The snowfall that started on Friday evening continues. We were well wrapped up on our way up to the Alpine hotel tonight.
Beves and Ibe put on a good night of music, and we trudged home. The footmarks that we made on our way up the hill were long gone on our way back down.
It’s less than a week until the skiing World Cup descends on Wengen. Construction crews, mostly drawn from the military, are hard at work assembling the temporary buildings that the sponsors and spectators will need. Lots going on at the tennis courts and ice rink.
A pub is being built on the Eigerhübel.
Last night we met Lesley and Dave and we enjoyed a curry up at Golden India. Cocktails in the Tanne bar rounded off a nice evening.
While we were enjoying our cocktails it was snowing outside, and the murky weather continued today. We went over to Grindelwald and met Will’s mum Amanda for lunch. My lemongrass soup was nicely decorated.
Grindelwald is much bigger and busier than Wengen, but there are still some nice spots.
Tapas at the Pickel bar tonight.
Last night we popped across the valley to Mürren to see our friends the Zwicky family. Mürren is a bit of a hike, and can only be reached by cable car, but the view back across the valley under a full moon makes the journey well worthwhile.
Mürren is much smaller than Wengen, but it does have something that we don’t, namely a lovely Chinese restaurant. We have a table booked. The meal was lovely, but the highlight of the evening for the children is opening their Christmas presents.
Eventually we have to dash for the cable car which takes us back towards Wengen. More amazing moonlit views as we get closer to home.
Today it was sunny and mild. The school holidays are in full swing, and everyone who can ski is up the mountain. Those who haven’t learned yet are practicing on the nursery slopes in the village.
Colin is playing his first gig of the season at the Alpine Hotel this evening.
As is the custom here, we celebrated Christmas yesterday on the 24th. As usual, it was a big team effort with the food. Emily and Ali made a whole table full of starters.
And Colin produced a lovely joint of beef.
I spent the day preparing all the vegetables. We had a lovely dinner, and afterwards it was time for Secret Santa. Everyone gets a gift, but you don’t know who bought it. I got a lovely bottle of Scotch.
Ali unwrapped socks, a book, and a coffee cup full of chocolates.
Emily was pleased with her t-shirt.
Colin got a big parcel containing beer, potatoes, crisps and Jägermeister (a herb based liquor).
Val got lots of socks. These are something of a novelty, as they’re not sold in matching pairs – every sock is different.
Tradition demands that we play Yahtzee after dinner. Ali was triumphant. All in all, a lovely evening. This morning we had a bit of a lie in, and a wander around the village. Wengen is looking splendid in the sunshine.
A Merry Christmas to everyone.
The rain that we’ve suffered over the past week or so has gone, and the sun has come out. The mild temperatures have melted the snow in the valley.
We have a new train called the Wengen Shuttle. This will alleviate the overcrowding on the services up from the valley. Trains now run every 15 minutes from Lauterbrunnen at peak times.
Tonight the village officially opens for the winter season. The shops and businesses along the main street have stalls offering drinks and snacks.
We went round to Anne-Marie and Paul’s place for a delicious supper, before wandering home.
The weather’s been pretty dreadful over the past few days, so we haven’t done a lot. In a rare dry spell we had a wander up to Andy and Jana’s place yesterday. We had coffee and cake, and gave Oskar his Christmas present. At home we’ve had lots of gifts to wrap, and we’ll soon be ready for the big day.
There’s a lot of wildlife in the forests around Wengen, but most of the animals stay under cover until after dark. It was a nice surprise to see these deer on the meadow beside Ali’s house this afternoon.
We’re promised some better weather tomorrow, so hopefully we’ll be able to get out and about.
Val had an appointment in Bern today. It’s Switzerland’s capital city, and it has some lovely architecture, having been untouched by war through the centuries. A few pictures.
The Christmas markets were in full swing, but it was cold and foggy, so Val was happy to escape to a cafe for coffee and a croissant. I stayed back here in the mountains, and busied myself with recycling and shopping, including a very successful beer run down to Lidl in the valley.
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