beer later.

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Last night we had a lovely meal at the Eiger, followed by cocktails at the Crystal bar.

This morning Val needs to go up to Scheidegg to collect her new uniform, as she’s starting work tomorrow. Lots of people having fun.

3 guys dressed as Santa Claus were waiting for the train.

And here is Val wearing her new Altitude Ski School uniform. She looks very smart indeed.

The fine, mild weather continues, so she should be able to have fun with the kids without getting soaking wet or frozen.

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It’s a lovely day up here in the mountains, but a completely different story down in the foggy valley, where it’s dark and cold.

The village nursery slope is very busy.

To make room for more kids, a piste machine is preparing the big meadow at the top of the village.

Colin is playing at the hotel Victoria Lauberhorn tonight, so I dare say we’ll pop up for a beer and a sing-along.