It’s Swiss national day on Tuesday which means it must be time for some traditional stuff. We get the cable car up to Männlichen to see what’s happening. The usual great views back to Wengen and down to Lauterbrunnen.
Friendly cows are happy to pose for photos.
The giant wooden cow is complete – Val climbed to the top.
And yes, there was some folklore. Dancers.
And flag throwing. There was a bit of a breeze so it was tricky, but not many flags were dropped.
We catch the train down to Interlaken and walk to the lakeside village of Bönigen. Lots of watersports here. This is a kayaking class. The instructor (top left) is one of Val’s winter ski school colleagues.
There are jet-boat rides too. Steamers call at the quay taking passengers to the villages along the lake.
Groups of people arrive in rubber rafts. They started their day at Lauterbrunnen and paddled down the Lütschine river to Bönigen.
Our plan today was to walk from Eigergletcher which is above Scheidegg. Unfortunately when we got to Scheidegg we found it was in a cloud, so we hopped back on the train and went back to Wengernalp where we hoped to find some clearer weather. It didn’t really work.
It’s cold inside a cloud. Nevertheless we set off down the race course. This section is officially called Langentrejen, though everyone refers to it as Bumps.
Along the course are info boards and 3D viewers which show the ideal line for ski racers.
As we approach Wengen the sun comes out and the path takes us through the forest above the village. Lots of mushrooms – I just wish I knew which ones to pick and which to avoid.
It’s dry today but still chilly so we don’t want to go too high. We get off the train at Wengernalp and head downhill towards Mettla, which is nothing more than a few cowsheds.
Soon we reach the forest.
The path clings to the side of the mountain above the valley. Glimpses of Mürren.
And a spectacular aerial view of Lauterbrunnen.
Streams and waterfalls cross the path. This one is called Hasenbach and a dog was enjoying cooling off.
It’s been raining for 2 days so it might be a good afternoon to go to see our local waterfalls. We catch the bus from Lauterbrunnen for the short ride up the valley. The falls are looking good.
The Trümmelbach drains the glacier defiles of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. 20,000 litres of water per second pass through the gorge.
The falls are 140 metres high. Great views back down the valley.
Nice walk along the river back to Lauterbrunnen where we get cakes from the bakery before returning to Wengen.
The wet weather continues, and with temperatures around 10 degrees it’s pretty chilly too. We did manage to get out for a walk round the block this afternoon and there’s fresh snow above about 2500 metres.
Curry later, yum yum.
Poured with rain all day today, and it’s cold – people are talking about snow up at Scheidegg tomorrow. The poor weather is forecast to last until late on Wednesday, so things will probably be a bit quiet.
Val has made a nice decoration out of photo frames and postcards.
Follow